THE Cobblers’ reward for their Johnstone’s Paint Trophy win over Milton Keynes Dons is a second round tie with npower League One side Colchester United at Sixfields.
The match, against one of manager Aidy Boothroyd’s former clubs, will be played in the week beginning October 8.
It will be the first time Town have played Colchester since January 2009, when the Us recorded a 2-1 win at the Weston Homes Community Stadium after Paul Rodgers had been sent off in the first half.
The last meeting at Sixfields in November 2008, also resulted in a 2-1 win for Colchester.
The two sides have met six times before in the Football League Trophy, now the JPT, with the two most recent being five-goal thrillers with the Us winning both games 3-2.
The most recent meeting in the competition at Sixfields in January 2004 saw a certain Scott McGleish score a hat-trick for visitors who won the match in extra-time, Ian Sampson having been dismissed with the Cobblers leading 2-0.
Colchester, who are managed by John Ward, have started the current season slowly and have yet to win a game, drawing three of their four league matches, and losing their most recent outing 4-0 at Tranmere Rovers
They were also beaten 3-0 in the League Cup at Yeovil Town. They were given a bye in the first round of the JPT.
The match is likely to see a return to Sixfields for former Cobblers front man Ian Henderson.
Boothroyd managed Colchester for the 2009-10 season, before quitting to take over at Coventry City.