A youthful Luton Town XI went down 3-1 to Port Vale, but proved more than a match for an experienced League Two side in an entertaining pre-season friendly at Vale Park.

Andros Townsend, Cauley Woodrow and Joe Taylor were senior players named in the starting line-up as Kevin Foley and Alex Lawless took charge of the squad that travelled to the Potteries, with the former opening the scoring with a stunning early free-kick before goals from Ronan Curtis, Connor Hall and Ruari Paton gave the hosts a 3-1 win.

Sixteen-year-old defenders Christian Chigozie and Benny Benagr took their places at right centre-half and left wing-back in back line that also featured Under-21s Jacob Pinnington, Jack Bateson and Aidan Francis-Clarke.

Fellow youngsters Axel Piesold and Jayden Luker were in the middle of the park with Townsend, Woodrow and Taylor in attack.

Keeper Horlick was called into action inside the opening 30 seconds, having to dive low to his left to turn a shot from striker Curtis around the post.

Town soon settled and the captain of the young side, Townsend, was first to test home stopper Connor Ripley with a curling left-footer from the right angle of the penalty area with just three minutes on the clock.

It was the former England international who showed all his class for the opener on 11 minutes. Benagr made progress down the left and played an intelligent ball across the edge of the box for Townsend, who was felled by a clumsy challenge by Sam Hart.

The 33-year-old dusted himself down and stepped up to curl a beauty towards the top corner that keeper Connor Ripley managed to get a hand to, but could only help towards the stanchion.

Woodrow went close to doubling the advantage four minutes later, pulling a shot just wide of Ripley’s near post, but Vale were level by the 20th minute, Curtis hammering the ball past Horlick and into the bottom corner from 15 yards.

Hall put Vale into a 26th-minute lead when Ethan Chislett burst into right side of the area and crossed low for the centre-half to tap in.

Town were soon back on the attack, with Luker striding through midfield and feeding Townsend to send an unerring cross onto Woodrow’s head, the striker’s effort just off target.

Woodrow went closer with his next effort, meeting Benagr’s left-wing delivery with a powerful header that Ripley did well to hold, before Horlick excelled again at the other end, twice before half-time, to push James Plant and Paton shots away from danger, then again soon after the break to repel a Ben Heneghan header.

Town were unchanged for the second half and after surviving that early scare, were quickly on the front foot with Pinnington, Townsend and Taylor all making headway down the right in a series of attacks, with Woodrow firing a 25-yarder over the bar in among them.

Horlick pulled off another impressive save on the hour to keep out a deflected Chislett shot with his feet, and the Hatters thought they were level when, after Benagr had seen an effort blocked for a corner, Francis-Clarke rose highest to meet Townsend's corner.

His header beat Ripley, but what Town hoped was a 67th-minute equaliser was ruled out for an infringement in the box, and within two minutes Vale made them pay with a third goal, Paton slotting home against the run of play.

Foley made his first changes in the 78th minute, with Benagr's impressive night's work over as he was replaced by Tyrell Giwa, and Bim Pepple on for Taylor.

Chigozie will also have benefitted immensely from 82 minutes playing so well against seasoned EFL strikers, as he was eventually replaced by Claude Kayibanda, with Woodrow then making way for Oli Lynch two minutes later.

After the changes Town continued to press, looking for a way back in, with Lynch heading back across goal for fellow sub Pepple, whose volley was blocked almost as soon as it left his boot.

Vale finished with their two-goal advantage, but the young Hatters could be proud of the performance they gave against a side who were in League One last term - a fact warmly acknowledged by the applause of the 83 Town fans in the crowd of 1,295.

Town: Horlick, Pinnington, Chigozie (Kayibanda 82), Bateson, Francis-Clarke, Benagr (Giwa 78), Piesold, Luker, Woodrow (Lynch 84), Townsend, Taylor (Pepple 78).

Subs not used: Lorentzen-Jones, Odell-Bature, Thomas, Stitt, Anderson, Dos Santos Martins.

Goals:

LT - Townsend 10 PV - Curtis 20, Hall 26

Att: 1,295 (83 Hatters)