Minutes in the legs the most important thing for Brady after EFL Trophy defeat to Oxford United

Cobblers boss Jon Brady admitted it was tough going for his side against a high quality Oxford United outfit in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday evening.

The U’s made 10 changes but still named a strong team that included the likes of Mark Harris, Kyle Edwards, Josh Murphy and Josh McEachran, and the visitors duly eased to victory at Sixfields after Tyreece Simpson’s early penalty.

Harris scored twice, including one from the spot himself, and Edwards added another in a 3-1 victory as both teams opened their Southern Group F campaign in the EFL Trophy.

"We made changes and moved things around but it's square pegs in round holes unfortunately,” said Brady, who started Harvey Lintott on the right wing and Manny Monthé at left-back. “We tried to have a look but it didn't quite work and we can only do what we can in certain situations.

"I think the best thing we can take out of the game tonight was that we got minutes into players and built up their fitness. That was probably one of the most important things and the subs were all pre-planned. I said before the game that I have to protect a lot of players and look after players due to the size of our squad and that's what we did tonight.

"But we came up against a very good side who are well ahead of us in terms of their progression and where they're at. I think they had six players on international duty but they still put out a very, very good side and you could see that from the way they played.”