Northampton Town Under 18s coach Shane Goddard was pleased with his side’s 3-2 win away to Brentford in the EFL Youth Alliance South East on Saturday.
James Owen and Charlie Carroll both got on the scoresheet whilst a defender scored an own goal as the young Cobblers began the New Year with a victory in a fixture that was reversed due to a waterlogged pitch at home.
“We ended 2023 with one of the best performances of the year, and the challenge was to replicate that today,” Goddard said.
“We were really good for the first half-an-hour, moving the ball well and being on the front foot.
“We took the lead through a fantastic team goal and should have kicked-on from that point, but we allowed Brentford to find a route back into the game.
“However, we put in a professional performance in the second half with a squad that included more Under 16s than second years.
“It was a really positive win, the only negative being the two late goals we conceded.
“I’m proud of the boys for looking after their fitness over the Christmas period and the maturity they showed in their performance today.”
The youth team travel to Stevenage next week. Josh Tomlinson and Harry Guess both scored as the Cobblers won the reverse fixture 2-0 in September.