Calamity to hero: The ‘incredible’ former Portsmouth and Sunderland man at heart of ‘ridiculous’ night
What a night for the Pompey academy graduate, who joined Peterborough United last year from Notts County.
Former Pompey favourite Alex Bass went from villain to hero on a night of Carabao Cup drama.
And the Blues academy graduate has been lauded as ‘incredible’ by Peterborough United boss Luke Williams, after playing a central role in helping his team into the fourth round last night.
Peterborough boss on Alex Bass: ‘He’s been incredible’
Bass recovered from a nightmare start after giving away a calamitous opener in the first minute, as Posh eventually triumphed on penalties against Barnsley after a 3-3 thriller at London Road.
The man who left Fratton Park for Sunderland four years ago gifted the ball to his former team-mate Cameron McGeehan from a goal-kick, allowing the midfielder to nod home via a ricochet off the bar.
The 28-year-old then made an excellent double save to deny McGeehan and Amani Richards, but there were further nervy moments as Ben Toure almost dispossessed him with the goal gaping and a shot was nearly spilled at McGeehan’s feet.
The man who made 41 appearances in his time at Fratton Park negotiated those difficulties in a match described by our sister title the Peterborough Telegraph as ‘entertaining and ridiculous’.
Bass then came to the fore after 12 perfect penalties in the shootout, as he dived full length to his left to keep out Luke Alker’s effort.
That allowed Harrison Jones to put his team into the hat for tonight’s draw, with Peterborough hoping to land a plum tie after already dispatching Bristol Rovers and Watford in the competition so far.
Posh boss Williams heaped praise on Bass for his resilience, as he came through some challenging moments and faced boos to emerge as a hero for his side.
Now the hope is to land a big fish, as the League One side vie for a place in the quarter-finals of the competition after a difficult start to the season in league action.
Williams told Peterborough’s X account: ‘It wasn’t ideal (the first goal conceded), but the opposition player was just inside the box before the ball was played.
‘So we maybe should’ve stopped and said we’re not taking it until he’s outside.
‘It was a difficult start, but we bounced back from it and things then went wrong again.
‘But we somehow found the courage to keep going and take it to penalties.
‘We’ve had to thank Alex Bass many times since I’ve been here for helping us to remain in a game, or helping us to win a game.
‘He’s been incredible and then, of course, he makes a massive save in the shootout.
‘So let’s concentrate on the positive things that he does, rather than something that’s gone his way.
‘Now we’d love to play one of the giants, beat them, go through and play another one. That’d be brilliant.’