Set play woes equals Shrews defeat

Shrewsbury Town 3-0 Northampton Town
League Two
Saturday, September 26th 2009

It’s now five league defeats in a row for the Cobblers as the 2009/10 season goes from bad to worse following another heavy defeat, this time contributed to by poor defending of set plays and a mix of bad finishing and bad luck at the other end. It was our first trip to the New Meadow and we certainly won’t want to be returning any time soon after a defeat that signified once more how big a job this is for whoever our new boss should be.

Looking back on the match stats, we look like the team that should have won the game by the 3-0 score line that Shrewsbury Town ran away with. But dismal defending, an unusual trait to have under former rock solid defender Ian Sampson, was the defining factor to settle this game.

Chris Dunn quite rightly earned a recall in goal with Simon Brown looking quite unremarkable in his first couple of games whilst John Johnson made his debut after joining from Middlesbrough. Gary Mulligan, Steve Guinan and Luke Guttridge also came in for starts.

It was almost inevitable that after the Cobblers had made a good start that the home side would take the lead in the most simple of circumstances. A right wing cross was met by Jake Robinson who finished with ease and it was an uphill battle from then on in with yet another game being chased from the early going.

The agitation continued when Adebayo Akinfenwa had to come off after just half an hour because of injury with Ben Marshall replacing the big man. Guinan shot just wide as the Cobblers continued to have the lions’ share of possession but there was just no finishing touch. Gilligan shot over the bar after connecting well with a half volley before Luke Guttridge went close on a couple of occasions before half time to at least give the 450 travelling fans something to cling to as the sides went in at the break.

But it was all undone in a matter of moments after the break as Joss Labadie was given space to head home a free kick and it was to get even worse a few minutes later when Kelvin Langmead did exactly the same thing and nodded the ball in from another set play and it was 3-0 and game well and truly put to bed.

Guttridge continued his one man crusade to get shots away at the Shrews’ goal but was frustrated twice more before new signing Courtney Herbert was given a debut after replacing Gary Mulligan. Not the ideal situation for the young lad to come into but he showed some real pace at least to trouble the home defence. It was never going to be enough though and it was typical of the day when Ryan Gilligan hit the post in the dying moments.

So another defeat for the Cobblers and Ian Sampson’s fury at the final whistle at the defending was justified and backed by a real desire to get himself the top job. Those hopes may be well and truly over after the Town legend oversaw four defeats in a row and it could be his final game this Tuesday at home to Rotherham United who are, of course, under a new/old boss themselves in Ronnie Moore.

It’s a shame for Sammo who will feel that he hasn’t had the best of chances to bring in his own players and who knows, Mr Cardoza may see him as the answer long term. But surely we need this mess sorted before a fear of relegation begins again. This time though, it would be so much more serious should we face a disastrous drop once more. It may seem an overreaction but can anyone else see where the next win is coming from?