Two own goals in four first-half minutes helped Ipswich Town's U21s on their way to a 3-0 friendly win at Bury Town tonight, sub Shane McLoughlin (pictured) adding the third in the second half.

Phil Weavers and Darcy De'Ath were the unfortunate Bury centre-backs who deflected into their own net following shots from Alex Henshall and on-trial former Manchester United youth striker Ruairi Croskery.

The nature of both goals were in keeping with a first half which saw Ipswich largely fail to threaten in the final third.

They improved greatly after the restart and should have added to the scoreline before third-year scholar McLoughlin headed home Kyle Hammond's cross in the 76th minute.

In a strong-looking Town side which also included Cameron Stewart, Henshall had the first half-chance of the night, speculatively shooting from 25 yards but his shot dipped just over Nick Punter's goal.

Confident on the ball with full-backs Josh Emmanuel and Myles Kenlock encouraged to push forward at every occasion, the only thing lacking from the visitors was an end result with too many passes going astray and crosses not beating the first man.

For all his undoubted pace and beating of Bury right-back Tevan Allen, Stewart's end product was often found wanting.

A keeper was finally tested after 25 minutes when Henshall's freekick was smartly tipped over by Punter.

Out of nothing, Ipswich took the lead with 32 on the clock. Henshall did well to work some space and cut inside but his shot looked to be heading wide before a heavy deflection off luckless centre-back Weavers.

Bury were clearly shell-shocked and Henshall should have doubled Ipswich's advantage but he somehow fired wide of the near post after good work from Adam McDonnell and Kenlock.

Town didn't have to wait long - although the second goal also came about in equally fortuitous circumstances.

Dylan Connolly took advantage of a slip from John Kennedy to play in Croskery whose shot ended up in the net via De’Ath.

Bury finally tested Michael Crowe six minutes before the interval but he was equal to Allen's long ranger before Ipswich should have ended the half with a third.

First Connolly burst clear but opted to take it around Punter and was eventually crowded out before Croskery was guilty of missing the chance of the first half after skewing Stewart's cross horribly wide.

Ipswich started the second half on the front-foot and Kenlock's sharp right-footed effort was well parried by sub keeper Neil Sullivan within minutes of the restart.

The side in orange were looking bright and Henshall's burst into the area was matched by a decent low cross but sub Kyle Hammond could only poke a shot inches wide.

The Bury second half keeper was certainly far busier than Punter had been and he denied Stewart on two separate occasions with two smart saves on an increasingly wet surface.

The chances kept coming with sub Shane McLoughlin showing neat feet and balance to ride a risky challenge by Sullivan before firing high into the side-netting from an acute angle.

Allen again proved an unlikely source for a Bury chance after neatly swapping passes with Ryan Jolland but he could only find Crowe's body from the edge of the area.

With the result safe and changes aplenty, the game drifted in front of a good sized crowd at Ram Meadow.

The third finally arrived 14 minutes from time when Hammond's probing cross was headed downward and into the net from McLoughlin.

It was no more than Ipswich deserved, especially in the second half when their pedigree shone through.

The final chance fell to Stewart who ended a flowing move involving Benyu and Steph Bombelenga but he slid a difficult chance wide.

Kenlock and Emmanuel have won plaudits of late but it was the spine of the team that caught the eye.

Alongside skipper Joe Robinson, Josh Yorwerth is a natural leader at this level and McDonnell and Benyu were both an assured presence in the middle of the park.

It was difficult to assess Croskery on 90 minutes but he certainly should have scored with a golden chance just before half-time.

Capped by Northern Ireland at U16 level, the 18-year-old was released by Manchester United at the end of last season after two years at Old Trafford.

He scored five goals in 11 starts and five sub appearances in his first season with the Red Devils’ U18s and four in 16 starts and seven games from the bench during the last campaign, which was disrupted by injuries.

A number of Premier League and Championship clubs are reported to have shown interested in the striker, who recently spent time on trial in Scotland with Kilmarnock.

As for Henshall and Stewart, both have tricks and pace to burn. But on this 90 minutes, neither did enough to really convince Mick McCarthy ahead of the Championship curtain-raiser in 10 days’ time.

Ipswich team (4-4-2): Crowe, Emmanuel (Hammond 46), Yorwerth (Fowler 46), Robinson, Kenlock; Stewart, McDonnell (Bombelenga 59), Benyu, Henshall; Croskery (Ramadan 59), Connolly (McLoughlin 56). Unused: Hayes, Dozzell.

Photo: Action Images

BlueandTruesince82 added 21:53 - Jul 29 It was the kiss of De'Ath!
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bluefeast added 08:37 - Jul 30 Our first team squad is in need of strengthening.
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Alfie added 15:31 - Jul 30 Very impressed by the 2 full backs but it was Benyu that stood out as quality. Although Henshall didn't set the world alight, slightly unfair to put his performance in the same bracket as Stewart. Henshall ran all night and seemed to be putting in the effort while the same couldn't be said about Stewart. You can see why he isn't a MM player and will probably be on his way sooner rather than later ! Disappointed not to see Dozzell as was looking forward to seeing him.

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sh123 added 18:33 - Jul 30 By the sound of it, Frank Sinclair would fit in just right at Bury Town, the king of own goals!
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