Luke Williams hopes win over Cardiff is confidence boost for Peterborough

New Peterborough boss Luke Williams hailed his players after their 1-0 FA Cup first-round win over Cardiff in his first game in charge.

Posh ripped the form book apart as Harry Leonard’s first-half strike was enough to earn Williams a nerve-settling win on his London Road bow.

“I’m really pleased with the boys,” reflected Williams, who replaced long-term Posh boss Darren Ferguson.

“It’s obviously early days. I’ve only just come in but hopefully this result can give us confidence.

“It’s a good group. They’ve been great with me since I’ve come into the club.

“I was really happy with what I saw from the boys. They worked really hard and applied themselves really well and I can’t ask for more than that.

“That was the message really. There were a few bits of football but that was the message to them.

“They put their bodies on the line and put some real hard miles in.”

Leonard missed a couple of big chances but was not to be denied his first Posh goal as he fired home the only goal of the game in the 38th minute.

Posh stopper Alex Bass produced a string of fine saves at the hosts booked their spot in the second-round draw.

Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy said: “It’s a disappointing result for us.

“We’re frustrated. But it’s been a tough week for us. We obviously had the big high in midweek and this is a low.

“It’s good for the group to keep their feet on the ground. We had some good chances and on another day you score one or two. It’s fine margins sometimes.”