Trialist Elford-Alliyu scores four as Cobblers hit Cogenhoe for six

Town beat Cogenhoe United 6-0 at Compton Park with Elford-Alliyu joined on the scoresheet by fellow trialists Darren Purse and Gary Deegan.

There was also a return to the Northampton fold for David Artell, after an absence of more than nine months, and second-year scholar Connor Roberts turned in a performance of great skill and tenacity over 90 minutes at right-back.

After fighting hard for almost the entire first half, the Cooks conceded three goals right at its conclusion to effectively end the game as a contest.

First, Deegan rattled in a right-footed volley from the edge of the box after a corner had been turned into his path by Ishmel Demontagnac.

No more than a minute later the lead was doubled, Ian Morris hitting the foot of the post with a fine shot from distance and Elford-Alliyu bundling home the rebound.

The former West Brom forward then scored his second, guiding the ball past the home goalkeeper after being played in behind the defence by Darren Carter.

Given the nature of the first half, the second was largely an exercise in damage limitation for Cogenhoe but they still forced the Cobblers to work hard for their goals.

Ten minutes passed after the break before Artell’s header hit the bar for Purse to nod in the rebound and another 20 elapsed before Elford-Alliyu completed his hat-trick, adroitly lifting the ball over the advancing keeper from Hooper’s through-ball.

In what was virtually the game’s final action, Ivan Toney produced a slaloming run down the left before crossing to Elford-Alliyu to score his fourth and easiest goal of the evening.

The scoreline was probably about right on the balance of play but both teams will get a better assessment of their strengths and weaknesses when they, in the coming weeks, play opponents that will be closer to their level.

Cobblers: Duke (Snedker 60), Roberts, Purse, Artell (Tozer 60), Widdowson (Reeve 80), Demontagnac (Moyo 70), Deegan (Dias 70), Carter (Hornby 70), Morris (Toney 80), Hooper, Elford-Alliyu