TOWN notched a fifth straight win in as many senior pre-season friendlies as they beat Blue Square Premier outfit Fleetwood Town 3-0 at their Highbury home last night.

Goals from Gary Roberts, Donal McDermott and Lee Novak did the trick in front of a crowd of 945.

Town manager Lee Clark opted for a formation that saw Jordan Rhodes playing as a lone striker, with Danny Ward and Roberts operating on the flanks plus McDermott advancing from midfield.

Oscar Gobern and Tommy Miller completed the midfield pattern playing in deeper roles.

Antony Kay, deployed alongside Liam Cooper in central defence, took the captain’s armband in the absence of injured Peter Clarke.

Town started the game at Highbury brightly, with Ward twice going close after cutting in from the right wing. Soon after, a Roberts raid from the right ended with him tumbling in the penalty area, but referee Neil Swarbrick awarded a free-kick to Fleetwood and took his time lecturing the winger for diving.

Town’s advanced midfield three were posing a real threat as their ability to change roles left the home side chasing shadows at times and, on 24 minutes, Town duly took the lead with Roberts supplying the finish.

Town almost added to their lead nine minutes before half time when Miller played in Rhodes and the striker’s shot on the turn missed the target by inches. Then, just a minute before the interval, last season’s leading scorer freed Ward but his attempt to score with a measured lob was badly misjudged.