The Cobblers moved to within two points of a playoff place as league leaders Swansea were swept aside in a stunning performance at Sixfields. Two goals from Poul Hubertz helped the Town to victory and the win keeps alive the playoff hopes with just eight games to go.
After a couple of train delays I was up in my homeland and nervously anticipating the clash with the leagues’ topside. For some reason we were all pretty optimistic but when Dad put £2 on the Cobblers to win 3-1 we still burst out laughing! Jason Crowe and Adebayo Akinfenwa returned from injury but Mark Hughes sat out through suspension, meaning Stuart Gray had to switch to a flat back four with Gabor Gyepes and Mark Little in the middle.
The Cobblers stormed into the game and never gave the Swans an inch as we started well, Danny Jackman going close early on with a right-footed shot that was pushed away for a corner by visiting keeper Dorus De Vries. Just a few minutes later and Adebayo Akinfenwa went even closer as he met a Jackman cross and glanced a header against the under side of the cross bar.
After fifteen minutes, we had the lead that our early pressure had deserved as a corner from Daniel Jones was nodded back by Akinfenwa and Poul Hubertz stooped from close range to volley the ball home to fire Sixfields into raptures!
A couple of minutes later and the momentum built up earned a second goal as Jones’ cross was diverted into his own net by Alan Tate. Worse was still to come though for the Swans defender.
Tate brought down Ryan Gilligan in the area and conceded a penalty barely twenty minutes into the game. Hubertz stepped up after taking the ball off an enthusiastic Akinfenwa, looking for a goal against his former employers, and blasted us into dreamland and a 3-0 lead.
Jason Scotland made it 3-1 on the half hour as he broke through and beat Mark Bunn at the second attempt, the Cobblers keeper doing well to force him wide at first but the striker made no mistake the second time around.
By half time, Swansea had started to get back into the game and we were grateful of the whistle at the break. Sixfields was a cauldron of nerves as we all knew it was ny no means over just yet!
A couple of minutes into the second half, a rare error by Bunn presented Scotland with a glorious chance to make it 3-2. Bunn couldn’t control a bubbly back pass and he miss kicked, presenting the ball straight to Scotland but he made up for it by smothering the ball down low.
The miss would prove costly as the Cobblers scored with their next attack. Akinfenwa knocked the ball on to Danny Jackman on the right hand side and the midfielder scored his first goal of the club, curling the ball home left footed into the top corner to make it 4-1!
Akinfenwa nearly made it five before being replaced by Giles Coke as his header flashed wide. The big man was given a standing ovation from all four sides of the ground as Swansea fans joined in the appreciation of their former striker.
From then on we kept up the pressure, fought for every ball and won second balls all over the pitch as we held on brilliantly. Jason Scotland added a second for the Swans late on but we earned the result of the season at Sixfields in one of the best performances in recent years.
The result keeps us in touch with the playoffs and incredibly if we win on Friday night in the second of the big three Easter games against Forest we could be momentarily in sixth place if some midweek results go our way! The belief and fight that the side are showing is showing no signs of letting up as we enjoy a superb second half of the season.
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