Northampton Town Women won 2-1 away to Cambridge United in their penultimate pre-season friendly on Sunday.
Zoe Boote and Alex Dicks scored the Cobblers’ goals as they beat their FA Women’s National League Division One South East opponents.
The hosts started the game on top and came close 10 minutes in when Holly Mayfield pushed a cross away from goal but straight to an attacker, who headed over with the goal at her mercy.
Dicks’ driven corner on the half-an-hour mark resulted in Northampton’s first real opportunity, Bianca Luttman having an effort blocked after a goalmouth scramble.
Cambridge were in again five minutes before the break, but Mayfield was at full-stretch to tip a shot across goal wide.
The Cobblers broke the deadlock in the fifth minute of first half added time, Zoe Boote finding the far top corner from a 20-yard free-kick.
The hosts almost got back on level terms in freak fashion on the hour mark when an overhit cross sailed over the heads of the players in the middle and crashed off the crossbar.
Some brilliant intuition from Kim Farrow led to Northampton’s second goal. The substitute played Dicks in down the right with a quick throw-in, and the striker found the bottom corner after cutting inside and jinking past a defender.
Cambridge pulled a goal back a few minutes later with a shot from the edge of the area that hit the underside of the bar and beat Jo Daniel.
But the Cobblers held onto their slender lead until the final whistle to secure a hard-fought win.
Josh Oldfield’s side end pre-season at home to Southern Region Women’s Football League Premier Division outfit Wycombe Wanderers next week.
Cobblers: Holly Mayfield, Eden Brown, Sara Wait, Bianca Luttman, Abbie Brewin, Georgia Tear, Liv Perrin, Beth Artemiou, Zoe Boote, Gemma Whitchurch, Alex Dicks
Substitutes: Jo Daniel, TJ Warren, Favour Omenazu, Abbie Reboul, Kim Farrow