Northampton Town Under 18s lost 1-0 at home to Sutton United in the EFL Youth Alliance South East on Saturday morning.
Coach Shane Goddard made three changes to the side that defeated top-of-the-table Luton Town on Tuesday, as Kiantay Licorish-Mullings, Jacob Scott and Neo Dobson replaced Josh Tomlinson, Harry Guess and Reuben Wyatt in the starting lineup.
The Cobblers almost opened the scoring inside two minutes as James Owen side-footed over from Matthew Ireland’s low cross.
Sutton had a period of sustained possession without creating any opportunities, and the hosts threatened again when captain Scott flicked a shot narrowly wide of the far post from Owen’s corner.
Dobson’s powerful header from another Owen corner was pushed away by the diving Lenny Jones on the half-an-hour mark.
Despite the Cobblers dominating in terms of chances, the visitors took the lead on the hour when Khyan Edwards turned in the area and fired a low shot into the far corner.
The hosts came inches from an immediate equaliser as Scott’s header from Licorish-Mullings’ throw-in ricocheted off a defender and was blocked on the line by another.
Substitute Oliver Evans nearly made an instant impact five minutes later, but his close-range volley was well-saved by Jones.
The majority of the late chances fell to Sutton, George Vorster driving down the byline and hitting the outside of the post from a tight angle with their clearest in this period.
The youth team travel to Leyton Orient in a rearranged fixture this coming Tuesday. Scott, Dobson and Jamari Hart scored the Cobblers youngsters’ goals in a 3-0 win in the reverse fixture in September.
Cobblers: Marcus Bald, Josh Rayfield, Jozef Baxter, Tom Cartwright, Kiantay Licorish-Mullings, Matthew Ireland, James Owen, Jacob Scott, Jamari Hart, Neo Dobson, Charlie Carroll
Substitutes: Elliot Smith, Freddie Findlay, Archie Murray, Joziah Barnett, Oliver Evans