As we continue the reflection on the 2006/07 season, February comes into focus- a month that saw another clash with Mr. Calderwood, a live Sky relegation fight and the Doctor’s first goal for the club.
By the end of the January transfer window there were major changes at the club. Along leading scorer Scott McGleish departing for Wycombe Wanderers and Kenny Deuchar and Jordan Robertson joining us on loan, Luke Chambers also made his expected move to Nottingham Forest to link up once again with Colin Calderwood. To replace Chambers, Stuart Gray brought in the Everton reserve team captain, Mark Hughes, in what would turn out to be one of the key signings of the season.
February began with a home game against Crewe Alexandra. A lot had changed since we met the Alex on the opening day of the season in a 2-2 draw but this time we were beaten by the class of Luke Varney, whose double strike gave the visitors a 2-1 victory. Bradley Johnson scored the Cobblers goal in between Varney’s strikes.
Next up was the Tuesday night visit to Port Vale and we once again came away empty handed as Danny Whitakers’ goal just after half-time was enough to see the Cobblers off and make it three defeats in a row.
The one that everyone was waiting for followed on February 10th as we visited Nottingham Forest and the City Ground. 3,000+ Cobblers fans made the journey north as we looked to avenge the 1-0 Sixfields defeat earlier in the season. Luke Chambers was ineligible to play as part of the transfer agreement but Alex Pearce started for the Cobblers after his loan move from Reading. Pearce played his part in a commanding defensive display but eventually Forest proved too much and Julian Bennett’s 66th minute goal was enough to see us off.
So four defeats in a row meant that we were sliding dangerously towards the bottom four once again and when Gillingham took the lead at Sixfields through a Dean McDonald goal, we looked doomed to another set back. But just in the nick of time, Jordan Robertson once again popped up late on with a goal in the 86th minute to end our poor run of form and put that little bit of belief back in the side before a crucial relegation double against Brentford and Rotherham.
The Brentford away game would be shown live on Sky Sports, just a few days after the Gillingham draw. I remember sitting in the corner of my local pub in Southampton having persuaded the bar staff to show the game on their screen and the result was a massive step towards our survival challenge. Jason Crowe’s wonder strike on the half hour mark was enough to see off a poor Brentford who had previously been on a fine run of form.
The month was rounded off by another six pointer as Rotherham United visited Sixfields. The Millers’ ten point deduction at the start of the campaign was certainly holding them back but even without it they would have bee struggling. The Cobblers were in confident mood and stormed into a 3-0 lead by half-time. Kenny Deuchar hit his first for the club, before Mark Hughes did the same and Ian Taylor rounded off the scoring. That’s how it stayed after a routine second half but at least we didn’t have a repeat of the Carlisle panic a month previous!
So in a topsy-turvy month that started with three defeats, we managed to claw our way back out of trouble with seven points from the last three games of February and finally there seemed to be breathing space gathering between ourselves and the bottom four.
By the end of the January transfer window there were major changes at the club. Along leading scorer Scott McGleish departing for Wycombe Wanderers and Kenny Deuchar and Jordan Robertson joining us on loan, Luke Chambers also made his expected move to Nottingham Forest to link up once again with Colin Calderwood. To replace Chambers, Stuart Gray brought in the Everton reserve team captain, Mark Hughes, in what would turn out to be one of the key signings of the season.
February began with a home game against Crewe Alexandra. A lot had changed since we met the Alex on the opening day of the season in a 2-2 draw but this time we were beaten by the class of Luke Varney, whose double strike gave the visitors a 2-1 victory. Bradley Johnson scored the Cobblers goal in between Varney’s strikes.
Next up was the Tuesday night visit to Port Vale and we once again came away empty handed as Danny Whitakers’ goal just after half-time was enough to see the Cobblers off and make it three defeats in a row.
The one that everyone was waiting for followed on February 10th as we visited Nottingham Forest and the City Ground. 3,000+ Cobblers fans made the journey north as we looked to avenge the 1-0 Sixfields defeat earlier in the season. Luke Chambers was ineligible to play as part of the transfer agreement but Alex Pearce started for the Cobblers after his loan move from Reading. Pearce played his part in a commanding defensive display but eventually Forest proved too much and Julian Bennett’s 66th minute goal was enough to see us off.
So four defeats in a row meant that we were sliding dangerously towards the bottom four once again and when Gillingham took the lead at Sixfields through a Dean McDonald goal, we looked doomed to another set back. But just in the nick of time, Jordan Robertson once again popped up late on with a goal in the 86th minute to end our poor run of form and put that little bit of belief back in the side before a crucial relegation double against Brentford and Rotherham.
The Brentford away game would be shown live on Sky Sports, just a few days after the Gillingham draw. I remember sitting in the corner of my local pub in Southampton having persuaded the bar staff to show the game on their screen and the result was a massive step towards our survival challenge. Jason Crowe’s wonder strike on the half hour mark was enough to see off a poor Brentford who had previously been on a fine run of form.
The month was rounded off by another six pointer as Rotherham United visited Sixfields. The Millers’ ten point deduction at the start of the campaign was certainly holding them back but even without it they would have bee struggling. The Cobblers were in confident mood and stormed into a 3-0 lead by half-time. Kenny Deuchar hit his first for the club, before Mark Hughes did the same and Ian Taylor rounded off the scoring. That’s how it stayed after a routine second half but at least we didn’t have a repeat of the Carlisle panic a month previous!
So in a topsy-turvy month that started with three defeats, we managed to claw our way back out of trouble with seven points from the last three games of February and finally there seemed to be breathing space gathering between ourselves and the bottom four.
No comments:
Post a Comment