Posh will give it everything in promotion bid – new boss Evans

Posted Sunday, March 11, 2018 by PA

Steve Evans said he hopes to prove his doubting chairman Darragh MacAnthony wrong by securing promotion after beginning his managerial reign at Peterborough with a 4-1 win at home at Charlton.

Andrew Hughes, a Marcus Maddison penalty and two late goals for Jack Marriott helped Peterborough leapfrog their League One opponents into seventh place.

Michal Zyro had pulled a goal back for the visitors who saw Josh Magennis miss a penalty when they were 1-0 down.

Evans, who criticised referee Brett Huxtable for the way he gave Charlton their spot-kick said: “We have a lot of talented players and we will win a lot of matches.

“I did not think we played really well, but they played with some energy and some real quality in the final third in the final minutes.

“I think he is a good referee, but for their penalty he refused it when he first looked at it. He shook his head and said ‘no’.

“The referee may have been influenced by the reaction of the Charlton players. I said afterwards justice was served.

“The chairman said to me promotion is going to be difficult, but he desperately wants it and I love to prove people wrong.

“We will give it everything we have.”

The opener came a minute before half-time when left-back Andrew Hughes side-footed Joe Ward’s cross in at the back post.

Charlton had a great chance to equalise in the 54th minute when Peterborough defender Liam Shephard was penalised for a shove on Magennis inside the box, but the striker’s penalty went wide of the left-hand post.

Five minutes later Maddison showed Magennis how it should be done to make it 2-0, the Posh winger slotting his penalty down the middle after he had been tripped by left-back Naby Sarr.

The visitors did pull a goal back when Zyro flicked in fellow substitute Ben Reeves’ right-wing cross after 74 minutes, but Marriott converted Danny Lloyd’s pass nine minutes from time, before the striker headed in his 27th of the season from a Jermaine Anderson cross three minutes later.

Charlton manager Karl Robinson said: “I don’t know how it’s 4-1. Their forward players were better than ours but I thought we were the better team in the middle of the pitch.

“We did not take our chances.

“They had five chances and scored four goal. Jack Marriott was the difference.

“Josh Magennis is devastated in the changing room, but no one can question his work ethic – it’s unbelievable. Him, Johnnie Jackson and Jake Forster-Caskey were practising penalties yesterday.

“We need to get six points next week. We have to go and dust ourselves down, and if we play like that and take our chances we win.

“I watched Peterborough play so many times and the amount of chances they create, and they are ruthless in between the posts.”