Cobblers still getting up to speed after West Brom draw

Assistant boss Colin West admits the Cobblers are still working their way to full fitness after Tuesday's 2-2 draw with West Brom U23s.

On a wind-swept day at the PTS, Tyrese Dyce opened the scoring with a wonderful free-kick for West Brom before Harry Smith and Joseph Mills struck in quick succession after half-time, but the young Baggies hit back to earn themselves a draw.

"It was a decent enough game given the conditions with the strong wind out there," said West. "That spoilt the second-half a bit but it was a run-out that everybody needed.

"A couple of the boys got 90 minutes and it's minutes that the players need in their legs. It's important at this stage because you've got to try and look after everyone in terms of potential injuries and strains.

"It's obviously been a bit of a strange time with the pandemic so we're not quite up to speed at the moment."

The four trialists that featured against Leyton Orient all started on Tuesday. Antonio German led the line, Ricky Korboa was at wing-back before moving up front, Samir Carruthers played in midfield and Connor Johnson looked solid again at centre-back.

"The trialists have done reasonably well in training but playing a game is different," added West.

"They've done some really good things and they've done some other things that they might not do if they had the opportunity again, but it's always difficult when you get trialists in.

"They don't know how we play and they're not sure about the players they're playing alongside so it's a little bit difficult for them, but it's an opportunity to showcase what they're about."