Jon Brady's reaction as Cobblers are beaten by Luton Town in pre-season friendly

Cobblers boss Jon Brady believes his side will see the benefit of playing two Championship teams in back-to-back friendlies when the new EFL season gets underway in two weeks’ time.

Northampton followed Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat against West Bromwich Albion with a 2-1 home loss to Luton Town three days later, but there were some positive signs from both games, particularly in the first-half on Saturday.

Mitch Pinnock’s well-worked goal gave Cobblers an early lead at Sixfields and they were good value for it at half-time before Luton showed their superior quality in the second 45 minutes, turning things around through quickfire goals from Elijah Adebayo and Dan Potts.

"It was another real strong test for us against another Championship side but at times I felt we looked quite good, especially in the first-half,” said Brady.

"We pushed them and we created some good chances and I thought our link play up front was really excellent. Our general shape out of possession was strong as well.

"You probably don’t get to see what we would see in a usual league game because we are playing opposition who are two levels above us but we wanted those tests to really stress us out.

"I feel that, when we come to our level and when the season starts, it will only benefit us and give us a lot of value. These have been two strong tests and we’re pleased with how it has gone.”