Trophy experience invaluable for youngsters - Brady

Teenager Neo Dobson scored his third goal for Northampton three days after making his league debut as a substitute against Birmingham City

Northampton Town boss Jon Brady admitted he was having to "box clever" with his squad after they reached the last 32 of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy despite losing 5-2 to Burton Albion in their final group game.

With a number of injuries in the squad and being mindful of Saturday's League One trip to Blackpool, the Cobblers gave eight youngsters time on the pitch.

One of them, 17-year-old Neo Dobson, gave them an early lead and, despite the eventual result, they progressed on goal difference in spite of Notts County's 1-0 win over Leicester City Under-21s.

"They've (Burton) not got a game Saturday so they put nearly a full first team out and we started with five academy players and and ended up with eight - and a lot of them are first years," Brady told BBC Radio Northampton.

"We're digging deep with our resources, trying to box clever. We were trying to get through and work towards the weekend, have a head count and see what we've got available (for Blackpool)."

Brady said playing against "proper first-team players" provided an "incredible learning experience" for their youngsters.

"They know where their careers are at and where they've got to try to get to. Can they get close enough to that level? That's a huge step up for them at the moment," he added.

"One or two are only 16, 17 years of age. They've got a lot of developing to do and it's really important they knuckle down now having seen the level first hand."

Experienced Martyn Waghorn scored his first Northampton goal since arriving as a free agent

Northampton's other goal was scored by 34-year-old Martyn Waghorn, who was only supposed to play for 60 minutes but ended up having to stay on for the full game because of injuries.

They were again captained by 18-year-old Josh Tomlinson, who is ineligible for their league side at the moment because he is on loan at non-league Needham Market.

"We didn't concede for the last half hour so there was good resilience to keep the ball out - if we'd conceded a couple more, we might not have been through (to the next round)," Tomlinson said.

"I had no idea I was going to be the captain until about 10 minutes before the warm-up last week. It was a great shock but a real privilege. I've really enjoyed the last couple of weeks.

"Every time I step on the pitch, it's a great opportunity, let alone with the armband as well."

Tomlinson admitted not being able to be in contention for the league team until January was frustrating.

He added: "We can all see the injuries in the backline at the moment so hypothetically it would have been a great opportunity - but there's not much anyone can do about it."