"Nothing in the game impressed me," he said. "The only good thing was that we got Hughesy (Mark Hughes) through most of the game and Chris Doig came through the match.
"There aren't any points at stake but two or three of us looked quite rusty. We didn't create enough chances but it gave me a chance to have a look at some of the younger players and how they bedded in.
"These games are a bit no-win for teams like us because we're expected to come to places like this and win but it just shows you that at whatever level you are nobody gives you anything.
"Full credit to Brackley, they were very committed and gave us a very good game. The most important thing was we got out there on the pitch and we got through it without any injuries."
Cobblers: Bunn (Dunn 62); Dolman, Hughes (Marzetti 78), Doig (Gyepes 46); Jones (Richards 66), Coke (Taylor 62), Gilligan (Osman 46), Dyer (Oulton 56), Davis (Jackman 46); Constantine (Henderson 56), Larkin (Benjamin 68).
Brackley: Knight (Willshire 74); Farley (Paterson 46), Savage (Harper 56), Green, Blossom; Staff (Fontenelle 26), Cracknell (Charnell 63), Hadland (Stone 78), Winters (Longford 56); Stone (Marsden 46), Mackey (Cross 46).
Attendance: 620