A strong Town second string comfortably beat AFC Sudbury 6-1 at The MEL Group Stadium on Wednesday evening. Braces from Ronan Murray and Byron Lawrence, along with strikes from Nathan Ellington and Mark Timlin, secured the win for Town, after Lee Boylan had equalised early on for the hosts.
The Blues were almost gifted an early goal when Sudbury centre-half Ian Cousins stumbled and allowed Ellington a clear sight of goal, but the strikers effort was blocked, as was Kyle Hammond's follow up.
However, Ellington wasn't to be denied and the former Wigan man gave Town the lead after 17 minutes. He was fed by Murray before lashing a left-foot shot past Sudbury keeper Steve Northwood from 12 yards.
David Cowley tested Arran Lee-Barrett for the first time soon after, but the keeper comfortably held the Sudbury man's crisp 20-yard strike.
Murray turned a Cormac Burke cross just past the post, prior to Boylan heading into Lee-Barrett's hands from Cowley's centre.
Boylan made amends soon after when he equalised just after the half hour. The striker latched on to a long ball and as the ball came over his right shoulder, he connected first time and looped the ball over the advancing Lee-Barrett from the edge of the box.
Boylan tried an audacious volley from 35 yards that dropped just wide, before Town were gifted their second goal on 36.
Michael Shinn's attempted header back to Northwood fell to the feet of Murray, who calmly slotted past the stranded keeper.
Two minutes later and Murray had increased Town's lead. The Irish U21 international played a neat one-two with strike partner Ellington before side-footing past Northwood again.
Two minutes after the restart Byron Lawrence hit a shot from 25 yards that deflected off James Smith and beat sub keeper Ben Tracey at his near post.
Lawrence grabbed his second on 54 when he met Ellington's pull back at the far post and bundled the ball into the net.
Lee-Barrett made a fine save four minutes later when he got down low to push Smith's header away following a Sudbury corner.
Murray fired a left-foot shot just over the bar on the hour, prior to Boylan seeing his header clip the bar on its way over at the other end.
Ellington toe-poked Lawrence's left-wing cross just wide before Murray pulled the ball across goal to give sub Mark Timlin a simple tap-in with seven minutes remaining.
Town continued to press and Gunnar Thorsteinsson nodded David October's cross just wide, and there was still time for Lawrence to fizz a 25-yarder just past the post.
Boss Paul Jewell will have been particularly impressed with stand-out midfielder Cheick Kourouma, who hardly put a foot wrong all night. The Frenchman controlled the game for Town and, alongside the lively front pairing of Murray and Ellington, must surely have caught the eye of the watching first-team manager.
Town XI: Lee-Barrett, Hammond, October, Thorsteinsson, Ainsley, Whight, Burke (Timlin 82), Kourouma, Ellington (Winter 90), Murray, Lawrence. Unused: Crowe, Peters, Robinson. Att: 732.
Report: James Ager