THE Cobblers were punished for a lacklustre defensive performance as a Spurs XI struck three times to seal a convincing 3-1 pre-season friendly victory at Sixfields.
Star of the show was Ivorian striker Souleymane Coulibaly, who was gifted two goals by the porous home defence.
And midfielder John Bostock also impressed as he got the ball rolling with a strike after five minutes and then proceeded to pull the strings in midfield.
The Cobblers threatened in spells with Adebayo Akinfenwa, Alex Nicholls and Chris Hackett all forcing opposition stopper Jordan Archer to save well.
Set piece king Kelvin Langmead eventually beat Archer with a header from Hackett’s fine free-kick, but it wasn’t to be enough as defensive frailties ensured Spurs’ young guns shot to an easy win.
Cobblers boss Aidy Boothroyd had made one change to the side which lost 4-3 to Derby on Tuesday night, as Adebayo Akinfenwa came in for Clive Platt up front.
Tottenham, as expected, named a youthful team, with Coulibaly, a £2m purchase from Siena and dubbed the new Didier Drogba, one of the main attractions.
Bostock was also a standout on the team-sheet and it didn’t take him long to show his worth as he opened the scoring early on.
The slick No.10 pulled Grant Hall’s fine lofted through ball down and, with the Cobblers defence caught cold, lashed it past the stranded Dean Snedker in the home goal.
The Town reaction was a good one, though, as Ishmel Demontagnac cut inside and unleashed a strike into the side-netting before Ben Harding drove a daisy-cutter wide.
Akinfenwa was causing all sorts of problems for the Spurs rearguard, who are unlikely to have seen his sort in their youth and reserve-team games.
And the man mountain striker, eager to prove his worth to boss Boothroyd, forced a fine save from Archer with 20 minutes of the first half remaining.
Spurs were still proving spiky, though, and a fine jinking run and shot from Ryan Fredericks needed a captain’s block from Langmead to keep it at 1-0.
Bostock, who was showing flashes of class, was the next to test the home resistance as his drilled effort saw Snedker hold well.
Luke Guttridge was attempting to provide a similar cut and thrust in the heart of the Cobblers midfield and his through pass saw Hackett dragged down by Adam Smith.
The resulting free-kick saw Hackett hit the target but Archer dived to his left to make a routine save.
Cobblers started the second half with a spring in their step and a neat move saw Akinfenwa slot the ball through to Nicholls, who was denied by a reflex save from Archer.
But, as the heavens opened, so did the Town back four once again as a woeful pass from John Johnson put Coulibaly through on goal and the striker made no mistake.
Spurs certainly didn’t need any help to cut through the Cobblers’ defence, but they were getting it anyway as more slack passing led to a third goal.
Akinfenwa gave the ball away and in the blink of an eye Coulibaly was through and powering the ball past Snedker into the net.
Akinfenwa tried to make amends as he flicked a header through for the advancing Harding but Archer was out quickly to smother.
Ironically the biggest cheer of the afternoon from the home fans came after Coulibaly lined up his hat-trick but slipped at the crucial moment. But such is the striker’s style, even his fall was graceful.
Hackett, much livelier after being switched to the right flank, almost produced a louder roar as he clipped the outside of the post before testing Archer with a fizzing effort.
Bostock and Coulibaly got a warm round of applause as they left the field late on and their class had shone through.
Set-piece king Langmead pulled one back late on but ultimately the Cobblers had no answer to the brilliance of the Spurs boys.
And Boothroyd is still left with plenty of puzzles to solve before the season kicks off on August 14.
Cobblers: Snedker, Johnson, Langmead, Charles, Widdowson, Demontagnac (Moult 67), Harding (Tozer 67), Guttridge, Hackett, Nicholls, Akinfenwa (Wilson 84).
Subs not used: Platt, Robinson, Hornby, Bryan, Mattock, Chambers, Heath.
Tottenham XI: Archer, Smith, Stewart, Mason, Ekong, Hall, Fredericks (Pritchard 63), Parrett (Gaulifuoco 75), Coulibaly (Barthram 75), Bostock (Gomelt 75), Ceballos (Munns 63).
Subs not used: Gaulifuoco, Miles, Barthram, Gomelt.
Attendance: 1,268 (149 away fans)