So the away day blues are now over as the Cobblers recorded their first away win of the season with a smash and grab effort at Oldham Athletic that now sets up an interesting test at home to Southend United this weekend.
Listening to the Oldham game in a small coffee/book shop in Southampton on Saturday I was waiting for the inevitable goal for the home side as they seemed to press us back from the word go. Former Cobblers target Craig Davies was causing all the problems but the Cobblers had not a lot in response with Hoobs strangely dropped to the bench alongside Alex Russell. But we held on and held on before the inspirational substitution that saw Russell score with his first touch.
That was all she wrote and Oldham’s pressure decreased after our goal to give us a massive three points and push up to the heady heights of tenth in the League One table.
Stuart Gray took a chance in changing things around at the start of the game but it certainly paid off this time, adding another arrow to his growing bow of management. How many times did we scream at Colin Calderwood to make a change when things weren’t going our way and see him wait until stoppage time to do anything? Interestingly, Calderwood’s Forest failed to break down the same Oldham side at the City Ground last night in a 0-0 stalemate. Forest were booed off at half time and full time and there was no way though for CC’s men.
Managers live and die on their decisions and Stuart Gray got it spot on again on Saturday with his theory of “it’s not the team that starts the game that matters, it’s the team that finishes it,” certainly paying off.
Darlington away in the F.A.Cup is a big test with the Quakers third in the League Two table as it stands. They have a lot of experienced heads on the pitch while Dave Penney is doing a superb job on the sidelines to put them in a challenging position. It is, though, a game that’s winnable and we’ll hopefully go into the game on the back of positive results in two league games at Sixfields.
The game at home to Southend on Saturday is a chance to make the step up to the next level for the first time since our time back in League One. Southend sit three points clear of the Cobblers in fourth place and a win would take us to the brink of the playoff challenge, something we’ve not even come close to in the last year and a half.
Whether we’re good enough to make the step up remains to be seen but whatever the result on Saturday we shouldn’t get carried away. The good thing is that we’ve won the last two games without being on top form and if we can reach the peak of our ability there’s no reason why Southend can’t be beaten. But to be in this position and be a win away from a possible place in the top six is testament to the hard work of the players so far this season. There’s a lot of hard work to come and a couple of defeats could take us right back into the bottom half but we’ve seen enough to think that we can turn ourselves from a mid-table side to one that maybe can challenge the playoff chasers.
Following Southend we come up against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night and an entirely different test altogether. After a decent start, Rovers have fallen a little in recent weeks and occupy one of the places above the bottom four. The outlook ahead of the game will depend on the result against Southend but the Sixfields attendances could well begin to creep up if we continue our fine home form.
So we now have the chance to climb to our highest league position in nine and a half years and really set up an exciting winter period.
Up The Cobblers!
Listening to the Oldham game in a small coffee/book shop in Southampton on Saturday I was waiting for the inevitable goal for the home side as they seemed to press us back from the word go. Former Cobblers target Craig Davies was causing all the problems but the Cobblers had not a lot in response with Hoobs strangely dropped to the bench alongside Alex Russell. But we held on and held on before the inspirational substitution that saw Russell score with his first touch.
That was all she wrote and Oldham’s pressure decreased after our goal to give us a massive three points and push up to the heady heights of tenth in the League One table.
Stuart Gray took a chance in changing things around at the start of the game but it certainly paid off this time, adding another arrow to his growing bow of management. How many times did we scream at Colin Calderwood to make a change when things weren’t going our way and see him wait until stoppage time to do anything? Interestingly, Calderwood’s Forest failed to break down the same Oldham side at the City Ground last night in a 0-0 stalemate. Forest were booed off at half time and full time and there was no way though for CC’s men.
Managers live and die on their decisions and Stuart Gray got it spot on again on Saturday with his theory of “it’s not the team that starts the game that matters, it’s the team that finishes it,” certainly paying off.
Darlington away in the F.A.Cup is a big test with the Quakers third in the League Two table as it stands. They have a lot of experienced heads on the pitch while Dave Penney is doing a superb job on the sidelines to put them in a challenging position. It is, though, a game that’s winnable and we’ll hopefully go into the game on the back of positive results in two league games at Sixfields.
The game at home to Southend on Saturday is a chance to make the step up to the next level for the first time since our time back in League One. Southend sit three points clear of the Cobblers in fourth place and a win would take us to the brink of the playoff challenge, something we’ve not even come close to in the last year and a half.
Whether we’re good enough to make the step up remains to be seen but whatever the result on Saturday we shouldn’t get carried away. The good thing is that we’ve won the last two games without being on top form and if we can reach the peak of our ability there’s no reason why Southend can’t be beaten. But to be in this position and be a win away from a possible place in the top six is testament to the hard work of the players so far this season. There’s a lot of hard work to come and a couple of defeats could take us right back into the bottom half but we’ve seen enough to think that we can turn ourselves from a mid-table side to one that maybe can challenge the playoff chasers.
Following Southend we come up against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night and an entirely different test altogether. After a decent start, Rovers have fallen a little in recent weeks and occupy one of the places above the bottom four. The outlook ahead of the game will depend on the result against Southend but the Sixfields attendances could well begin to creep up if we continue our fine home form.
So we now have the chance to climb to our highest league position in nine and a half years and really set up an exciting winter period.
Up The Cobblers!
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