What were we thinking? How could we possibly think that we wouldn’t take this season to the final day? It’s just not in the Cobblers’ nature to finish off a season on a damp Tuesday night in a home fixture that, although given MK Don’s league position, was doable in terms of the ambitions of getting a point need to secure League One safety.
And so this season will go to one final Survival Saturday, one long afternoon in Leeds to decide the fate of a campaign that promised much at the start but could yet end in disaster. Last night saw Milton Keynes come to play and, frustratingly, be in no mood whatsoever to relax ahead of their impending playoff fight.
The rain that fell a few weeks ago to postpone this fixture came again before the game but it was never going to be a threat to the game going ahead. Dons started with a confidence oozing from their players, who were safe in the knowledge that a playoff berth was already assured. The Cobblers, on the other hand, were nervy and attacks couldn’t be sustained without Adebayo Akinfenwa’s hold up play. The big man had been left on the bench, not fully fit (is he ever fully fit?) and Aleksander Prijovic partnered Ikechi Anya up front.
The first few minutes saw the atmosphere inside Sixfields cranked up but Sam Baldock should have silenced us on fifteen minutes. A shot from the dangerous Jason Puncheon rebounded after Chris Dunn pushed the ball away and Baldock seemed to have the goal at his mercy only to shoot wide. That in itself was enough to get the nerves jangling again in the home ends.
As the half wore on, tension replaced the war cries in the stands and the desperation was reflected on the pitch. Prijoivic was struggling to get into the game, not that he looked at all interested in saving the Cobblers. Reactions to through balls, fighting spirit and general attitude just wasn’t there from the Derby loan man and we even started to wish Leon Constantine had started! Desperate times.
It was Puncheon that provided the killer blow just after the half hour mark. Getting the better of makeshift right back Liam Dolman, the former Barnet man crossed and the ball was turned in by Aaron Wilbraham, who had the simple task of finishing past Chris Dunn.
Just before half-time, we should have been level. Dolman’s long throw was flicked on and Luke Guttridge somehow volleyed over when well placed. But half-time saw Dons a goal up and looking comfortable enough in their bid to guarantee a place in the better placed playoff positions.
On came Bayo at half-time, a tactic that saw the crowd effectively wound up again and ready to go for 45 minutes that could decide our season. Unfortunately, all it decided was that we would of course go to the last day of the season and have to earn our point at one of the toughest possible places.
Dons had a goal disallowed after an in swinging free kick from the right hand side before Leon was brought off the bench in place of Prijovic. Things were starting to get more and more desperate with Stuart Gray opting for an all out attacking choice in a bid to find the goal required to save our League One skins.
At the other end, Dons were breaking with pace and providing plenty of anxious moments for a Town faithful growing more and more frustrated by the second. Guttridge should have had a penalty after his shot was blocked by the arm/s of a Dons defender, Adam Watts was brought on as an emergency striker and Holt headed wide.
But it wasn’t the frantic finale that we needed, not the gung ho attack on goal that we wanted despite the late efforts of Chris Dunn, who went up for a corner late on to header wide. It was a goalkeepers’ header...no chance of Jimmy Glass-esque events there.
And so the game was over but the season rolls on and on. We need a point from Leeds still unless Brighton lose at home to Stockport and Carlisle fail to win at home to Millwall. It all points to a frantic final day at Elland Road and we’ll have to now go there in search of the point rather than get the job done before that most daunting of games.
Were we ever going to do it the easy way?
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