The Northampton Town Football and Education Programme Elite squad won 9-1 against Queens Park Rangers in the National Football Youth League South Premier Division at Sixfields Stadium on Wednesday morning.
The Cobblers opened the scoring inside two minutes as James Owen led a counter-attack and passed out wide to Kyle Stratford, whose cross-shot floated over the back-pedalling goalkeeper.
The hosts doubled their lead on the quarter-of-an-hour mark. Jack Culwick dispossessed the ‘keeper outside the area, and the stopper handled Gabriel Badero’s goal-bound, first-time strike. He was shown a straight red card as a result, and an outfield player took the gloves. Romeo Ingman curled the free-kick around the wall and into the back of the net.
Culwick extended his side’s advantage a few minutes later when he steered home a close-range header from Leon Considine’s whipped cross.
The captain doubled his tally shortly afterwards, nodding in Jahmai Akande’s cross and prompting QPR to swap their outfield goalkeeper.
Culwick placed home to round-off a passing move involving Louey Franks, Owen and Ingman and complete his hat-trick late in the first half, and he passed into the empty net after Badero rounded the ‘keeper and squared the ball to add his fourth and the Cobblers’ sixth goal moments later.
The hosts made it seven on the stroke of half-time as Owen took a short free-kick and Ingman drove in a low strike from 25 yards.
QPR created a few half-chances in the opening quarter-of-an-hour of the second half, but two mistakes led to two more Cobblers goals on the hour mark.
Owen snuck in behind a defender as he attempted to shield the ball out of play and Culwick was free to tap-in his fifth before Akande passed into the bottom corner having intercepted a loose pass by the ‘keeper.
The visitors pulled a goal back going into the last 10 minutes when a loose ball was stabbed into the side-netting from the penalty spot, but the late consolation did little to spoil an emphatic victory for the Elite team.
Cobblers: Billy Panter, Leon Considine, Joel Halsall, Louey Franks, Kyle Stratford, James Owen, Romeo Ingman, Gabriel Badero, Jahmai Akande, Mmenim Ekop, Jack Culwick
Substitutes: Kyran Yeomans, Rojus Kuzminskas, Jack Anderton-Gill, Jay Hudson, Zack Kirk-Bates
