Goals from George Hirst and Jacob Greaves have given Town a 2-0 half-time lead against French Ligue 1 side Auxerre in their final pre-season friendly at the Stade de l’Abbé-Deschamps.
Alex Palmer started in goal with Ben Johnson and Conor Townsend the full-backs, and Dara O’Shea, again wearing the captain’s armband, and Jacob Greaves the centre-halves.
Azor Matusiwa and Jack Taylor were in the middle of midfield with Jack Clarke, Sammie Szmodics and Jaden Philogene the trio behind lone striker George Hirst.
Omari Hutchinson and Leif Davis were absent, with the left-back understood to have a minor knock, while Hutchinson’s absence was left unexplained. Yesterday, Brentford were reported to be ready to renew their interest in the Blues’ forward.
Nathan Broadhead was back on the bench having been left out of the squad which faced Charlton at Colchester with Wrexham having made an approach but with the Blues still to accept an offer. Harry Clarke (leg injury) and Wes Burns (recovering from ACL) remain unavailable.
There was no penalty area action, although with the Blues in control, until the 12th minute when Auxerre almost conceded a bizarre own goal.
One-time Town trialist Gabriel Osho cleared a Blues corner from the right against the back of teammate Francisco Sierralta’s head straight at the startled Donovan Leon in goal, who juggled the ball away.
Town kept play at that end, however, and Osho inadvertently diverted a Townsend cross from deep on the right into the path of Szmodics to his left inside the box, but keeper Leon closed the former Colchester man down and blocked. O’Shea sent the loose ball well over from the edge of the box.
Auxerre began to get on top and in the 19th minute Ibrahim Osman nutmegged Johnson on the home side’s left, but eventually ran into trouble.
In the 25th minute, with no one near him, Townsend went to ground on halfway with a shout of anguish, holding his knee. Auxerre manager Christophe Pélissier tried to get the ref to stop play but it continued, a cross came in from the right and Osman volleyed well over at the far post, the home side’s best chance of the half.
The Town physios immediately rushed on to treat Townsend and the former West Brom man looked in less distress as he walked off the pitch, with Ashley Young taking over at left-back.
The Blues should have gone in front soon after, Szmodics cleverly turning his man and feeding Clarke on the right, the ex-Sunderland man cutting behind Hirst but straight to Philogene, who mistimed what should have been a routine shot past Leon into the corner of the net well into the stand behind the goal.
Neither side threatened again until the 38th minute when Town went in front. Taylor played a long ball forward from deep in his own half for Hirst to chase towards the right corner of the box. Leon came out to the edge to clear but the Scotland international beat him to it, took it wider, looked up and shot into the empty net.
Despite the keeper being out of his ground, the Blues number nine still had a lot to do to convert the opportunity and bag his fourth goal of pre-season.
In the first minute of injury time, Auxerre skipper Elisha Owusu shoved Clarke over when the forward was in full flight approaching the penalty area towards the right and was shown the first yellow card of the game.
And from the free-kick, the Blues doubled their lead. Young wafted the ball to the far post and Greaves escaped his man to nod across Leon and into the net from seven yards.
The half-time scoreline probably flattered the Blues a little, Town not having been at their fluent best, but at the same time Philogene had failed to take a golden chance in addition to the two goals.
At the other end, Auxerre had caused Town a few problems, usually down the left, and Osman will feel he might have done better with his volley over the bar.
AJ Auxerre: Leon, Diomande, Sierralta, Osho, Senaya, Danois, Owusu (c), Mensah, Casimir, Sinayoko, Osman. Subs: De Percin, Akpa, Oppegard, Sy, Diousse, Matondo, Bair, Coulibaly, Onaiwu.
Town: Palmer, Johnson, O’Shea (c), Greaves, Townsend (Young 28), Matusiwa, Taylor, J Clarke, Szmodics, Philogene, Hirst. Subs: Walton, Button, Woolfenden, Baggott, Kipre, Barbrook, Humphreys, Ogbene, Chaplin, Broadhead, Al-Hamadi.