Following on from a second half full of set piece destruction from Luton Town on Monday night, we look to bounce back this weekend as struggling Cheltenham Town visit Sixfields.
Huddled into a corner of my local pub in Southampton, I was optimistic about the game on Monday night. The Red Lion pub very kindly agreed to put the game on for me and the other three or four people in the place who clearly weren’t interested in the slightest about what was going on!
The optimism I had soon went right out of the window despite a positive opening to the game from the Cobblers. Darren Currie was superb all night and his goal was unstoppable. Cue Bradley Johnson and a rocket out of nowhere to bring us level and to silence some recent critics, myself being one who thought he should have had a bit of a rest!
Johnson’s goal brought a round of applause from the rest of the watching public in the pub and it felt good to be cheering the goal for my team. It’s part and parcel of being a lower league fan living away from the home of your team that you have to get used to getting strange looks when wearing the shirt but it’s all about the pride of flying the flag wherever you are!
Back to the game and I thought that for most of the first 45 we put it a really good effort and battled for every ball in a new formation. Daniel Jones impressed on the left hand side and we have to hope his desire for first team football continues on past January. It was only towards the end of the half when I began to get worried of defeat. Currie was running the show when he got the ball and along with David Bell on the right, it always looked like we would be in for a difficult second half.
After we had a clear penalty turned down in the first half when Kirk was pushed over, it was disappointing once again to concede two spot kicks in the space of 45 minutes as our incredible run of having penalties awarded against us continued. Matthew Spring converted the first and Currie swung in the free kick that Paul Furlong claimed to touch to make it 3-1. Spring made it four from the spot at the end of the game but there was no need for the afters when he got involved with Mark Bunn as the ball rolled into the net.
Hopefully we will look back on it as one of those games where luck deserted us once again on our travels. I’ve heard a few negative comments after the game but seeing us up in lights and having the best view possible of the game made me see a very new picture of our side.
We’re a team that’s still learning and the more fickle Cobblers fans must be patient as Stuart Gray builds the side he wants. The team gave everything on Monday night and I have no complaints with the performance. The result was much harsher than it should have been but it’s clear that we now have a team we can be proud of.
I’m positive that we’ll be in League One this time next year. We’re not ready for promotion just yet but there’s no way we should be involved in the relegation dog fight again this time around. For the mean time, let’s enjoy watching these kids develop to as good as they can get and stop the negativity when it does go wrong.
Cheltenham at home is certainly a winnable game and four Sixfields wins in four would be something to make Luton instantly forgotten.
Up The Cobblers!
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