Hylton nets twice as trialists and new signings feature for Cobblers in pre-season victory over St Mirren

Danny Hylton scored twice as a Cobblers team featuring all six summer signings and two unnamed trialists won their opening pre-season friendly 3-1 against SPL side St Mirren at the St Mirren Park Stadium on Tuesday evening.

All three goals were scored by new faces as Hylton’s second-half double followed a first-half strike from Ben Fox after the hosts had taken an early lead.

Two trialists played in the first-half while Jon Brady’s latest summer signing Sam Sherring, who only signed for the club hours earlier, also started, joined by fellow new recruits Ryan Haynes, goalkeeper Lee Burge and Fox. Mark O’Hara gave St Mirren an early lead but Fox scrambled the ball home from a Mitch Pinnock corner to level things up at the break.

It was all change at half-time with Hylton and Akin Odimayo two of nine alterations made by Brady. Max Dyche and Jon Guthrie were the only players to continue until they were replaced by academy duo Josh Tomlinson and Miguel Ngwa on the hour-mark.

Tomlinson and Hylton both went close to giving Town the lead but the former Luton man was not to be denied a late double, finishing off from Ngwa’s lay-off with 13 minutes to go before converting a cheeky penalty.

Some late heroics from Jonny Maxted ensured a winning start to pre-season.

Cobblers first-half XI: Burge, Trialist, Sherring, Guthrie, Dyche, Haynes, Sowerby, Fox, Pinnock, Trialist, Appere

Cobblers second-half XI: Maxted, Odimayo, Nolan, Guthrie, Dyche, Koiki, Abimbola, McWilliams, Hoskins, Cross, Hylton