James Tomkins made a welcome return on Tuesday afternoon in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Wycombe Wanderers as Freddie Sears also caught the eye with both goals in a 2-0 win.
The 18-year-old Sears scored a sensational opener for Kevin Keen's side in the seventh minute, waltzing past four Wycombe defenders before placing an unstoppable shot into the top left-hand corner. Ten minutes later Zavon Hines rolled the ball across the six-yard area for Sears to tap-in an easy second.
As impressive as the goals from the forward were, the performance of fellow homegrown youngster Tomkins was equally as pleasing. The defender, who had not played since injuring his knee with England Under 19s in July, showed he was working his way back to fitness well with an assured first-half display.
Tomkins was involved from the off and quickly demonstrated his ball-playing credentials, floating a beautifully weighted pass for Kyel Reid to chase down the left. The 19-year-old was also solid in defence, getting across quickly in the fourth minute to halt a dangerous-looking Wycombe attack. His most telling intervention was still to come though, as five minutes later he raced back to head a Wycombe effort off the line just as it looked like the visitors were going to level matters.
After an encouraging 45 minutes, Tomkins made way for Icelandic prospect Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson at the break with Nigel Quashie continuing his own return as a second-half substitute for Hayden Mullins. Luis Boa Morte was another experienced performer on view.
Following on from his impressive pre-season form, Reid had a lively game on the left wing. The pick of his contributions was a fierce drive that was just tipped over by the Wycombe keeper. There were several changes in the second half, with Tom Harvey and Ryan O'Neill among the youngsters getting a taste.