Cambridge United’s Leasing.com Trophy campaign for 2019/20 came to an end with a 2-1 defeat against Peterborough United at the Weston Homes Stadium.
Harvey Knibbs pulled back a goal for United 14 minutes from time, in a match that had been decided by a pair of Posh first half goals from Joe Ward and Ricky-Jade Jones.
It was Knibbs who was gifted the first opening of the game when the forward was presented the ball on the edge of the Peterborough area, but he skewed his right footed shot wide of the target.
The hosts responded instantly with the opening goal as Joe Ward wrapped a curling free kick from 20 yards out over the U’s wall and beyond the reach of Callum Burton in the top left corner. They came close to what would have been an equally spectacular second moments later, as Harrison Burrows let fire on a thunderbolt which struck the outside of the post and bounced to a Posh player in an offside position.
United had the chance to level through Andy Dallas on 12 minutes, but the Scot was unable to turn in Knibbs’ square pass across goal from six yards under pressure from Rhys Bennett.
Ricky-Jade Jones extended the host’s advantage on 30 minutes when the youngster swivelled away from his marker and struck across goal from an acute angle to squeeze in a second of the night for the home side.
The U’s ended the half with a series of corners, with professional debutant Jordan Norville-Williams firing a cross dangerously into the Posh six yard box that Paul Lewis was within fractions of turning goalwards with his head from four yards out.
United looked a little brighter in a very low key second half but never really tested Aaron Chapman in the Peterborough goal until Harvey Knibbs slid in Leon Davies’ inch perfect cross on 76 minutes to pull a goal back.
The forward had the chance to score a second in as many minutes when he found himself one on one but his shot from 15 yards out was saved low to Chapman’s left on this occasion, and it proved as close as United came to finding a leveller.
Peterborough United: Chapman, Dembele, Bennett, Blake-Tracey, Tasdemir (James, 72 mins), Ward (Copping, 45 mins), Kanu, Cartwright (Mensah, 45 mins), Barker, Burrows, Jones
Bookings: James
Cambridge United: Burton, Davies, Taft, Darling, Dunk (Jones, 69 min), Worman (Richards, 69 mins), Lewis, Maris, Norville-Williams, Knibbs, Dallas (Smith, 69 mins)
Bookings: Norville-Williams, Smith
Attendance: 3,425 (224)