Leonard strike sees Peterborough stun Cardiff in FA Cup

Harry Leonard's first-half strike was enough to see League One's bottom side Peterborough United knock out Cardiff City in the first round of the FA Cup.

Jimmy-Jay Morgan's deflected effort on 39 minutes fell kindly into the path of Leonard, who slotted past Nathan Trott for the game's only goal.

Cardiff, who reached the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup in midweek, saw more possession in the second half, but rarely tested Alex Bass' goal.

Defeat for the Bluebirds sees them knocked out in the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1994 when they were beaten 1-0 by Enfield.

For Peterborough it is a 16th-straight FA Cup first-round win, in Luke Williams' first game in charge of the club.

Williams, who enjoyed success in the South Wales derby against Cardiff during his time as Swansea City head coach, made four changes from Peterborough's League One defeat to Blackpool last time out.

Cardiff head coach Brian Barry-Murphy also made four changes from the Bluebirds' side which knocked Wrexham out of the EFL Cup on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals.

The Bluebirds ran out 2-1 winners when the sides met on the opening day of the League One season, but they were on the back foot from the off at London Road.

The hosts should have taken the lead in the first minute, when Kyrell Lisbie's cross was met by Leonard, but the Posh striker missed from six yards out.

Alex Robertson was almost left red-faced when he lost possession in the Cardiff box midway through the first half, but Morgan's resulting shot was deflected wide by the returning Dylan Lawlor.

Cardiff's best chance of the game fell to Callum Robinson after a poor clearing kick from Bass went straight to the Bluebirds striker, but his effort was straight at the Posh goalkeeper who was way off his line.

The miss proved crucial, as with half-time approaching Morgan's driving run and shot was kindly deflected into the path of Leonard, who made no mistake this time to score his first goal for the club.

Cardiff pushed forward in search of an equaliser after the break, but failed to carve out any clear-cut chances, though Cian Ashford did force a save from Bass at the near post after nice build-up play from Rubin Colwill.

At the other end, Peterborough substitute Brandon Khela had the chance to double the hosts' lead, but he could not direct his free header on target from Peter Kioso's cross.

Cardiff goalkeeper Trott had the chance to write his own slice of FA Cup history as the ball fell to his feet in the Peterborough box when up for a last-minute corner, but he could not find the target as the full-time whistle went.

Post-match reaction

Peterborough United head coach Luke Williams told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: "I'm so pleased with the application of the players, they showed a real warrior spirit and fight.

"Against top, top opposition, I'm really happy with the fight and application.

"Today they knew they would have to fight and show the fans that they still have the energy, enthusiasm and desire and today that was enough to get the victory.

"I wanted us to be aggressive and try to put balls into the box, even if we don't score it creates energy. We gave the feeling to the fans that we were on the front foot, and a lot of players put their hands up."

Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy told BBC Radio Wales: "Obviously we wanted to progress as far as we wanted in the competition and today we weren't good enough to get that job done.

"We treat every competition with the upmost importance, we want to create a mentality in the dressing room where we try to give our supporters performances they enjoy every time. Today we weren't able to do that.

"We didn't create the chances we wanted to or with the intensity in the first half we were looking for. We never reached those heights during the course of the game.

"The challenge for the players is to become more consistent, but today we did not reach the standards which we have set."