The Cobblers recorded a fantastic result at Sixfields this afternoon as playoff chasing Stockport County were swept aside in a result belittling our lowly league position. The return of Adebayo Akinfenwa sparked us into life and it didn’t take long for the big man to make his mark once again.
Bayo has been missing since the Brighton game after his red card down at the Withdean Stadium meant he missed the last four game but it wasn’t long before he was well and truly back in action. New loan signing Aleksander Prijovic did well to set him up and Bayo made no mistake from eight yards out just past the ten minute mark to set us on the road to one of our biggest wins of the season.
The rest of the first half was a quiet affair as County offered little in front of goal whilst Giles Coke forced a good save out of goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams but just before the break was the vital second goal. The Cobblers won a corner that Luke Guttridge, returning to the starting line-up, swung in for Abdul Osman to volley home at the far post and it was 2-0 at half-time.
Chris Doig was replaced by Paul Rodgers at the break and Jason Crowe was close to extending the lead within five minutes of the restart as he shot just wide of the post after a good run from the half way line.
The Cobblers were cruising and could even afford missed chances from Prijovic, Osman and Guttridge before the latter sealed the third goal with just under twenty minutes to go. The returning midfielder picked up on a dreadful mistake by Leon McSweeney to fire home and wrap up the game.
Scott Vernon had earlier replaced Akinfenwa in a Cobblers change and he managed to grab a debut goal to make it four late on. Liam Davis put a ball into the box that keeper Fon Williams didn’t deal with too well and Vernon was on hand to tuck the ball away from close range.
County were poor and were fortunate to just get away with a 4-0 defeat as Liam Davis had a good chance near the end to make it five. But that’s a superb result at just the right time for the Cobblers as Stuart Gray’s men prepare for a crunch game with Swindon Town at Sixfields on Tuesday night. The Robins picked up a 3-0 win over Hereford today that keeps the pressure on The Cobblers despite fellow strugglers Yeovil only drawing with MK Dons.
There’s still plenty to do in the run-in to avoid the drop but this result will give everyone at the club a massive lift. Bring on Swindon!
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