The Northampton Town Football and Education Programme Development squad lost at home to Ipswich Town in the EFL Community & Education Football Alliance League Men’s Cup first round on Wednesday afternoon.
Ipswich opened the scoring early on as a whipped free-kick smashed the crossbar and the follow-up was turned into the empty net.
The visitors came close to doubling their lead on the quarter-of-an-hour mark when an attacker sprinted onto a bouncing ball and fired low into the side-netting.
They did manage to score a second goal midway through the first half, an attacker bearing down on goal and poking past the onrushing Oskar Gajewski.
Ipswich were clinical when opportunities arose and they added two more goals before half-time, but the Cobblers were still creating chances at the other end with Josiah McWilliams and Tom Lewis both having long-range efforts held by the ‘keeper.
Gajewski made a number of one-on-one saves either side of the break, but there was nothing he could do when a low ball across goal was turned home from close range going into the final 20 minutes.
Ipswich completed the scoring with a similar goal late on.
Cobblers: Oskar Gajewski, Nialls Gilmour, Ollie Galbraith, Zack Kirk-Bates, Jack Anderton-Gill, Josiah McWilliams, Joel Adjekum, Tom Lewis, Leo Wiles, Harry Cowley, Jahmai Akande
Substitutes: Kyran Yeomans, Leo Napodano, Will Mattison, Abdul Maxammed, Reece Lineham