Corby finished their pre-season with a flourish on Monday night as they beat nPower Championship side Birmingham City 3-1 in their final warm-up game at Steel Park.

The Steelmen kick off their league campaign against Vauxhall Motors on Saturday and will be keen to continue their current form which has seen them undefeated in seven games, notching up seventeen goals.

Experienced striker Leon McKenzie was first on the scoresheet against a youthful Birmingham side with fellow forwards Avelino Vieira and Josh Moreman adding to Corby’s tally.

Marcel Henry Francis snatched one back for the Midlands outfit, but it proved to be nothing more then a consolation goal.

The Steelmen were quickly out of their traps against City, showing no signs of intimidation against their higher-league opponents. Ryan Semple looked particularly threatening in the opening stages and he provided Vieira with a glorious chance to take the lead. But the Portuguese striker could only nod his header over the bar.

Semple then made his own charge towards the Birmingham goal, cutting in from the right to unleash a fierce shot, only to see his effort cleared by team-mate McKenzie.

McKenzie would atone for his accidental clearance just moments later, nipping Corby into the lead. The former Cobblers front man tapped the ball home following some good work from Greg Kariboni and a clever dummy from Vieira.

The home side, buoyed by the opening goal, began to dominate the match and were passing the ball around with slick precision. Birmingham could only really count one shot of note in the entire first forty-five, a long-range effort from Francis which floated well over Paul Walker’s crossbar.

Vieira was to cap Corby’s dominance of the first half, adding a second in the 42^nd minute. He picked up Tom McGowan’s through-ball on the edge of the area, his first touch taking him into the box, his second a composed finish past Callum Preston in the City goal. 

The Portuguese front-man almost had his second before the referee called time on the first forty-five, but his far post header was thwarted by the legs of Preston.

Francis pulled one back for the away side ten minutes after the re-start, a tidy touch from the Birmingham striker saw his effort go in off the post.

Corby responded well to conceding and restored their two-goal advantage shortly afterwards. Josh Moreman, replacing McKenzie at half-time, showed quick feet to spin away from the City back-line and oozed composure as he placed the ball past Preston.

Steelmen stopper Paul Walker was called upon to make a few saves towards the end of the match, most notably a stinger from Jake Jervis, but he was more then equal to the Blue onslaught, keeping the scoreline at 3-1.