Macaulay Langstaff scored his second goal in successive matches as we fell to defeat against Championship side Stoke City.
The forward clawed back some of the deficit in a first half which saw a hat-trick from Tyrese Campbell and a solitary Tom Sparrow strike, with D'Margio Wright-Phillips adding a fifth after the break.
Luke Williams handed 60 minutes to his starting XI, which included goalkeeper Aidan Stone and a back three of youngster Lucien Mahovo, skipper Kyle Cameron and Richard Brindley.
Adam Chicksen and Aaron Nemane played as wing backs, with Matt Palmer and John Bostock playing behind David McGoldrick and Dan Crowley. Langstaff adopted his usual role up front.
It would prove to be a busy half for our backline, with Cameron called upon inside three minutes to make an excellent recovering challenge after Emre Tezgel looked to have escaped through on goal.
We responded seconds later by so nearly taking the lead as Langstaff turned Nemane’s low cross goalwards, only for Jack Bonham to make a big save.
Jacob Brown lashed a half-volley wide before drawing a low save from Stone as the visitors continued to demonstrate their threat.
And it told on 17 minutes when Cameron was forced out of position, leaving Tezgel free to supply Sparrow to score.
Two minutes later, the Potters doubled their lead as a misjudged backpass from Mahovo led to Campbell ricocheting an effort in off Stone despite Brindley’s best efforts.
Stone was then called upon to make an excellent save to deny Campbell, shortly before a big opening passed us by as the lively Crowley’s incisive pass presented Nemane with a chance to deliver a dangerous cross or shot. He slipped at the crucial moment, however, and Bonham claimed the loose ball.
McGoldrick set about halving the deficit when, with 10 minutes to play in the half, he wriggled his way goalwards before sending a well-struck shot over the bar.
But, seconds later, the Championship side made it three when they broke the offside trap and squared for Campbell to finish.
Chicksen had to make a big covering challenge shortly afterwards to deny Stoke a fourth, before we pulled a goal back when Palmer’s pressing won possession and McGoldrick played Langstaff in to finish coolly.
Once again, Stoke went straight down the other end and nearly scored but for an excellent save from Stone, who made amends for his misplaced pass in the build-up.
But the keeper was beaten once more before the half was over as Campbell got into space down the left and beat Brindley to find the far corner.
We emerged for the second half unchanged and, moments before a raft of substitutions on the hour mark, Stoke added a fifth when Wright-Phillips raced on to a long ball over the top and squeezed the ball past Stone.
The pre-arranged replacements followed and, shortly after Stone had saved Wright-Phillips’ volley low down, two of our subs combined as Tobi Adebayo-Rowling’s looping cross was headed over by Jim O’Brien.
And we came close again shortly afterwards, Sam Austin seeing a deflected effort go just wide.
STARTING XI: Stone; Mahovo, Cameron, Brindley; Chicksen, Nemane; Palmer, Bajrami, McGoldrick, Crowley; Langstaff
SUBS: Trialist (GK), McGregor (Y), Rawlinson, Cisse (Y), Randall, Adebayo-Rowling, Bostock, O’Brien, Jones, Austin, Munakandafa