Northampton Town Under 18s continued their pre-season tour of the Netherlands with a 2-0 defeat against De Graafschap on Saturday.
The young Cobblers put in a positive performance but were ultimately beaten by another strong outfit.
Shane Goddard’s side were on top for the first half-an-hour and created two good opportunities, but their opponents took control thanks to two goals in two minutes before the break including an overhead kick.
The first big chance fell 12 minutes in, Fin Amidi skewing wide from Kai O’Keeffe’s low cross.
O’Keeffe almost got himself on the scoresheet on the half-an-hour mark, but he delayed his shot which allowed a defender to recover and deny his one-on-one chance.
De Graafschap were ahead within a minute when a cutback was scuffed into the bottom corner.
The Dutch side doubled their lead from kick-off, an attacker finding the back of the net with a spectacular effort from a drifted far post cross.
The Cobblers youngsters dominated large parts of the second half and came close a further three times, but they were unable to find a way back into the contest.
Reece Irwin headed inches wide from Brad Smith-Howes’ corner late on, a few minutes before running through on goal and being brought down by the goalkeeper, who was sent off for his troubles.
The resulting free-kick was tipped over the bar by the replacement ‘keeper.
The Cobblers created a final opportunity in added time, captain Dylan Hill glancing a header just wide of the far post from another Smith-Howes corner.
The youth team make the short trip across the German border on Tuesday as they end their pre-season tour against Bochum.
Cobblers: Marcus Bald, Brad Smith-Howes, Reece Irwin, Tom Cartwright, Ayo Lekuti, Dylan Hill, Jacob Scott, Reuben Wyatt, Rico Duggan, Fin Amidi, Kai O’Keeffe
Substitutes: James Dadge, Josh Tomlinson, Conor Thomas, Jamari Hart