After the Good Friday defeat to Bristol Rovers, Stuart Gray once again bemoaned the fact that we’d lost so many games by the single goal this season. Unfortunately he tasted that feeling for the fifteenth time this season in today’s 3-2 reverse at home to Southend United. A first goal for the club from Aleksander Prijovic wasn’t enough late on and the Cobblers remain three points from safety.
Only one change was made from the Bristol defeat with Mark Hughes coming in to make the defence a five man rather than a four man wall, Giles Coke sitting out through injury. It was a good start from both sides, with the visitors’ 1,000+ fans still clinging on to hope of a late dash for the playoffs. Peter Clarke struck a free kick into the area early on that missed a clutch of players and Sixfields drew their breaths before the ball rolled to safety.
Danny Jackman’s corner was headed just wide by Chris Doig in the Cobblers’ first real effort of the game, one that would heavily rely on us getting a good start if we were to claim all three points. Shortly afterwards, Adebayo Akinfenwa shot wide and Mark Hughes defended well to stop Theo Robinson from getting a clean shot away at the other end.
It was Southend who vitally had the lead before half time. Usually when you see Southend score against us it’s Adam Barrett on the score sheet nine out of ten times but this time, although the goal came from a Southend corner, it was the less familiar Jean-Francois Christophe that rose highest to head home and send the Shrimpers into half-time in front.
The familiar 0-1 score line was surely playing on the Cobblers’ minds as they had their half time cups of tea and oranges and we had to come out all guns blazing if we were to get anything from the game. Fortunately we did, and Adebayo Akinfenwa got on the end of a Danny Jackman cross five minutes in to fire us level. Game on!
Bayo so nearly put us in front with a header wide just moments later and who knows where the game would have gone should that have gone in. The fact that Southend went on to take control means that we could be looking back on that moment for many a month to come.
For it was Theo Robinson and Lee Barnard that heaved Southend into a 3-1 lead within minutes of each other and took the wind right out of our sails. First, Robinson shot into the net from distance and then former Cobblers loan man Barnard beat the offside trap to finish past Chris Dunn for the lead to be stretched.
With a lead to chase, Stuart Gray sent on both Ikechi Anya and Aleksander Prijovic in an attempt to get back into the game and Mark Hughes thought he’d done just that when his cross was seemingly taken over the line by Southend keeper Steve Mildenhall. No flag from the official on the far side though and frustratingly we still had a mountain to climb.
With ten minutes to go, The Cobblers had a breakthrough as Andy Holt’s long throw was met by Prijovic who turned and fired us to within a goal of our visitors and with results elsewhere uncertain, we desperately needed a leveller.
But despite a late claim for a penalty when Mark Hughes appeared to be brought down, it was another single goal defeat and one that leaves the Cobblers three points from safety. With two games in hand there is hope of salvation but the games are beginning to run out and where the next point will come from is anyone’s guess. Something is certainly needed at Orient on Saturday to set up the first game in hand against MK Dons on Tuesday week.
Before Easter we were looking at having to win one of these games. The fact that we’ve taken no points cannot be a good sign at all.
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