Posh players react to unprecedented Vertu Trophy double
Peterborough United defeated League One heavyweights Birmingham City 2-0 at Wembley
Last updated 14th Apr 2025
Peterborough United secured the Vertu Motors Trophy for the second year in a row yesterday, with a 2-0 victory over Birmingham City at Wembley, with goals from Harley Mills and Hector Kyprianou sealing the win.
The result came just days after a league defeat to Birmingham, but players said belief within the squad made the difference in the cup final.
“Everyone outside of the club, pundits, media, everyone wrote us off”
said midfielder Hector Kyprianou, “but I am so proud of this club because we put in a really strong performance and scored two really good goals.”
He added: “It was an absolutely incredible day. It is one that I won’t forget. I think that win is for the supporters because we know that it has not been the season that we wanted, but they stuck by us and they deserve that win.”
Kyprianou said the earlier defeat was a key part of the team’s preparation. “We learned a lot from Tuesday. We believed we could cause them problems and so it proved. We had a lot of belief.”
Malik Mothersille echoed that view, saying: “We have been speaking a lot this week since the game on Tuesday about how we could cause them problems. We know that Birmingham are a good side, but we had to believe we could beat them. The celebrations at the end were incredible. To come to Wembley and win the trophy 12 months on is a brilliant achievement for us all.”
Ricky-Jade Jones also reflected on the back-to-back trophy wins.
“To win it two years in a row is crazy. I am absolutely buzzing,” he said. “For me personally, I just wanted to keep working hard for the team. It is mad at Wembley because you are running and running and you just feel that you are not getting anywhere.”
Speaking about Mills’ goal, Jones added: “I am buzzing for Harley to score the free-kick. I knew he had it in his locker, but to do it at Wembley is just crazy.”
Defender Emmanuel Fernandez said he was proud to play a leadership role in the final.
“Firstly, I am so grateful for the opportunity to start. I haven’t played as much as I would have liked, but today I felt I had to be a leader for the team,” he said. “The back-line was young. I felt it was my responsibility to help them as much as I could and I have to be honest, I thought we defended really well as a team. They are a good side, but they didn’t carve us open or create any clear-cut opportunities until right at the end.”
The win means Peterborough United have now won the Vertu Trophy twice in two seasons, becoming the first club to achieve the feat.