OXFORD United began their EFL Trophy campaign with a come from behind victory at Northampton Town.

Tyreece Simpson gave the hosts an early lead from the penalty spot, however that was soon cancelled out with a spot kick at the other end converted by Mark Harris.

Kyle Edwards and Harris then added goals early in the second half to seal the victory for United.

Liam Manning made nine changes to the side which lost 2-1 at home to Port Vale, largely due to international call-ups and injuries.

Stephan Negru and Harris were the only players retained in the starting line-up, while there were first starts in a United shirt for academy prospect George Franklin and summer signing Max Woltman. Edwards, who joined on loan on deadline day from Ipswich Town, was handed his first start.

Josh Murphy, playing in an unconventional left back position, was involved at both ends of the pitch during the opening stages.

He created the first chance of the game with two minutes on the clock, playing the ball through for Harris, who was thwarted at the near post by Max Thompson in the Cobblers goal.

Two minutes later, Murphy was penalised when he was adjudged to have tripped Aaron McGowan on the right-hand side of the area.

Simpson stepped up and confidently sent Simon Eastwood the wrong way to give the hosts an early lead.

Murphy was again in the thick of things when he saw an effort bounce off McGowan and go behind for a corner.

At the other end, Harvey Lintott got into space in behind, but his effort from the angle was fired well over the crossbar.

Stanley Mills then showed good feet in a congested area but his shot was charged down by Thompson, before the U’s were awarded a penalty of their own.

Murphy had an effort saved by Thompson, with the rebound seemingly hitting a home defender’s arm.

With quarter of an hour played, Harris made no mistake from the penalty spot, dispatching past Thompson.

Murphy then had the ball in the net after a clever reverse ball from Woltman, however the linesman on the far side cut short the celebrations as he signalled that Murphy was in an offside position.

The dangerous Lintott nodded wide after a strong run down the right from McGowan, before space opened up for Edwards at the other end.

His left-footed shot just before the half hour mark was blazed well over though.

Murphy smashed a 25-yard strike over the stand behind the goal after a corner was cleared in his direction, in what proved to be the last action of the first half.

Three minutes into the second period, Edwards smashed the U’s into the lead.

Josh McEachran led a swift United counter-attack, feeding the ball into Woltman, who picked out Harris on the left-hand side.

The Welsh striker then slipped the ball through for Edwards, who crashed the ball into Thompson’s near post.

McEachran began pulling the strings in midfield, picking out Murphy with a lovely ball over the top from the halfway line, however the latter was unable to trouble Thompson with his effort.

Just before the hour mark, Woltman arrived at the back post to bounce an effort into the turf and narrowly over the crossbar as the U’s began to dominate.

Stephan Negru was required though to put in a fantastic tackle as Louis Appere ran through on goal, with the centre back timing his challenge in the penalty box to perfection.

It proved to be crucial as Harris doubled his tally from close range after good work from Woltman.

With quarter of an hour to go, Manning handed a debut to youngster Louis Griffiths, who only turned 16 on Sunday.

His tender age made him the youngest player to ever play for United when he replaced Woltman.

Soon after, the hosts went down to 10 men when Max Dyche was shown a second yellow card.

Another academy prospect came on for his U’s debut when Aidan Elliott-Wheeler replaced Franklin with eight minutes to go.

United saw out the closing stages and seven minutes of stoppage time comfortably though as they secured their first three points in the EFL Trophy this season, with Mills hitting the base of the post late on.

Northampton Town (4-3-3): Thompson; McGowan, Sherring (Brough 46), Dyche, Monthe; Lintott, Leonard (Sowerby 52), Abimbola (Scott 88); McWilliams (Pinnock 52), Simpson, Appere.

Unused subs: Dadge, Hart, Ireland.

Booked: McWilliams, McGowan.

Oxford United (4-2-3-1): Eastwood; Franklin (Elliott-Wheeler 82), Negru, Thorniley, Murphy; Smyth, McEachran; Mills, Woltman (Griffiths 75), Edwards (Rodrigues 62); Harris.

Unused subs: McGinty, Moore, McGuane, Burton.

Booked: Murphy.

Referee: Gareth Rhodes (West Riding).

Attendance: TBC (TBC away).