Lintott, Dyche and Abimbola among those to feature as young Cobblers draw with Diamonds

A young Cobblers XI took on AFC Rushden & Diamonds in a behind closed doors practice match at the club’s Moulton College training ground on Thursday evening.

The hastily re-arranged game replaced the scheduled fixture at Hayden Road on Tuesday which was postponed due to the extreme heat.

Included in a youthful looking Cobblers XI were Harvey Lintott, Max Dyche, Peter Abimbola, Liam Cross, Miguel Ngwa and Jack Connor, alongside a number of youth team players. Jonny Maxted in goal was the most experienced player to feature.

A ball in to the area from Ngwa created the first chance on ten minutes but the Cobblers couldn’t quite find the finish, before Liam Cross sent the ball across the face of goal moments later.

The former academy player was twice close again as the first half wore on, but it was the Diamonds who took the lead six minutes before the break courtesy of a fine far post volley.

Liam Cross was denied by the feet of Diamonds keeper Snedker early in the second-half before sending a curling free-kick just over the bar.

Miguel Ngwa curled wide with 15 to play, but the equaliser came via under-18s player Kia O’Keeffe with a low finish beyond Snedker with a minute to play.

O’Keeffe came close to finding a winner with the last kick of the game, but his lob was a fraction too high and the game ended all square.

Northampton’s final pre-season fixture takes place at Cheltenham Town on Saturday before the season starts with a visit from Colchester United on Saturday July 30th.