Peterborough 0 Hull C 1: Old boy Mclean returns to haunt Posh and give Hull welcome win

Hull manager Nigel Pearson expressed his delight for Aaron Mclean after the striker returned to former club Peterborough to net the only goal.

Mclean is no stranger to being a match-winner at London Road, only this time it was in the colours of the Tigers as Mclean returned to haunt his former club by firing the only goal of a tight Championship tussle two minutes after the interval.

It was only the fourth goal Mclean has scored for Hull since making a £1.3million move from Posh back in January, but enough to condemn his old employers to a first home league defeat of the campaign.

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He did his best to stick to a pre-match pledge of not celebrating despite being mobbed by his delighted team-mates and Pearson was another man thrilled to see his striker find the net.

He said: “I’m really pleased for Aaron. Anyone who saw him train this week will have known how desperate he was to come back to Peterborough and play well.

“He hasn’t scored the number of goals he would have liked since coming to the club, but he contributes so much to the team in his all-round performances.

“I’m also delighted for the other lads to come here and get the result we wanted despite a far from ideal preparation.

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“We had eight lads away on international duty and I felt we looked tired in the first half, but we did enough to get the result.”

Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson said: “I had a feeling Aaron might score when that ball dropped to him, but there is no way we deserved to lose a game that probably should have ended 0-0. I’m well aware of the fact we haven’t scored since hitting seven the other week, but that’s not a concern.

“We are still creating chances and have to continue to believe in what we are doing. We won’t change the way we play because we have the right philosophy here.”

Hull – often criticised for not scoring enough goals – would have hit the front far earlier but for the early brilliance of Paul Jones.

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The Posh goalkeeper pulled off a fine triple save in the seventh minute, turning a curler from Hull debutant Martyn Waghorn onto the bar before also denying follow-ups from Robert Koren and Paul McKenna.

It was eventually left for Mclean to smash home the winner and leave his former club still searching for a win or even a goal since they thumped Ipswich 7-1 last month.

Peterborough: Jones, Little, Bennett, Zakuani (Wootton 54), Alcock, Frecklington (Rowe 46), McCann, Boyd, Tunnicliffe, Taylor (Sinclair 59), Tomlin. Unused substitutes: Lewis, Gordon

Hull: Basso, Rosenior, Chester, Hobbs, Dawson, Brady, McKenna, Cairney (Dudgeon 71), Koren (Evans 55), Mclean (Fryatt 69), Waghorn. Unused substitutes: Gulacsi, Barmby.

Referee: Geoff Eltringham (Tyne & Wear).Man of the match: Aaron Mclean.