“WE were just a bit off” – that was the view of Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson despite his side booking their spot in the League Cup second round on Tuesday night.

Posh scraped through 4-1 on penalties against Swindon Town, who out-shot their League One hosts 24-12 but failed to find a winner, after the game ended 1-1 at the end of normal time.

Michael Flynn’s Robins looked strong against the Cambridgeshire outfit throughout and managed to send the tie to a penalty shootout thanks to Rushian Hepburn-Murphy’s classy effort cancelling out Joel Randall’s first-half strike.

Post-match, Town manager Michael Flynn was delighted with the application of his players.

But in the opposite dugout, Ferguson was far from convinced by the performance of the Peterborough squad and in particular with the lack of aggression on display.

Speaking to the Peterborough Telegraph about the passive display, the Peterborough boss said: “We weren’t quite there tonight in terms of the basics - in many aspects we were just a bit off. The tackling and winning second balls were not good enough.

“Our forwards couldn’t get hold of the ball and they were more aggressive than us.

"We just couldn’t get the first pass off enough and out of possession we weren’t aggressive enough.

“We couldn’t find the right ball; we went back when we should have gone forward, so there were certain things missing.”

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Yet, despite signs of his side being off the mark, the 51-year-old still reserved praise for his players.

Especially for goal-scorer Randall who has struggled with injury setbacks since joining from Exeter City in the 2021 summer transfer window.

Speaking about the 23-year-old, Ferguson said: “Joel’s goal doesn’t surprise me, we know he’s a good player.

“We knew what we were buying, he’s just had a few difficult years but he’s stuck at it and he’s got confidence now.

“It’s great that the fans are on his side now, it will make a big difference to him. I was really pleased with him.”

Ferguson also discussed the freshness of his “young” Peterborough side, saying: “We’re a work in progress, it’s a young team, and I’ve said we will get some inconsistent performances - that was the case tonight.

“It’s early days and we will get better.”

Town’s first round “cup curse” continues for another year, whereas Posh will find out their opponents for the second round on Wednesday night live on Sky Sports after Burton Albion’s clash with Leicester City (kick-off 8pm).