Sammie Szmodics double avenges Addicks assault as Posh grab victory

Back-to-back braces from Sammie Szmodics saw Peterborough United come from behind to beat promotion rivals Charlton Athletic 2-1 in an exceedingly feisty affair at the Weston Homes Stadium.

Another two goals in as many matches for in-form forward Sammie Szmodics helped Peterborough United recover from a half-time deficit to claim all three points against Charlton Athletic.

Posh struggled to cope with the Addicks intensity and high pressing in the first half as they bullied their hosts back into their own third causing them to lump the ball forward and return possession. 

Former Posh striker Conor Washington opened the scoring from the spot following an Ethan Hamilton foul on Stuart Pearce in the box which gave them the motive to continue an assault on Peterborough’s forward players and cause Darren Furguson to explode in a frenzy due to referee Sam Purkis reluctance to hand out any cautions.

But Posh got their revenge in the second half as two perfectly placed balls from top-scorer Jonson Clarke-Harris set up Szmodics to score two one-on-one opportunities and produce a battling second half fightback to stay five points off the automatic promotion places.

The visitors set the tone in the opening quarter of an hour as Lee Bowyer’s men committed a series of cynical fouls on the home side causing them to retreat back into their own half.

In both frustration and retaliation, Posh midfielder Hamilton received a yellow card for a late challenge on the half-line and gave Charlton a chance to put the ball into the box from a free-kick.

The subsequent ball was misjudged by Peterborough centre-back Frankie Kent who let the ball to bounce and left Hamilton little option but to pull down Pearce; giving referee Purkis the incentive to point to the spot.

Former Posh talisman Washington stepped up and cooly placed the penalty past Christy Pym to put his side in the lead.

Tensions continued to rise as the Addicks clipped, nibbled, booted and bashed the hosts in an attempt to stop their fast-paced, free-flowing football in the wide areas.

The most noticeable assault came when Siriki Dembele was sent flying off the pitch via Pearce who nearly knocked Bowyer over in the process. A furious Fergie charged down from the stands to comfort the referee who failed to distribute a booking despite another intentional foul.

Just before the interval, Posh had some justice served when Purkis finally put a Charlton player in his book – Forster-Caskey the culprit for a late elbow on Mark Beevers.

The tables seem to turn in the second half as Posh emerged far more patience and preserved in possession, disrupting Charlton’s high-press. Ferguson’s introduction of Harrison Burrows and Reece Brown only caused more problems for the visitor’s midfielders who struggled to keep up with their quick passing play.

Peterborough’s good intentions were rewarded on the hour mark when Clarke-Harris climbed above his two markers to clip Szmodics clean through on goal and calmly slot past Ben Amos in the Charlton net.

And it did not take long for Posh to grab another when Dembele smelt blood, won possession and played the ball through to Clarke-Harris, who weighted yet another perfect ball for the Szmodics who did the rest to make it 2-1.

With only ten minutes left to play, Ferguson’s side began to take pages out of Charlton’s book of dark arts – inviting fouls, timing wasting and tying shoelaces at every given opportunity – which worked perfectly as they saw out the game and claimed all three points.

The result from this fascinating encounter means Posh remain fifth on 39 points with a game in hand on Doncaster Rovers who sit above them in fourth, while Charlton also stay put in sixth on 36 points with just one win in their last seven matches.

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