A mammoth trip to Crewe and back was just about recovered from in time to celebrate the Cobblers’ replay win over Darlington on Tuesday night. League form has dipped but the passage through to Round Two of the F.A. Cup means we now face Walsall twice in a row.
The whole of a long, long Saturday came to an end in the dying hours of the day as my huge rail trip via Stafford left me shattered to the core. I’d been treated to a day of delayed trains, bad weather and poor football yet still seemed delightfully happy with my day out. I’ve explored many a town during my Cobblers supporting life and Stafford was a nice one to check off the list and make the day that bit fuller. By the time I got to Crewe it meant that I’d had a great day whatever happened on the pitch, which was just as well.
We seem to be in a very strange position at this moment in time as we’re not playing brilliant football yet it’s not awful either. Three 1-0 league defeats in a row is more frustrating then getting hammered 5-0. At least with a real beating you can put your finger on what exactly is wrong! The game at Crewe only came to life when we brought on the subs and Sam Aiston, Daniel Jones and Brad Johnson all brought an extra bit of spark to the side. I wonder how close Aiston is to a start these days with no other real creativity in the midfield?
Crewe were never a massive threat, yet had something in their locker to undo us. At least we put up a fight in the end but it turned out that the late charge was just too late. I’d like to see Stuart Gray “go for it” a little more away from home as we seem to be waiting for something to happen before changing things.
Despite the run of defeats, we’re still in a good league position going into the Christmas and New Year Period, with three points on Saturday likely to push us back up towards the safety of the top half.
Darlington was always going to be a tricky cup tie and with fellow League One sides Leeds and Carlisle falling to lower league opposition we should be relieved that we were spared a mention in the “upsets” section of the sports headlines.
Good to see Andy Kirk getting back in the goals and although it was a relative tap in, it should still give him that bit of confidence back as he ended his barren run of later. Brad Johnson also scored on his return to the starting line-up and his spell on the sidelines certainly looks to have done him the world of good.
Walsall will visit Sixfields twice in a row in a bizarre couple of weeks but one thing is for sure with the Cobblers is that we won’t lose or win both of the games. They will more than likely be two completely different ties, especially with the carrot of a big side possibly awaiting the winners of the cup tie on Saturday week.
With a big month of December coming up, we need to get back on track in the league on Saturday so we’re not looking at playing catch up again in the second half of the season. I have no idea which game I’d prefer us to beat Walsall in if given a choice. The head says the league game but the heart would certainly tend to favour the cup win and a possible chance at a Premiership club. In an ideal world, we’d win both games but we all know that the Cobblers’ world is anything but ideal!
Up the Cobblers!
The whole of a long, long Saturday came to an end in the dying hours of the day as my huge rail trip via Stafford left me shattered to the core. I’d been treated to a day of delayed trains, bad weather and poor football yet still seemed delightfully happy with my day out. I’ve explored many a town during my Cobblers supporting life and Stafford was a nice one to check off the list and make the day that bit fuller. By the time I got to Crewe it meant that I’d had a great day whatever happened on the pitch, which was just as well.
We seem to be in a very strange position at this moment in time as we’re not playing brilliant football yet it’s not awful either. Three 1-0 league defeats in a row is more frustrating then getting hammered 5-0. At least with a real beating you can put your finger on what exactly is wrong! The game at Crewe only came to life when we brought on the subs and Sam Aiston, Daniel Jones and Brad Johnson all brought an extra bit of spark to the side. I wonder how close Aiston is to a start these days with no other real creativity in the midfield?
Crewe were never a massive threat, yet had something in their locker to undo us. At least we put up a fight in the end but it turned out that the late charge was just too late. I’d like to see Stuart Gray “go for it” a little more away from home as we seem to be waiting for something to happen before changing things.
Despite the run of defeats, we’re still in a good league position going into the Christmas and New Year Period, with three points on Saturday likely to push us back up towards the safety of the top half.
Darlington was always going to be a tricky cup tie and with fellow League One sides Leeds and Carlisle falling to lower league opposition we should be relieved that we were spared a mention in the “upsets” section of the sports headlines.
Good to see Andy Kirk getting back in the goals and although it was a relative tap in, it should still give him that bit of confidence back as he ended his barren run of later. Brad Johnson also scored on his return to the starting line-up and his spell on the sidelines certainly looks to have done him the world of good.
Walsall will visit Sixfields twice in a row in a bizarre couple of weeks but one thing is for sure with the Cobblers is that we won’t lose or win both of the games. They will more than likely be two completely different ties, especially with the carrot of a big side possibly awaiting the winners of the cup tie on Saturday week.
With a big month of December coming up, we need to get back on track in the league on Saturday so we’re not looking at playing catch up again in the second half of the season. I have no idea which game I’d prefer us to beat Walsall in if given a choice. The head says the league game but the heart would certainly tend to favour the cup win and a possible chance at a Premiership club. In an ideal world, we’d win both games but we all know that the Cobblers’ world is anything but ideal!
Up the Cobblers!
No comments:
Post a Comment