Sergei Rebrov treated fans to their first taste of Ukrainian magic on English soil at London Road on Tuesday night. Our big L11m summer capture from Dynamo Kiev set this friendly alive with his first pre-season goal on English soil.
And the 48th-minute strike was the pick of the summer so far. Half-time substitute Steffen Iversen laid the ball inside Adam Drury to Stephen Carr, who reached the by-line before cutting the ball back for Rebrov to smash into the top corner at the near post. It was Rebrov's third goal in pre-season having scored two on the Scandinavian tour.
The goal was a stark contrast to what had gone before it. We enjoyed plenty of possession in a fairly dull first half but failed to carve out any real opportunities. Stephen Clemence curled an early free-kick just wide and Rebrov managed to toe poke Les Ferdinand's flick tamely towards goal a minute later.
The next 20 minutes were quiet until Mark Halsey became the first referee to punish us for talking back and moved a Posh free-kick forward 10 yards.
Crosses from Darren Anderton and Carr just failed to miss their targets and defender Richard Scott acrobatically cleared when Rebrov's pass looked on its way to Ferdinand. Clemence fired high and wide on the half-hour and Sol Campbell's burst and one-two with Rebrov just failed to materialise.
The second half was a different story. It took just three minutes for Rebrov's delightful opener and Anderton soon crashed a shot onto the underside of the crossbar from 20 yards.
It was no surprise when Tim Sherwood took his pre-season tally to three goals after 58 minutes. Anderton's pinpoint pass picked his break and Sherwood controlled before planting a delicious chip over Mark Tyler into the far corner.
Substitute David Farrell forced Ian Walker into his first save after 66 minutes but the majority of play remained in the home side's half. Chris Armstrong, on for Rebrov, headed over when Iversen flicked on Anderton's cross after 72 minutes and both Iversen and Steffen Freund curled wide from distance.
The home side had the last word though to end our unblemished defensive record in pre-season. After six games and 89 minutes of clean sheets, Walker was beaten when David Oldfield headed home Daniel French's deep cross. The result made it six wins in seven friendlies and we now travel to Holland and Vitesse Arnhem on Saturday.
Spurs: Walker, Carr, Thatcher (Taricco 64), Campbell, Perry (Young 76), Freund, Anderton, Sherwood (Davies 64), Clemence, Ferdinand (Iversen 45), Rebrov (Armstrong 64).
Peterborough United: Tyler (Connor 75), Scott (Hooper 45), Drury (Murray 75), Shields, Rea, Edwards, Cullen (Oldfield 45), Hanlon (Cullen, back on, 75), Clarke (French 75), Green (Forinton 45), Jelleyman (Farrell).
