- Crewe fall to defeat at the hands of Peterborough United.
- Rio Adebisi makes his long-awaited return and gains valuable minutes.
- Jackson’s side now sit 9th with three games in hand.
Crewe Alexandra Under-21’s fell to a harsh defeat at the hands of Peterborough United, despite the shining light of Rio Adebisi completing 45 minutes.
Joe Taylor, Kellan Hickinson and David Ajiboye completed the scoring for the Posh at the Sky Bet League One side’s training facilities.
The biggest positive for Mike Jackson’s side was the long-awaited return of defender Adebisi, who has been absent since December due to a foot injury which proved to be more complicated than first expected, even requiring surgery in March.
Jackson’s young Reds were unable to respond to the disappointment against Coventry previously, with the Posh dominant early on in the match. Kai Corbett stole the ball from Lewis Billington before delivering to Taylor, but his header rose over Tom Booth’s goal.
Corbett would have a chance of his own ten minutes later, latching onto Benjamin Mensah’s low cross but the eventual effort was blocked and scrambled clear.
Peterborough weren’t to be denied much longer however, courtesy of Taylor. Hickinson took possession and orchestrated a lovely ball into Taylor, who was composed in hammering the ball into the roof of the net to give the Posh the advantage.
Joel Tabiner looked to even the scores after receiving some nice play from Connor Evans, but his strike rose clear of the bar.
Booth would be called into action after some nice footwork from Corbett, but the young shot-stopper was on hand to smother the low effort.
And just before the hour mark, it was two for Peterborough. Previous provider Hickinson had his goal and took it in his stride, slotting the ball past Booth from close-range after a teasing ball from former Sutton United winger Ajiboye.
Hickinson nearly immediately returned the favour to Ajiboye by playing the winger through on goal, but his one-on-one with Booth went Crewe’s way as the forward couldn’t keep his strike down.
With just under ten minutes left of the match, Peterborough extended their advantage with a third. Ajiboye raced onto the edge of the box before being picked out by Lewis Darlington, allowing the former to calmly poke the ball home past Booth.
Jackson’s Under-21 side will be back in action on Monday the 26th of September, hosting Burnley at Alexandra Park.
Peterborough United: Lakin; Mensah, Lamb, O’Connell; Tonge; Fox, McGlinchey, Hickinson; Ajiboye, Taylor, Corbett
Crewe Alexandra: Booth; Trialist, Billington, Washington, Adebisi; Griffiths, Lunt, Tabiner; Holicek, Agius, Evans