The Hatters made it three wins from as many pre-season friendlies with a 7-2 victory over Evo-Stik Southern League Division One Central side Basingstoke Town at Winchester City this evening.
In a match played over four 30-minute periods, Graeme Jones’ side opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when Collins tucked away a penalty after Matty Pearson was pushed at a corner, but Basingstoke levelled when winger Reece Rusher lobbed keeper Harry Isted - the only change from the opening half-hour, replacing Marek Stech - from 25 yards.
Andrew Shinnie restored the advantage on 43 minutes, firing in a free-kick after he had been fouled himself on the edge of the box, before Elliot Lee and Callum McManaman scored twice in three minutes to make it 4-1 before the halfway point.
Jones made eight changes for the third quarter and one of them, George Moncur, rattled the post before teenager Josh Neufville cut in from the right and buried a low shot into the bottom corner to make it five.
The Town took Tunnicliffe off and played with ten men for the final quarter, but Harry Cornick soon made it six with a cool finish after latching on to Moncur’s through ball, then Jake Jervis volleyed in Luke Berry’s deep corner from a tight angle for number seven.
Basingstoke pulled another back in the closing stages as Jayden Wareham fired in a cracker from the right side of the area, but overall Jones was delighted with the two-hour work-out giving the players vital minutes in their legs.
FIRST HALF (Periods 1 & 2): Stech (Isted 30), Cranie, Pearson (Trialist 48), Bradley (Jones 48), Galloway, Mpanzu, Tunnicliffe, Shinnie, Lee, Collins, McManaman.
SECOND HALF (Periods 3 & 4): Shea, Neufville, Trialist, Jones, Panter, Berry, Beckwith, Tunnicliffe, Moncur, Jervis, Cornick.
Goals: Collins (pen) 23, Shinnie 43, Lee 53, McManaman 55, Neufville 83, Cornick 92, Jervis 94