Peterborough fail to meet expectations... Ross' Sunderland frustration - how Portsmouth's League One rivals fared on day one

Darren Ferguson admitted his Peterborough side failed to meet expectations after they suffered a surprise opening-day defeat at the hands of Fleetwood.
Former Pompey striker Marc McNulty made his debut for Sunderland against Oxford Picture by Frank ReidFormer Pompey striker Marc McNulty made his debut for Sunderland against Oxford Picture by Frank Reid
Former Pompey striker Marc McNulty made his debut for Sunderland against Oxford Picture by Frank Reid

Much had been made of the Posh’s summer transfer activity, with the likes of Mo Eisa and George Boyd brought in to boost their ambitions of promotion.

However, none of their big signings could stop Fleetwood causing the shock of the day as they secured a 3-1 win at London Road.

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Ferguson said he was disappointed with what he saw and felt sorry for the fans who would have been anticipating much more from his new-look side.

‘There was a lot of expectation, and that’s because we signed some very good players,’ Ferguson admitted.

‘We’re in it together and we’re all disappointed, but I’m particularly disappointed for the fans as they would have been expecting to see a much better performance.

‘We got caught cold though. Losing two poor goals so early in the game just gave us a mountain to climb.

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‘It meant Fleetwood didn’t have to do anything. They didn’t have to come out. They probably weren’t going to anyway and that’s a taste of what might happen at our place this season.’

Fleetwood’s victory sees them top the table after match-day one.

Boss Joey Barton said he and his players had the belief beforehand that they could win.

He said: ‘The key for us is that we always believed we could win. We had a game plan to win the game, and we knew if we sat back that Peterborough could cause us problems.

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‘Credit must go to the players and all the staff – it was so pleasing.’

Just like Pompey and Peterborough, Sunderland were another highly-fancied side ahead of the season who failed to deliver a win on the opening day.

They did go one better, though, as last term’s draw specialists picked up a 1-1 draw against Oxford United at the Stadium of Light.

Manager Jack Ross confessed his team needs to start converting stalemates in to wins.

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‘I think results-wise we can't be satisfied with drawing at home because we know the consequences of doing that too often last season,’ said Ross.

‘We need to ensure we aim to win games. That was the aim, but not the end result.’

Phil Parkinson said the takeover of Bolton Wanderers ‘can't come soon enough’ as they lost 2-0 at Wycombe.

The Trotters boss handed eight players their debuts at Adams Park, with only three contracted senior players travelling.

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They remain on minus-12 points and in administration as Wanderers wait on The Football Ventures group’s purchase of the club to go through.

Parkinson said: ‘I'm told things are moving in the right direction concerning the takeover and it can't come soon enough.

‘We've had a few games behind closed doors over pre-season and had a number of lads in, triallists and others, but because of the situation we've lost them.

‘If we can get things sorted then there is every chance we can be competitive at this level.’

Other results: AFC Wimbledon 1-2 Rotherham; Blackpool 2-0 Bristol Rovers; Burton 0-1 Ipswich; Coventry 1-0 Southend; Doncaster Rovers 1-1 Gillingham; Lincoln 2-0 Accrington; Tranmere 2-3 Rochdale.