chesterfan2 Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Wednesday September 17th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (3rd) vs. Oxford United(2nd) The following Wednesday saw us play one of our two games in hand over the leaders, Wrexham, this one against the team currently in second place, Oxford, who were, of course, the one side to beat Wrexham so far. So here it was. A game we really had to win if we were going to have any realistic chance of automatic promotion at the end of the season. For the game Hackett was out with a strain picked up in training, Jones the man to stand in on the right of midfield. We started well, but couldn’t create any clear cut chances early on, the closest we came was a Widdowson free kick that came back off the bar. But it was Oxford who got the early break, a corner headed home, unmarked, by their big centre back., 9 mins gone. Disappointing for sure, but it also sprung our lads into greater efforts, and an equalising goal on 16, when a Jones free kick was lifted into the box, and in the chaos that ensued, Giles Coke was there to knock it home at the third attempt. We pushed on after that and the Oxford keeper did well to keep an Ecclestone effort out, and save a Fulton header from the resultant corner. However on 31 minutes a second Northampton goal did arrive. A corner from the other side, taken by Widdowson, inswinging, met by the head of Fallon, unmarked, and he gave the flailing keeper no chance. Two-one at half time, and I told them how pleased I was, I wasn’t sure that was the right thing to do. Though after a good spell by Oxford at the start of the half it didn’t seem to matter that much as we came back into the match. We scored a third on 72 minutes, a rasping Eccleston drive. That knocked the stuffing out of the game and we ended up winning by 3-1 , a comprehensive win. Final Score: Northampton Town 3-1 Oxford United League Position: 2nd Scorers : Fallon, Coke, Eccleston, Man Of The Match: Rory Fallon Team: Nicholls, Mendy , Widdowson, Fulton , Thompson, Jones, Coke ,Corry , Keegan, Fallon (Sampson 76), Eccleston Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 Saturday September 20th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Haig Avenue Southport(24th) vs. Northampton Town (2nd) Southport have been poor so far this season, and lie bottom of the table. Not a team to be taken lightly, but a chance I thought to give a couple of players a rest in what was a busy period of games. So the changes were recent signing Marc Warren in for his first start at left back, Gutteridge in for Coke. I had told the lads, amongst other tactical nuances, that they should work the ball into the box, and not shoot from all angles. I was a little cross then, when, after 90 seconds, Nathan Eccleston shaped to shoot. I was a little happier when it flew into the top left hand corner. Shows what I know, eh ? It was two after nine minutes as the ball dropped to Fallon in the box after good build up play, he swivelled and fired the ball under the keeper’s despairing dive. Fallon scored again on 26, this time latching onto a through ball, drawing the keeper and sliding the ball past him as he came out, a very well taken goal. Southport, to their credit, hadn’t given up, and grabbed a goal back on 37, their forward going in where it would hurt to beat Armstrong to a low cross. The comeback was interrupted as we got a fourth goal, a Josh Thompson header from a corner, on 42. They got a second on 44, and we had a game on. Half time, 4-2 up at the bottom club. I said I thought they could do better than that, and sent them back out. The second half was football at 100 miles an hour, Southport pressing, us hitting them on the break, chances to both sides, something would eventually have to break. Something did, Fallon getting his hatrick on 61 minutes, a long ball up, exquisitely controlled and then fired into the left hand side of the net. Glorious goal. On 72 we took off Mendy, exhausted, and replaced him with Tom Clarke making his debut, a little out of position at right back. Though chances followed that, we couldn’t get any more goals, and neither could they. 5-2 winners at the end and back to the top as Wrexham shared a goalless draw at Halifax. Top, on goal difference and with a game in hand. I’d take that for sure. Final Score: Southport 2-5 Northampton Town League Position: 1st Scorers : Eccleston, Fallon 3, Thompson Man Of The Match: Rory Fallon Team: Nicholls, Mendy (Clarke 70), Warren, Fulton , Thompson, Jones, Gutteridge, Corry , Keegan, Fallon, Eccleston Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 Tuesday September 23rd 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. AFC Telford(11th) Widdowson and Coke returned for this one, but I made further changes on the new policy of rotating out tired players. Scapuzzi, returned to fitness, found himself on the left, as we have no real natural cover for Keegan; Junior returned in the middle of the park in place of Corry. Fallon looked pretty worn out up front, but after the last game, how could I drop him ? We started like a team that had made one, or perhaps two, too many changes. Disjointed would be the word, but we still played better football than Telford without ever finding the final ball. Indeed Telford, having weathered the early storm with some degree of comfort moved onto the front foot and started to look for chances themselves. When they got one, on 21 minutes, they put it away, a cross from veteran midfielder Kevin Kilbane (now 37 !), headed home in style. The rest of the half passed by without any more scares, but also without much in the way of forward progress from our lads. Angry, I told them they didn’t even look like a team that wanted to win, told them to go out and show some desire. In addition I made one change. Armstrong had been badly caught out for the goal and had kind of fallen to pieces after that and had a bit of a shocker. I bought on Tyler Fulton to replace him. 39 seconds into the second half we got a bit of a break as Telford right back, Donald Love clattered into Widdowson as he went on an overlap. The lad had picked up a yellow in the first half and so had to go. I hoped this would make our job easier rather than harder. From the freekick Fulton had the ball in the net, but he was flagged for offside. Perhaps this would be harder after all. For the next 25 minutes we toiled away with no reward, chances came, chances went and it began to look grim, on 70 we managed to set Eccleston free of the defence, he raced in, drew the keeper and then shot so wide he nearly hit the corner flag. Things looked grim at that point. It very quickly changed round though as Scapuzzi skipped down the left, hung over a cross that Eccleston, he of the wayward shooting boots, headed in with some power. Which way would it go from that point ? more attacking from us was how, and on 79, Mendy crossed from the right, Scapuzzi headed it down and Eccleston lashed it in. Two-one up, relief at last !. Two became three on 84 as Widdowson hit in a freekick from the left and Scapuzzi met it on the volley and hammered it home. At the end of the game I told them how proud I was of them for coming back from that first half performance, well, they deserved it. Final Score: Northampton Town 3-1 AFC Telford League Position: 1st Scorers : Eccleston 2, Scapuzzi Man Of The Match: Luca Scapuzzi Team: Nicholls, Mendy , Widdowson, Armstrong (Fulton 45) , Thompson, Laverty, Coke, Junior , Scapuzzi, Fallon, Eccleston In a bit of business after the match we sent midfielder Mark Shankland on-loan for four months to BSN side Worcester, he’s not getting the playing time here, plus I had lost a little confidence in his playing ability, so a loan would seem the best way to get him playing time, and for him to prove his worth whilst doing it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Bloody hell chester, your teams banging in the goals left right and centre...Its early season but its looking good Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 It is isn't it... Saturday September 27th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: The Lamb Ground Tamworth(10th) vs. Northampton Town (1st) The time had come to give Rory Fallon a rest, and given Luca Scapuzzi’s strong performance in the last match he was the obvious choice to fill in, Keegan returning on the left. A slight change of tactics to accommodate Scapuzzi, words of encouragement, largely ignored, and we were ready to go. We got off to a flyer, Luca Scapuzzi scoring with a drive from the edge of the box with only 28 seconds on the clock. Coke made it two inside the third minute of the match with another shot from the edge of the box. They pulled one back on 7 minutes, and for a mo I thought this game might end up a cricket score. Things calmed down a little. On 20 we were awarded a soft penalty. Keegan stepped up and the keeper guessed the right way and kept his rather lame effort out. The game was for the next twenty minutes at least, a battle of nip and tuck, of chances and half chances, not taken. Not taken until the 41st minute that is when Luca Scapuzzi got up at the near post to flick the ball into the net. 3-1 up at half time, and once again I told them I thought they could do better. The second half was largely forgettable with very little happening for long periods. We got another goal eventually, on 80 minutes, Keegan sliding home a Laverty ball across the six yard box. Tamworth reacted to that and were back to within two by the 82nd minute, a run and shot catching Nicholls out . But that was as good as it got for Tamworth and we ran out comfortable winners. Final Score: Tamworth 2-4 Northampton Town League Position: 1st Scorers : Scapuzzi 2, Coke, Keegan Man Of The Match: Luca Scapuzzi Team: Nicholls, Mendy , Widdowson, Armstrong (Fulton 45) , Thompson, Laverty, Coke, Junior , Scapuzzi, Fallon, Eccleston Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 But then again you may have spoken too soon, Mark Tuesday September 30th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. Forest Green (6th) Warren in for Widdowson, the lad in need of a rest. Also Hackett returns, Laverty the one to miss out. In the team talk I told them to relax and play their natural game, the result would come. I hoped it would. The first half of the match turned out to be one of the most frustrating periods of football I’d ever been involved with. Chance after chance went begging, then in the last minute of the half Scapuzzi hit the post but there was no-one following it up. I shouted at them at half time, but it was no good, neither side was good enough to win today, or even score. I shouted some more at full time but it wasn’t all bad news as Wrexham drew 0-0 at home with Tamworth, a good result for us as it meant we kept top spot after this round of games. Final Score: Northampton Town 0-0 Forest Green League Position: 1st Scorers : Man Of The Match : Josh Thompson Team: Nicholls, Mendy , Warren, Armstrong , Thompson, Laverty, Coke, Junior , Keegan, Scapuzzi, Eccleston Even with the draw in the last game of the month I was still named as the BSP Manager of the Month for September, which was nice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 Saturday October 4th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Rodney Parade Newport County (23rd) vs. Northampton Town (1st) Fallon returned to the side for this game, Scapuzzi moving to the left and Keegan having another rest. Jones replaced a tired Coke in midfield. Newport have had a poor run, but not been thrashed in any game. A lack of goals has been their main problem, and it wouldn’t do for us to underestimate them. To that end I kept the team talk calm and sent them out relaxed and hopefully ready to play. We went out and we played some good stuff, but Newport are no mugs defensively and we found it very difficult to create chances. But I was pleased with the lads in as much as we didn’t give up and on 40 minutes we got on the score sheet as Josh Thompson turned in a corner on the near post. A goal up at half time, but the job not nearly done. I told them they could do better, and to keep going out there. I was pleased to see it get a couple of nods of approval from the lads, The second half started ok, Newport looked up for it but it wasn’t causing us any problems. None that is, until, Armstrong made a terrible error and gave the ball away on the edge of his own box, an equaliser gifted to the hosts. 64 minutes on the clock. We tried to get the winning goal, as Newport sat back and soaked up the pressure, but it wouldn’t come. Fallon missed a sitter near the end, following good work by Hackett he tamely prodded the ball straight at the keeper when it looked easier to score. The final result a draw. I wasn’t happy, in our dressing room, crockery flew. It seemed a stupid question, perhaps, but were the wheels starting to come off our promotion bid ? Final Score: Newport County 1-1 Northampton Town League Position: 1st Scorers : Thompson Man Of The Match : Josh Thompson Team: Nicholls, Mendy , Warren, Armstrong , Thompson, Hackett, Jones, Junior , Scapuzzi, Fallon, Eccleston Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 Saturday October 11th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. Hayes & Yeading (8th) Junior and Fallon were both away on international duty for this one, Corry and Keegan came in. Coke also returned to the starting line-up. Given the lack of goals in the last couple of games it seemed like a good time for a shake up. We still seemed to lack a bit of confidence. Build up play was ok but the final ball wasn’t there, at least in the first period. We did get a goal, on 34 as Keegan thumped the ball in from the midst of a goalmouth scramble. Hayes were level within three minutes, from their first meaningful attack. They caught our defence sleeping, a very poor effort, I thought. So 1-1 at half time, Wrexham too, drawing again in their match. I told them they weren’t very good in the first half. I hoped that would motivate them to play better in the second half. The second half didn’t see a lot of improvement. Jones replaced Hackett on 64, Thompson limped off on 72 to be replaced by Hammar. In between the two substitutions we had a goal disallowed for offside. I couldn’t see that myself, I have to say. We kept trying which was a plus for me as manager. Not terribly effectively though, which was a disappointment. Eventually we constructed an attack good enough to create a chance. A corner from the right swung over, it bounced around the defence a bit before John Armstrong smashed the ball through a crowd of legs and into the net. 2-1, 85 minutes played. We were professional enough to see it out from there, though Hayes tried manfully to get back on terms. In injury time we added a third goal, Eccleston from close range. The final whistle soon followed and we had run out winners. Wrexham drew and so we now had a two point lead (and a game in hand) at the top of the table. Final Score: Northampton Town 3-1 Hayes & Yeading League Position: 1st Scorers : Keegan, Armstrong, Eccleston Man Of The Match: Joe Widdowson Team: Nicholls, Mendy , Widdowson, Armstrong , Thompson (Hammar 72), Hackett( Jones 64), Coke , Corry , Keegan, Scapuzzi, Eccleston Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
greekgeorge Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Rory Fallon, what a player. I remember signing him at Accrington Stanley. An impressive start there. Hope it goes on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Thanks George Tuesday October 14th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. Port Vale (5th) I’m sure that the Port Vale board see 5th as underachievement, so we’d have to be on our guard here. One change, Junior back in, replacing Corry. We got off to a fine start, opening the scoring just before the quarter hour mark, Thompson heading home a corner at the near post again, 12 minutes on the clock. Port Vale came back into the game after the goal. On 28 minutes they equalised having pinged the ball about a rasping drive from the edge of the box was too much for our keeper. They got a second on 35, a bad goalkeeping error this one, allowing a speculative drive to beat him, no excuse for that. A goal down at the break and I asked if they wanted to win the game or not ? it seemed to strike a chord with some so I hoped for some response in the second period. And indeed we played much better football after the break, grabbing an equaliser on 57 minutes, Luca Scapuzzi with the well taken goal. On 75 minutes Hammar on at half time for Armstrong picked up his second yellow of the half and was sent off. I took off Eccleston and brought on Corry, who would have to fill in at the back as best he could. As it happened he did very well and the game shrivelled as a contest. Vale seemed happy with a draw and we, a player light, weren’t really in a position to do anything else. 2-2 the final score whilst Wrexham had a creditable 1-0 win at home to third placed Exeter Final Score: Northampton Town 2-2 Port Vale League Position: 1st Scorers : Thompson, Scapuzzi Man Of The Match: Josh Thompson Team: Nicholls, Mendy , Widdowson, Armstrong (Hammar 45 (off 75)), Thompson , Hackett, Coke , Junior , Keegan, Scapuzzi, Eccleston (Corry 75) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Saturday October 18th 2014 FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town vs. Banbury A chance to give some players a rest, and some a chance to show what they can do. Banbury are a couple of leagues below us, and we are at home, there shouldn’t be any problems but one thing you could be sure of was that the visitor’s would be up for this one. It took us 23 minutes to open the scoring, Fallon, close range for the goal, set up by Sampson who had come on for the injured Scapuzzi on 9 minutes. Fallon got a second from close range on 33 minutes. Banbury seemed more concerned to keep the score down. A few more chances came and went, but on the whole we were happy to come in at the break two goals up. The second half didn’t add much, not it terms of excitement or indeed goals. Banbury didn’t manage a single shot on target in the entire game. Final Score: Northampton Town 2-0 Banbury Scorers : Fallon 2 Man Of The Match: Rory Fallon Team: Nicholls, Byrne , Widdowson, Armstrong , Fulton , Jones, Coke , Junior , Corry, Scapuzzi (Sampson 9), Fallon Scapuzzi’s injury was a badly gashed leg, he could miss as much as three weeks with that injury. In other news local businessman Mike Read is apparently in talks to take over the club. It must be quite serious as the current directors have imposed a transfer ban, Also I’m not sure if it’s the Mike Read who used to be a Radio One DJ ! In the FA Cup First Round draw, we got a home tie, which is what I wanted, against League One opposition in the form of Leyton Orient, which is going to be a lot more difficult a proposition than I’d hoped. It was about this time that the Sunderland job became vacant. I have to say that tempted me somewhat, a big club, down in The Championship, an ideal vehicle for my ambitions. In the end I decided not to, for one thing the press figured the Kilmarnock manager was the favourite for the post and I didn’t even rate a mention as a manager in the running for the post. In addition to that, taking a club to the Conference title would look good on my CV. Now I just had to make sure that that would happen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 23, 2014 Author Share Posted February 23, 2014 Tuesday October 21st 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: St. James’s Park Exeter City (4th) vs. Northampton Town (1st) Next up was a very tricky away game at Exeter. After an indifferent start to the season, the much fancied Exeter had recently turned their form around and were now looking to get back into the title race. They could, of course, help their cause by winning this game. Exeter got off to a good start and got a bit of luck to help them on their way on 12 minutes as Nicholls and Thompson collided under a high ball and the loose ball bounced in to the net, it was credited as a Nicholls own goal. They didn’t get into the half much after that, but for all the possession we had in the first period we created very few chances, none of which caused their keeper actual issues. Half time and I told them I expected a lot better in the second half. Some of them looked motivated, it’s about as good as I ever got for my half time exhortations. We pushed forward in the second half, initially with little joy but as time wore on we got closer and closer. On 59 we had the ball in the net but Hackett was penalised for impeding the goalkeeper in the buildup to the goal. On 71 we equalised as Fallon was in the right place at the right time to turn in an effort from Gutteridge that was going wide. Both teams had chances to win it after that but neither of us could take them and the game ran out a 1-1 draw. Final Score: Exeter City 1-1 Northampton Town League Position: 1st Scorers : Fallon Man Of The Match: Paul Corry Team: Nicholls, Byrne , Warren, Thompson , Fulton , Hackett, Corry , Gutteridge (Jones 74), Keegan, Eccleston,, Fallon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Saturday October 25th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. Barrow (13th) We started the game brightly but couldn’t make our early dominance count for anything. Barrow withstood the pressure and in the 23rd minute bounded forward and scored with their first attack. Not what I expect from our usually solid defence and reliable keeper. Fallon levelled it up with a trademark lash of the ball into the net, within two minutes of Barrow taking the lead. The rest of the half passed by in missed opportunities and wasted possession. Half time I told them they could win this game if they wanted to, some may even have believed me, though I don’t know why they would. It seemed as though Barrow’s manager had done an even better team talk than mine, as his side came out and re-established their lead within 5 mins of the restart. On the hour though, it was level again as Fallon got his second of the game, heading home a Widdowson corner. Just before the goal, Mendy had been helped off, unable to put any weight on his right leg. He’d done it turning to chase a loose ball, no-one near him, and those ones can be the worst. We pressed for a winner, but on 71 we lost Eccleston to a sickening injury. He’d gone in for a completely innocuous looking challenge with the defender, and got to the ball just before the defender. The ball squirted loose and Eccleston went down with a scream that silenced the crowd and went down with his leg at a bad angle. The paramedics did what they could and the ambulance was quickly on scene but it seemed an age before he was put on a stretcher and carried off. The last 19 minutes were played in a daze, football seemed just a little bit irrelevant. Both sets of lads, and indeed the crowd looked shellshocked and both teams saw out time to a draw. I went in to see the Barrow lad who had been in the challenge with Eccleston. The poor kid was distraught. I told him, as best I could, that sadly these things happen in football, and he wasn’t to blame. I’m not sure it made a whole lot of difference to him then, but hopefully it will in time. In other games Oxford trounced Woking 5-1, and moved level on points with Wrexham, who lost a second game in a row, this one to fifth placed Port Vale 2-0. Final Score: Northampton Town 2-2 Barrow League Position: 1st Scorers : Fallon 2 Man Of The Match: Rory Fallon Team: Nicholls, Mendy (Fulton 58) , Warren, Thompson , Armstrong , Jones, Corry , Junior, Coke, Eccleston (Twardzik 71), Fallon The injury news from the game was as bad as expected. Very bad. Mendy was out for two months with strained knee ligaments, and Nathan Eccleston’s broken leg in the match was confirmed. He will be out for eight months. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
henryc Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Fascinating read, looks like it's gonna be a good season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 Thanks Henry, much appreciated Wednesday October 29th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Field Mill Mansfield Town (9th) vs. Northampton Town (1st) Our game in hand, against another bunch of underachievers thus far this season. Byrne and Twardzik got the starts in place of the injured players, Mendy and Eccleston. An opening 15 minutes of non-descript aimless football was followed by a period on which we were in the ascendancy. Twardzik and Keegan were both inches wide with shots in this period, but eventually we did get on the board and it was the young Czech striker Twardzik who got it with a low shot from the edge of the box, 31 minutes gone. It was his first goal for the club and the lad was ecstatic. We held the lead with some ease to half time. At the break I told the lads how pleased I was, and to keep it up. But, as has been the way recently, Mansfield came out fighting and were level on 48 minutes, a long ball in, eluded our defenders and left their right winger with a straightforward task to beat Nicholls from ten yards out. This brought the lads to life and on 52 minutes, we were back in front, Fallon squaring the ball for Twardzik to sweep home from just about the penalty spot. A well taken goal. It didn’t last however and Mansfield were level again within two minutes of that, this one got me started thinking on defensive reorganisation, and players who might need resting for a bit. Very poor defending. On the hour, we don’t give up do we, on the hour we retook the lead, this time a Hackett cross volleyed home by Fallon. Mansfield didn’t give up either, and levelled again on 83. The ball given away in midfield once more, and dispatched with conviction by the Mansfield forward. In the 92nd minute Rory Fallon intercepted a poor back pass and scored his second goal of the game. Only three minutes of injury time was called, surely this was the winning goal ? It was. Final Score: Mansfield Town 3-4 Northampton Town League Position: 1st Scorers : Twardzik 2, Fallon 2 Man Of The Match: Rory Fallon Team: Nicholls, Byrne , Widdowson, Fulton , Armstrong , Hackett, Junior, Coke, Keegan, Twardzik, Fallon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 Three points in the last match had been good, but you couldn’t get away from the fact we had lost form somewhat. In the last seven league games we had won two and drawn five, five draws out of a total of six so far for the season, and in the last seven the defence, which had been the best in the division, had shipped 11 goals. My conclusion was that something needed to be done, pretty obvious that one. And the first step towards that would be a change of personnel, the next match was the FA Cup First round game, the board didn’t think we’d win that one, so this would be the place to experiment. Saturday November 1st 2014 FA Cup 1st Round Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (BSP 1st ) vs. Leyton Orient (L1 23rd) The changes I made in defence were to give Filip Mentel his first start in goal and to pair Fulton and Thompson in defence. Not drastic changes, just looking to change things about a bit. We got off to a positive start, but Rory Fallon was adjudged offside when he got the ball in the net with less than a minute gone of the 90. The rest of the first half was a battle of attrition with neither side creating even a half chance. An appalling low level of entertainment for the paying public. Goalless at the break, I told the lads if they got an early goal I thought the tie would be theirs. It seemed to gee a couple of them up. Indeed in the second half we played a bit better, tested their goalkeeper a couple of times, but not very good chances really. On 77 Junior picked up his second yellow and was sent off, Twardzik sacrificed to keep the midfield shape. On 79 Hackett was injured and replaced by Wylie. Finally on 92 minutes, Fallon seized on a poor backpass, advanced on goal and slotted the ball past the oncoming keeper. No time for Orient to respond, and we were through to the next round. Final Score: Northampton Town 1-0 Leyton Orient Scorers : Fallon Man Of The Match: Rory Fallon Team: Mentel, Byrne , Widdowson, Fulton , Thompson , Hackett, Junior (off 77), Corry, Keegan, Twardzik (Jones 77), Fallon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Excellent result there Chester...Lets hope you can get a good cup run going Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 Cheers, Mark, Time will tell. Time will tell. Tuesday November 4th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: The Racecourse Ground Wrexham (2nd) vs. Northampton Town (1st) And so to the biggest game of the season so far. We are, at the start of the game five points clear of Wrexham, the team in second, so a victory for the Welshmen wouldn’t put them top, but a win for us would go a long way to putting us into a dominant position in the league. Nicholls returned in nets, Mentel did ok in the last game but he didn’t have an awful lot to do, and so didn’t really prove himself. Coke comes in for the suspended Junior, Jones, Warren and Wylie all fill in for players who look tired after the FA Cup match. The first half was closely fought, much as you’d expect from a top of the table clash. Chances were hard to come by, though they did happen. The best, on 16 minutes, saw Fallon hit the post from short range with a shot. But the half didn’t end goalless. In the last minute of the half we won a corner, it was swung in, Fulton prodded the ball into the path of Rory Fallon who made no mistake from three yards out in the crowded penalty area. The half time whistle quickly followed and we went into the break a goal to the good. Wrexham levelled the scores shortly after the break, they got round the back of the stand-in fullback, Wylie and crossed for the big lad in the middle to knock the ball from close range. We responded well to that and were back in front on 57, as Twardzik put in Fallon who shot past the keeper from the edge of the box, for his second of the game. However, as in previous games we found impossible to hold a lead and Wrexham were level again on 66 minutes. The game finished 2-2, a fair reflection on both teams’ efforts, I thought; but both we, and they, were no nearer to understanding who was more likely to win the league from here. Final Score: Wrexham 2-2 Northampton Town League Position: 1st Scorers : Fallon 2 Man Of The Match: Rory Fallon Team: Nicholls, Wylie, Widdowson, Fulton , Armstrong , Jones, Corry, Coke, Keegan, Twardzik, Fallon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 Saturday November 8th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. Eastleigh (23rd) Scapuzzi returned from injury for this one, and I rested Keegan who looked jaded in the last match. The first half ended goalless, but it wasn’t for the want of trying. The Eastleigh keeper played out of his skin for the first half, equal to anything we threw at them. I gave my team talk to a bunch of frustrated players. I told them to keep working hard, and the result would come. We went out and played well, but the goal still would not come. Finally on 77 minutes Fulton rose highest at a corner and headed the ball home. And when one came, so did another, not far behind. This one, on 82 minutes, a Rory Fallon rocket from the edge of the box. And that was the game. We didn’t need to do any more than that, as Eastleigh had nothing to offer going forward and just an in-form keeper at the back, who was, after all, getting a lot of practice. Final Score: Northampton Town 2-0 Eastleigh League Position: 1st Scorers : Fulton, Fallon Man Of The Match: Tyler Fulton Team: Nicholls, Byrne , Widdowson, Fulton , Thompson , Jones, Coke, Junior, Laverty, Scapuzzi, Fallon The First Round draw of the FA Trophy, of which we are, of course, the holders, was made the day after the Eastleigh game. We drew a home tie, against Stalybridge Celtic of the BSN. Shouldn’t be a problem if we approach the game with the right attitude. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 Tuesday November 11th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: North Street Alfreton (20th) vs. Northampton Town (1st) Last season Alfreton did the double over us, so there was a desire there, on my part at least, to correct that somewhat. I rested a number of players for this one, but it was still a squad that should do ok in this match. And ok we did. It took 31 minutes for us to take the lead, we dominated possession, but we met with another in form keeper. Alfreton’s cause wasn’t helped on 25 as fullback Josh Low was sent off for a two-footed challenge. Six minutes after that we took the lead, Scapuzzi latching onto a rebound from Widdowson’s shot, he put the ball beyond the sprawled keeper and into the net. Fallon made it two on 36, a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box. Two up at half time, and I told them not to get complacent and think the job was done. It’s always a risky strategy and this one motivated about twice as many players as it offended, which is pretty good for that chat. It took a while for us to get going in the second half, but we were pushed out of our lethargy when we were awarded a penalty in the 77th minute. Scapuzzi was shoved in the back when the ball dropped at his feet following a half cleared corner. Fallon stepped up and made no mistake, though the keeper went the right way. Fallon completed his hatrick on 83, beneficiary of a terrible defensive mix up that left the keeper and defender in a heap on the ground and the ball at the New Zealander’s feet, two yards out. That was the sum of the action and we ran out easy and convincing winners. It was a good day for us as Oxford, now in second in the league lost at home to Halifax, Wrexham, now in third, got their first win in a month. Final Score: Alfreton Town 0-4 Northampton Town League Position: 1st Scorers : Scapuzzi, Fallon 3 Man Of The Match: Rory Fallon Team: Nicholls, Clarke , Warren, Hammar , Armstrong , Keegan, Corry, Junior, Widdowson, Scapuzzi, Fallon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 Saturday November 15th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. Lincoln City(7th) We got off to a flyer in this game with a goal in the second minute. A Widdowson corner to the near post, flicked on and Jordan Keegan arriving at the back post to bundle it home. Keegan turned provider on 9 minutes as he cut in from the left then split the defence with a single pass that put Scapuzzi in, behind the defence, in the box, he took the ball and made no mistake form 8 yards. Two-nil, and on fire. On 15 minutes it was three, as Jones crossed, from the right, the keeper came, made a hash of it and somehow the ball came off the centre back for Lincoln and bounced into the net for an own goal. If I thought a goal fest was on the cards I was mistaken as Lincoln buckled to and started to defend a whole lot better. They didn’t really manage to create anything though and we went in at the break three goals up. I told the lads to carry on as they were, though apparently they wanted more of a rousing talk than that (but why would they, they were three up ?) and obviously the Lincoln manager had told them a few home truths as they came out a lot better and grabbed a goal back on 47. Not quite panic stations, but certainly a worry. I asked the lads to play more defensively. To their credit the lads responded well to that setback and regrouped somewhat. Joe Widdowson got a fourth goal on 67 as he burst into the box, put in by Scapuzzi, scoring from close range. Lincoln made it 4-2 on 77, a sloppy goal to give away quite frankly. Junior replaced an injured Coke on 85 and on 89, Rory Fallon scored from close range to make it 5-2, his 20th league goal of the season. Final Score: Northampton Town 5-2 Lincoln League Position: 1st Scorers : Keegan, Scapuzzi, og, Widdowson, Fallon Man Of The Match: Joe Widdowson Team: Nicholls, Byrne , Widdowson, Fulton , Thompson , Jones, Corry, Coke(Junior 85), Keegan, Scapuzzi, Fallon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 Saturday November 22nd 2014 FA Trophy First Round Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (BSP 1st) vs. Stalybridge Celtic (BSN 13th) I took the opportunity here to give Rory Fallon a break. He’s been banging them in for us, but I don’t want him worn out for what really matters, which is the league. I also kept with my policy of naming Mentel as our ‘cup’ keeper. It gives him some game time, which will come in handy if Nicholls picks up an injury at any point. Stalybridge, as was to be expected, came out like someone had lit a fire in their pants. They roared at us but their shooting was wayward and from too far out to worry Mentel. After 5 minutes of this we started to play and were a goal up a couple of minutes later, Jones, arriving at the back post, superbly set up by Twardzik, who unselfishly squared the ball when very well placed himself. It was then our turn to be wasteful and we managed to get to half time having not created anything else since that goal in the 7th minute. I told them that whilst it wasn’t their worst ever performance (though between you and me I didn’t think it was that far off) they could do better. I think some of them don’t like that team talk any more, and I’m not sure it made them play much better in the second period. We did get a second goal, however, almost bang on the hour mark. Keegan chipped the ball into the box, where Scapuzzi hit on the half volley, belting the ball into the top corner. On 72 minutes I made a couple of changes, Armstrong on for Fulton who was carrying a knock and reserve team striker Ibrahima Keita on for the rapidly tiring Twardzik. It would be good to see what the lad could do, the reserve team boss had nothing but praise for the lad. In truth he did ok without setting the world on fire. He didn’t score in short, but on the positive side he didn’t miss any sitters and what he did he did well. Final Score: Northampton Town 2-0 Stalybridge Celtic Scorers : Jones, Scapuzzi Man Of The Match: Luca Scapuzzi Team: Mentel, Byrne , Widdowson, Fulton (Armstrong 72) , Thompson , Jones, Corry, Coke, Keegan, Scapuzzi, Twardzik (Keita 72) In the draw for the second round that followed the match we drew an away tie at BSS team Dorchester. They lie 8th in that division and we’ll need to be on form to get the right result in that one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 9, 2014 Author Share Posted March 9, 2014 Tuesday November 25th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. Bath City(12th) For a team in 12th spot in the league Bath have a very impressive away record, but even having said that it didn’t explain how anaemic we looked in the first half here. We toiled but created practically nothing and came in at half time goalless. I told them in no uncertain terms I wasn’t happy with the first half performance. It seemed to fire most of them up, I hoped it would have an effect in the second half. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to. We struggled again in the second half, as we did in the first to get to grips with their 5-3-2 formation, and it meant that we only got close through set pieces, and it was from one of those we came close to scoring, a Hammar header onto the bar from a Gutteridge corner, the rebound being shepherded away by the defence. On 67 minutes, Bath scored, the result of a fine passing move that saw us chasing shadows, the final pass coming to the forward on the edge of the box, who then emphatically smashed home his 10th of the season. We tried in vain to get back into this one, they were just too well organised. Hammar picked up a second yellow in injury time, just another black mark on this bad day at the office. Final Score: Northampton Town 0-1 Bath League Position: 1st Scorers : Man Of The Match: Jordan Jones Team: Nicholls, Byrne , Warren, Armstrong , Hammar (off 92), Jones, Gutteridge, Junior, Keegan, Scapuzzi, Fallon So our unbeaten run ends at 24 games, but it wasn’t all bad news. Second placed Oxford could only draw and so our lead in the division is now 5 points. And all of that was swept away as the week progressed, because , as the local paper blared, there was Cup Fever in Northampton ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Saturday November 29th 2014 FA Cup Second Round Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (BSP 1st) vs. Rotherham United (L1 17th) Jordan Keegan was struggling for fitness after taking a slight knock in the last match, so I decided to put him on the bench for this one, Coke starting on the left wing. Otherwise it was our strongest team. It looked like we’d need it, Rotherham whilst not having the best season in League 1, are no mugs and it will be difficult to beat them. Having said that the ground is officially a sell-out and that should give the lads a bit of a boost. Time would tell. We started off like a train, the adrenaline giving the lads an extra zip, and we took the game to Rotherham and got a very early reward. There were just 52 seconds on the clock when some slick passing found Scapuzzi 15 yards out but with a clear shot on goal, he took it and gave their keeper no chance. One-nil. On ten minutes it looked as though Fallon was hacked down on the edge of the box, but the ball fell to Coke on the left, and the ref played advantage. Coke got to the byline, pulled the ball back to find Scapuzzi, unmarked, five yards out, the keeper out of position. He couldn’t miss. He didn’t. Two-nil. Two-nil up after ten minutes, there was a long way to go but I, for one, would settle for that. What followed, however, wasn’t so good as Paul Corry limped off. Coke went into the middle and I bought on Keegan. Earlier than I wanted, but he was, I thought, the man for the job. On 26 minutes Coke had to come off injured. I was getting angry about this as the ref had shown a grand total of one yellow card and yet I had two crocked players. Clarke came on. On 30 minutes Rotherham pulled a goal back, despite a clear foul in the build-up to the goal. Fortunately the lads on the pitch managed to put their feelings of being unfairly robbed of this tie to one side rather sooner than I was and on 43 minutes we scored again, a sweet move finishing as Fallon’s shot was saved but Jordan Jones was there to slide home the rebound. Three-one up at the break and I had nothing but positive words for the lads. I was so proud of them. Not much in the way of tactical discussion but at least they went out for the second half smiling. Rotherham, of course, had been given the hairdryer and came out fighting. They got a second goal on 50 minutes via a long throw which we weren’t able to clear. On 83 minutes, after a number of close calls, they equalised. Another one I am less than happy about. Tom Clarke was lying injured in the centre circle, but Rotherham played on, an used the extra space on the way to scoring. Livid doesn’t cover it. The lads were incensed and within three minutes we were back in front, Junior putting Scapuzzi clear just beyond the half way line. The young Italian advanced on goal, drew the keeper and just as he went into the box, he slotted the ball past the netminder. Fabulous. The crowd went mental. Rotherham had nothing left and didn’t even come close to getting another goal. We win, and we are into the Third Round ! Final Score: Northampton Town 4-3 Rotherham United Scorers : Scapuzzi 3, Jones Man Of The Match: Luca Scapuzzi Team: Nicholls, Byrne , Widdowson, Fulton , Thompson , Jones, Corry (Keegan 17), Junior , Coke (Clarke 26), Scapuzzi, Fallon The injury list from the game was bad. Coke and Clarke were both out for two weeks, Corry just the one week, but it left us very light in the middle of midfield. The Third Round draw wasn’t that kind either, a home tie for sure, but to League One Bury, currently residing just above the relegation zone in that division. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Shame about the unbeaten run but to go 24 games unbeaten is pretty damn impressive, especially in a competitive league like the Blue Square Premier.... Lets see if you can progress further in the Cup but hopefully not at the expense of the League Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 Cheers, Mark.... you've not been reading ahead have you ....??? Tuesday December 2nd 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Edgar Street Hereford United (20th) vs. Northampton Town (1st) Back to league play and an away game that looks, on paper, a fairly straightforward one. Hereford are doing badly this season with their current form being 1 league win in their last ten league games. Thompson’s three month loan period had come to an end and so Anderson stepped in. Keegan needed a rest so Scapuzzi played on the left with Twardzik up front. Gutteridge came in for Coke. I was beginning to think some team strengthening needed to be done in the January window. I have to say that the first half here was one of the worst displays of the season. We were atrocious. We controlled the ball for long periods only to waste anything created with too early a shot. We couldn’t get anywhere, and grew more frustrated as time went on. True to form, in the 44th minute we conceded a soft goal , to go in a goal down at the break. It gave me the opportunity to shout at them, and I did, told them they were a disgrace. That encouraged them a bit, time to see if a team talk is enough to change a match. It didn’t, not much. We played very badly in the second half too, trying to walk the ball in, wasting possession. Junior got booked for diving, then Hereford took the ball up the field and were awarded a penalty of their own. A bit soft again. A soft award but very firmly taken, 2-0. We lost the match, if anybody ever wants a definition of the phrase ‘cup hangover’ they should, perhaps, look here. Oxford and Wrexham both won, meaning that now the top three places in the BSP are covered by just three points. Final Score: Hereford United 2-0 Northampton Town League Position: 1st Scorers : Man Of The Match: Junior Team: Nicholls, Byrne, Widdowson, Fulton , Armstrong , Jones, Gutteridge, Junior, Scapuzzi, Twardzik, Fallon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 Saturday December 6th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Princes Park Dartford (22nd) vs. Northampton Town (1st) Keegan returned, amongst a number of other changes. We needed to turn our recent performances, FA Cup excluded, around, and here was as good a place to start as any. For a pre-match talk I told that if they played their own game they’d win. They understood that, and responded to it. We were a goal up within two minutes, a Widdowson corner pinged around the box a bit and Keegan was there to bang the ball home from close range. After that it was pretty much one way traffic though we didn’t add any more goals that half. We did lose Gutteridge to injury, Jordan Jones his replacement. One up at half time, and a little bit frustrated after the opening two minutes promised so much. I told them it was quite a long way from being the best half of footy I’d ever seen, and could they try just a little bit harder ? Dartford finally turned up at the start of the second half and put us under some pressure, but generally shot from too far out. We had one disallowed for offside, and then got a lucky break at a Widdowson corner on 66 minutes that allowed Scapuzzi to scuff the ball home from close range. On 70 minutes a dubious penalty decision went our way for once, Fallon stepped up, and drove it straight down the middle for three-nil. We settled for that score, sat back and saw out the game, no problem. It was doubly good for us as Wrexham narrowly and Oxford, quite embarrassingly (1-4 at home to Newport) both lost, thus re-establishing our 5 point advantage at the top. Final Score: Dartford 0-3 Northampton Town League Position: 1st Scorers : Keegan, Scapuzzi, Fallon (pen) Man Of The Match: Joe Widdowson Team: Nicholls, Widdowson, Warren, Fulton , Hammar , Hackett, Gutteridge ( Jones 15), Junior, Keegan, Scapuzzi, Fallon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 15, 2014 Author Share Posted March 15, 2014 Wednesday December 10th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. Kidderminster Harriers(19th) Kidderminster have been poor thus far, though in their last match they beat Wrexham 5-4, so we’ll need to be careful. Corry came in for Gutteridge, who had broken his cheekbone in the last game and would be out for a month. This injury meant it was becoming increasingly difficult to rotate tired players, if only we could last to the opening of the transfer window without the wheels coming off the season. We started off positively but were very wasteful in the early exchanges, but we kept at it and eventually took the lead on 24 minutes, a Keegan shot, parried into the path of Scapuzzi who had an easy task of knocking the ball home. That was all she wrote for the first half and at the break I told them they could play much better, and sent them out. It did, however, seem they couldn’t do any better as Fulton gave away a penalty which Kidderminster scored. 47 minutes gone, one each. The game went downhill from there, really. We created a grand total of zero chances in the second half, as Kidderminster shut up shop and went to protect what they had. We had no answers to that and what ensued was some of the worst football I have ever seen. We lost Corry and Fallon to injury in the second period. Terrible stuff. Final Score: Northampton Town 1-1 Kidderminster League Position: 1st Scorers : Scapuzzi Man Of The Match: Joe Widdowson Team: Nicholls, Byrne, Widdowson, Fulton , Hammar , Hackett, Corry ( Jones 70), Junior, Keegan, Scapuzzi, Fallon (Twardzik 90) The news just kept getting worse. Fulton’s hamstring tightened after the match and he’ll miss a month. Fallon did his knee ligaments and will be out for 2 months. Now at the front and the back we are down to the bare bones. Also Junior picked up his fifth yellow and will miss a match, so we are short in the midfield also. Roll on January. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 Saturday December 13th 2014 FA Trophy Second Round Venue: Avenue Stadium Dorchester Town (BSS 10th) vs. Northampton Town (BSP 1st ) The only good thing on the horizon was that this game, in the Trophy, would have been one I would have given fringe players a go. And so it was, Warren, Jones and Twardzik got the nod today. The game started with ten minutes of 100 mile an hour football, no-one in control type stuff. On 11 minutes we managed to get the ball down and play crafting a move that saw Hackett shoot home from 12 yards, his first goal of the season. Twardzik made it two on 24 minutes, with a sweetly struck drive from the edge of the box. Good stuff that one. On 26 minutes we made it three with a superb flowing break out of defence, three passes to Scapuzzi in the box and he made no mistake. Excellent once more. So three-nil at half time and we were going at a canter. I didn’t see any reason to stop them and so I told them how pleased I was. I knew Dorchester would likely come out fired up, but I figured we could cope with it as we were. They did come out like scalded cats, true, and for ten minutes we held them at arm’s length. On 55 mins they did get a goal with a flowing move down the right. But that was as good as it got for the hosts. We didn’t have to try very hard in the second half, so we didn’t. One bad spot, Coke limping off with an injury, we’ll have to see how bad that one is. Final Score: Dorchester Town 1-3 Northampton Town Scorers : Hackett, Twardzik, Scapuzzi Man Of The Match: Paul Corry Team: Nicholls, Wylie, Warren, Armstrong , Hammar , Hackett, Corry, Coke (Widdowson 64), Jones, Scapuzzi, Twardzik The injury report was once again grim reading. Twardzik had a nasty gash on his head that will keep him out for 12 days or so, not so bad, but Wylie had twisted his ankle and will be out for 5 to 6 weeks. This news was followed, however, by a silver lining, as the weekend’s game against Gateshead was postponed due to their FA Trophy replay with Mansfield, time to rest some weary legs. Hallelujah ! The third round draw for the FA Trophy paired us at home with either Hereford or Oxford United, not as easy as I would have hoped, but then you have to beat the best teams if you want to win trophies. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Injuries and suspensions are kicking in, bloody hate that when it happens. Hopefully Mr Chairman will give you alittle bit of mkoney to help you strengthen the squad in January.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Tuesday December 23rd 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. Woking (24th) Our shortage of fit strikers saw Keita get his first league start, otherwise it was a fairly normal staring 11, with a couple of U18s on the bench. But with Woking, bottom of the table for a reason, the visitors I didn’t think any of that would matter. We attacked from the off, and got a goal after only 6 minutes. Widdowson, the left back, popping up in the box at the end of a sweeping move to tuck the ball away. We pushed on, but Woking caught us on the break on 26 and grabbed a goal against the run of play. We huffed and puffed following the equaliser but didn’t manage to score. We went in level, one each. I told the lads I wasn’t happy and hoped it would have the desired effect. I’d like to think it did as we went and retook the lead on 47 minutes, Scapuzzi, crossing from the right and Coke arriving at the far stick to belt the ball home. That proved to be enough, and whilst we came close later on that remained the final score. It was a good day for us, Wrexham, back in second having played one game more, lost at home. Oxford drew. Final Score: Northampton Town 2-1 Woking League Position: 1st Scorers : Widdowson, Coke Man Of The Match: Junior Team: Nicholls, Byrne, Widdowson, Armstrong , Hammar , Hackett, Corry, Junior, Coke, Scapuzzi, Keita Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Friday December 26th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: The Moss Rose Macclesfield Town (13th) vs. Northampton Town (1st) Keegan returned for this one, Junior the man to drop to the bench for what looked like being a tricky match. True, Macclesfield have not had the best season so far but they remain one of the ex-league clubs that seem to be a kind of ‘elite’ in this division, and as such a team to be taken seriously. A scrappy, tense opening to this match it took 15 minutes for it to settle down enough for either team to put together a meaningful attack. On 15 minutes it was us who attacked, Keegan getting to the byline, crossing low, and young Keita getting in front of his man to turn the ball in at the near post, 1-0. After this we began a spell in which we controlled the game, adding a second goal on 33 minutes. Keegan, once again the creator crossing the ball across the face of the six yard box where Widdowson, recent discoverer of a new found freedom to get forward, slid onto it to prod it home. Things were going so well, but an error by Coke on 43 lost the ball in a bad place, his own half, and Macclesfield had no problem passing their way to a goal scoring opportunity, gratefully taken. Then, just as I thought I’d have a job to do at half time in the team talk, we scored again, Scapuzzi heading in a Widdowson corner in injury time at the end of the first half. After the break it’s fair to say it was all Macclesfield, but try as the might, and my they tried, they couldn’t score. We defended stoutly and their finishing was atrocious. One blot on the horizon was the sight of Widdowson limping off near the end, with an injury. I wasn’t looking forward to the physio’s report the following morning. Final Score: Macclesfield Town 1-3 Northampton Town League Position: 1st Scorers : Keita, Widdowson, Scapuzzi Man Of The Match: Joe Widdowson Team: Nicholls, Byrne, Widdowson (Mendy 87), Armstrong , Hammar , Hackett, Corry, Coke, Keegan, Scapuzzi, Keita Groin Strain. Out for a month, that was the physio’s verdict on Widdowson’s injury. Happy Bl**dy Christmas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 Just prior to the next match I was, out of the blue, offered a job at Scottish Second Division side Dumbarton, they lie 8th in the 10 team division. In terms of a step up in the class of the league, it isn’t, it’s a considerable step down. Moving from a £100k-odd season’s transfer budget here, to a £6k one there. A real no brainer. I said no. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 Wednesday December 31st 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: The Kassam Stadium Oxford United (3rd) vs. Northampton Town (1st) A big game this one, and just the one change, Warren in for the injured Widdowson. Scapuzzi up front needs a rest and when the window opens tomorrow we’ll look to get some help, but for today he’ll need to go the extra mile for us. Cagey, that’s how I’d describe the opening exchanges, pretty much as expected. But there was good news for the neutral on 11 minutes, good news for us too. Corry robbed the defender deep in the Oxford half, passed to Keita who blasted the ball home from 15 yards out. A goal, just what the game needed, they’ll need to come out and play now, and that should enable us to play too. Indeed, Oxford pushed forward and with some better finishing could have equalised, but it was our team who next added to the scoreline. On 25 minutes Hackett went on a mazy run from the half way line into the Oxford box, he went to cut inside and was clattered to the ground by the Oxford full back. A clear penalty, dispatched confidently by Keegan. We had a good spell after that and had two clear cut chances where we should have scored, but didn’t, Keegan with the more glaring of the two misses. Anyway, we got to the half time break two goals up. The Assistant Manager suggested that I praise the lads for some good football, which, to be fair they had played. But there’s a reason I am manager and he is an assistant, and I told the lads not to get complacent, not to think the job is done. I think that is what was required. Coke was injured early on in the second half, not ideal, Jones on in his place. Even less ideal was Oxford getting a goal on 50 minutes. Things got worse, they got a second goal just two minutes later. We seemed to be reeling. Not for that long though as we then marched straight up the pitch and scored ourselves, Jordan Jones with the emphatic finish from a narrow angle. A defensive mix up then gifted Oxford another equaliser on 66 minutes. We swapped Legge in for Armstrong, who was having a mare, and Twardzik in for Keita who had gone a bit anonymous. We then lost Keegan to injury and having used all our subs at that point had to see out the match with ten men. Which we did, both sides seemed happy with a point at the end. Final Score: Oxford United 3-3 Northampton Town League Position: 1st Scorers : Keita, Keegan (Pen), Jones Man Of The Match: Luca Scapuzzi Team: Nicholls, Byrne, Warren, Armstrong (Legge 81) , Hammar , Hackett, Corry, Coke (jones 50), Keegan (injured 83), Scapuzzi, Keita (Twardzik 81) Injury update, Coke out for a month with a groin strain. But now the transfer window was open, how could we strengthen the side ?I made offers for a couple of strikers available on free transfers, but they would take some time to finalise, as other clubs seemed to have the same idea. First up though, was the cup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 Saturday January 3rd 2015 FA Cup Third Round Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (BSP 1st) vs. Bury (L1 11th ) As the only one of four non-league sides in this round who is playing at home, I feel the expectation of the nation’s media to secure an upset. Due to the lack of available strikers, and having lost a little belief in Twardzik, I felt I couldn’t rest Scapuzzi. Jones and Clarke came in for Keegan and Corry, who drop to the bench. A bench filled out to the seven allowed in the FA Cup with U18 players. The ground was packed to its 7000 capacity and boy did they make a racket. The boys were clearly lifted by the atmosphere and tore into the tackles early on, didn’t give Bury any time on the ball, got right in their faces. On 3 minutes Clarke prised the ball from the Bury midfield, passed it to Junior, who had space to run into, his ball into the box was, I thought, too close to the keeper, but the lad in Bury’s goal hesitated, and Luca Scapuzzi slid in and beat him to it, sending the ball bouncing slowly into the net. GOAL ! we were one up after only three minutes. Within a minute it was two. Armstrong deep in his own half hit a long ball that dropped perfectly behind Bury’s backline, Scapuzzi took it on to the edge of the box and smacked a screamer that flew past the keeper and into the top right hand corner of the net. Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. We didn’t let up, on 9 minutes it was three, no, it really was three, I had to pinch myself too. Warren crossed from the left, the two central defenders both went for the header, totally focussed on Scapuzzi, who, of course, was on a hatrick, the ball skidded of the head of one of the defenders, only as far as Hackett on the back post, and the veteran winger shot the ball home from a narrow angle. He doesn’t score many, but when he does they are good. I’m sure any manual for league managers would read, in the section about cup ties at non-league teams, that you should play tight for the first 15, withstand the inevitable storm. Try to wear them out and let your superior fitness take over later on. Of course this hadn’t happened for Bury, 15 minutes in and they were three goals down. They hadn’t seen much of the ball, and the hosts looked like scoring every time we took the ball forward. It was a nightmare, alright, could they get out of this ? They rallied after the 15 minute mark and actually brought a save out of Nicholls, not much of a tester though, shot from too far out. On 22, Bury’s midfield once again coughed up possession, Junior then set Keita free with a pinpoint pass, the young lad then had the nous to draw both central defenders to him on the edge of the box, and passed Scapuzzi in with just the keeper to beat. In the form he was in today you wouldn’t bet against him, and the Italian completed his hatrick with no bother. I suppose the only worry I had at this point was that yes, we were four goals up, but only a quarter of the game has gone. But the rest of the half at least didn’t see a Bury revival, they had their keeper to thank for denying Keita a goal on the half hour and we had ours to thank for denying them their one clearcut chance in the 41st minute. Half time, in the third round of the cup, against a side two divisions higher than us, and we are four goals up. They would have laughed at me if I used the complacency speech here, so I just told I happy and fantastically proud I was of each and every one of them. Doubtless we would face an onslaught in the second half, I could hear the crockery smashing in the neighbouring dressing room as we spoke, but I backed my guys to see this one out. And see it out we did, Bury came at us, as expected but we held them at arm’s length and forced them to shoot from distance, we had a couple of half chances ourselves, but we didn’t manage to extend our lead. Late on I sought to break up the rhythm of the match with a couple of substitutions, Corry on for Clarke, Byrne for Mendy. The game ended just as I was about to replace Keita who had put in a good shift. Four-nil winners. Fabulous. Final Score: Northampton Town 4-0 Bury Scorers : Scapuzzi 3, Hackett Man Of The Match: Luca Scapuzzi Team: Nicholls, Mendy (Byrne 86), Warren, Armstrong , Hammar , Hackett, Clarke (Corry 79), Junior, Jones, Scapuzzi, Keita Our ‘reward’ for winning in the third round is an away trip to the winners of the Fulham vs. Nottingham Forest third round replay. At least it should bring some cash in. On the back of that news we brought in our first player of the transfer window. He’s Paddy McCourt a 31 year old left winger signed on a three month loan from Leicester, at any point during the loan we can buy him for £6k, which if his wage demands aren’t a bit too steep we might do as the board has kindly extended the transfer budget on the understanding that we will win this division. I probably said to someone ‘back me and I’ll give you some champions’, and they have ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Booossshhhhh, what a great result mate....Who would you prefer in the next round?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 A Press Conference response for Mark: "I'm sure my lads will be up for the challenge of going to whichever of these two great teams gets through to face us in the next round." Tuesday January 6th 2014 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: The Shay FC Halifax (8th) vs. Northampton Town (1st) Mc Court went straight into the side in place of Hackett on the right who needed a rest, Corry and Keegan also returned to the starting lineup. This would be a difficult game, make no mistake about it, Halifax have a very good home record. The first half was played in driving rain on the point of freezing and that didn’t make for a good spectacle there on the side of a Yorkshire moor. It grew niggly and the ref was a bit card happy, only a matter I thought until someone got sent off. And someone did get sent off, Paul Corry right on the stroke of half time, he responded to some holding that the ref didn’t see with an elbow, that he did. A straight red and no complaints from me. Half time came seconds later and a chance to regroup. Keita off and Jones on, and ask the wide players to push up to give Scapuzzi, now playing on his own up front, a bit of support. Time would tell if this would work. Early signs weren’t good as Halifax scored on 48 minutes, a goal that looked offside to me, but it was given. A nasty trait we seem to be developing here, that we are vulnerable right after half time. We toiled hard but couldn’t get back into the game, they got a second with a 30 yard strike right out of the top draw on 74 minutes. And that was it, a not very good result from a not very good performance. Final Score: FC Halifax 2-0 Northampton Town League Position: 1st Scorers : Man Of The Match: Junior Team: Nicholls, Mendy, Warren, Armstrong , Hammar , McCourt, Corry (off 44), Junior, Keegan ), Scapuzzi, Keita (Jones 45) We responded to that horror show by making a permanent signing, Villyan Bijev, 22, an American centre forward. We got him on a free but he spent a number of years in the reserves at Liverpool, and should be a benefit to the team. Sadly we lost out on the other forward we tried to sign, Jhon Pirez, formerly of Chelsea,as he failed to get a work permit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 Saturday January 10th 2015 FA Trophy Third Round Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (BSP 1st) vs. Oxford United (BSP 3rd ) Two closely matched teams, at least closely matched when we are at full strength, which we are not. A debut for Bijev alongside Twardzik, Scapuzzi being beyond tired by now, more close to exhausted. A closely fought game in which Oxford probably had the upper hand followed, we struggled to create anything of note, whilst Oxford were limited to long range strikes that didn’t worry Nicholls. Finally we made some progress forward and on 38 minutes we got the first goal of the contest, Hackett crossed, Bijev’s shot was blocked and the ball fell kindly to Twardzik who dispatched it into the net. In injury time at the end of the first half Byrne gifted the ball to the Oxford winger, who made no mistakes. One All. I told the lads at the half time break that we could still win this game, cliché or not, it seemed to galvanise them and we came out playing the best football we’d played all match. We put them under pressure, without much luck in front of goal. They came back into it for a spell and then we were on top again. It was during this time, 83 minutes on the clock that we scored a second goal, Junior hitting a sweet volley from inside the ‘D’ as the ball fell to him from Bijev’s knock down, a picture goal in any game, even more so here. It wasn’t to last however, as the league’s top scorerJames Constable managed to lose his marker on 88, to steal in and head the ball past a statuesque Nicholls. He only managed to get free once in the whole game, this was it, and he scored. I guess that's why he is coveted by teams higher up the table. Twardzik had a chance to grab the winner, before the end but their keeper was up to the task of keeping him out. Final Score: Northampton Town 2-2 Oxford United Scorers : Twardzik, Junior Man Of The Match: Junior Team: Nicholls, Byrne, Warren, Armstrong , Fulton , Hackett, Gutteridge (Jones 45), Junior, Keegan, Twardzik, Bijev We signed a couple more players, both on loan again, not in time for the replay but going forward they should help. Ben Gibson is a central defender from Middlesbrough, 21 years old, good enough already to do well at this level. The second is Michael O’Halloren, 24, from Bolton, he’s striker, and we can buy him for £16k at any point of the three month loan if he does well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 Wednesday January 14th 2015 FA Trophy Third Round Replay Venue: The Kassam Stadium Oxford United (BSP 3rd) vs. Northampton Town (BSP 1st ) McCourt and Scapuzzi in for this one, Bijev and Keegan the ones losing out. This was going to be a really hard game, we’d have to play really well to get anything out of it. We started the game well, but Oxford soon came back into it and gained the upper hand, we withstood some pressure and then the pendulum swung back our way. On 27 minutes we scored, Twardzik getting on the end of a long ball, then rounding the keeper for a simple tap-in. They came back again and levelled the score on 39. On 42 they had a goal disallowed for offside. One-all at half time. I told them to go out and grab the winner. That seemed to motivate them as we played some neat football after the break. On 66 minutes we scrambled home a goal from a non-cleared cross, Hammar the goalscorer. On 73 we had the ball cleared off the line twice in quick succession. On 88 Clarke set Twardzik off on a chase as he played a beautiful ball behind the defence, Twardzik took it on, drew the keeper, and shot it past him for a 3-1 lead. On 89 we gifted Oxford a goal, a terrible defensive mistake, responsible, leaving Nicholls hopelessly exposed. On 91 Oxford were awarded a penalty. Shocker of a decision. Anyway, 3-3. Extra time. Extra time came and went. Our lads did well to put the disappointing end to the 90 minutes behind them. Scapuzzi hit the post but that’s as close as anyone got. A penalty shootout would decide the winner. We missed the first penalty (McCourt), but Oxford missed the third and fifth penalties, which left the final penalty to be taken by Scapuzzi who had had a very poor game today. The keeper went the right way but it was hit powerfully enough to go in. 4-3 winners on penalties, we are through to the Fourth Round, where, I believe, we we’ll meet Tamworth Final Score: Oxford United 3-aet-3 Northampton Town (Penalties: 3-4) Scorers : Twardzik 2 , Hammar Man Of The Match: Patrik Twardzik Team: Nicholls, Mendy, Warren, Hammar , Fulton , Jones, Clarke, Junior, McCourt, Twardzik, Scapuzzi This day also saw the FA Cup replays from the third round ties. The one that directly affected us saw Nottingham Forest dispatch Premier League Fulham. Later on in the week we add another central midfielder, Shane Williams a £500 purchase from Llanelli of the Welsh League. Very much one for the future, the 22 year old is more of a backup for now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Saturday January 17th 2015 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. Mansfield (17th) Against Mansfield I give the three new signings their debuts. To be honest it’s not a matter of policy or benevolence, it’s necessary as my small band of uninjured players were getting more and more exhausted as the weeks went on, and were, quite possibly, beginning to lose some effectiveness, So Gibson goes in at left back, O’Halloran up front and Williams into central midfield. The first half was mainly in our favour, we created chances but struggled a bit to link up play, what with three new starters plus Bijev, who’s played for us once. No wonder things were a bit disjointed, crosses went too high, final balls were wayward. Andy, my assistant said to me that Luke Gutteridge was wasted a lot of final balls, that was true but it was entirely because he and the two forwards were on completely different wavelengths. But we did, finally, get a goal, 43 minutes on the clock, and it was down to two of my more experienced players, Hackett, on the right crossed, over the defender’s head, but met by Keegan arriving at the far post for another well taken goal. That’s 12 league goals now for the left winger, not a bad return at all. That was the score at half time. In the big match of the day in the rest of the league second placed Wrexham had a one goal advantage over third placed Oxford at the break. In our match I told the lads they could do better and sent them out. Williams had a bit of a knock but I was hopeful he could run it off. We got a second goal in the 50th minute from a Jordan Keegan free kick on the edge of the box that he curled round the wall. A fabulous strike. Just past the hour Mansfield got a goal back with their first meaningful attack of the game. A cross from the left and their forward getting in front of our defender and turning the ball home. And we are holding on from there and a tad lucky to finish 2-1 winners, as we do. In the big game Wrexham beat Oxford 3-0. Final Score: Northampton Town 2-1 Mansfield Town League Position : 1st Scorers : Keegan 2 Man Of The Match: Jordan Keegan Team: Nicholls, Byrne, Gibson, Armstrong , Hammar, Hackett, Gutteridge , Williams, Keegan, O’Halloran, Bijev Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Tuesday January 20th 2015 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. Gateshead(9th) The FA Cup match against Forest is at the weekend as whilst Widdowson and Corry were both ready to return today I have decided to keep them fresh for the weekend. Not that we put a weakened side out here, well not weakened much. It will, until the weekend at least, put is on the same number of games as Wrexham and so give us a good idea of where we are with only 13 league games to go after this one. A win would be good. I think we had our minds on the weekend game, it must have been the case as we didn’t turn up, Gateshead had by far the best of the opening exchanges and it was no surprise when they took the lead on 22, Junior losing the ball in a bad spot to gift the opportunity that they didn’t pass up. The goal was like a slap in the face with a wet fish for these lads and they were suddenly all over Gateshead. They strung together a good move and set up Scapuzzi to score the equaliser on 33 minutes. One all at half time and I vent my displeasure at them. I also make one change Byrne on for Mendy, who had a nightmare 45 minutes. The second half was another struggle. Gateshead were up for the win and pushed forward, we reorganised and pushed back. On 90+2 minutes of the 90+2 minutes stated on the fourth official’s board McCourt hit over a corner that Armstrong headed home. Gateshead had no time to come back, we got a victory with practically the last kick of the match. At the end I told we needed to do better against the better teams, I’m not sure all of them liked to hear that, but it was the truth. Final Score: Northampton Town 2-1 Gateshead League Position : 1st Scorers : Scapuzzi, Armstrong Man Of The Match: Paddy McCourt Team: Nicholls, Mendy (Byrne 45), Warren, Armstrong , Fulton, Jones, Clarke , Junior, McCourt, O’Halloran, Scapuzzi Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Saturday January 24th 2015 FA Cup Fourth Round Venue: The City Ground Nottingham Forest (CH 6th) vs. Northampton Town (BSP 1st ) We go into this with a 4-5-1 formation, Corry in a holding role and Scapuzzi on his own up front. A defensive mentality also. We were right up for this and more than held our own in the opening exchanges. Hackett smacked the ball off the post from a full 30 yard drive on 15. I honestly thought he’d scored, but the ball bounced clear. Forest came into the game more as the half wore on but we defended well. We didn’t manage to trouble their keeper again but we got to half time goalless. I told the lads that if we could grab a goal I thought we would win. I’m not sure any of them believed me, but on at least one level it told them that I thought they were doing well. Without sounding dull. Early in the second period Gutteridge picked up a card and an injury in fairly short notice. I replaced him with Jones, 51 mins on the clock. Up to the hour mark we played well. We were shooting from too far out, they plain wouldn’t listen to me to ‘work the ball into the box’. Forest were, in truth, getting closer, but they hadn’t breached us yet. Finally on 68 minutes, Forest scored, not from open play, but from our permanent Achilles heel, the near post corner. I feared the floodgates at this point, but it didn’t happen, we drew back and defended a bit deeper and Forest were content to play in front of us. Then on 88 minutes the unthinkable happened. We scored. Widdowson, back in the side for the first time after injury, with the corner, he’s the only one of our lads who takes a decent corner, this was his 18th assist of the season, and loanee Ben Gibson firing the ball through a crowd of players and into the net. 1-1, unbelievable ! I told the lads to park the bus for the remaining time, they did and we left The City Ground and it’s 17,000 fans with a well-earned draw. The defence, Hammar especially, were awesome. Corry did a man-to-man job on their attacking midfielder, and kept him very quiet, all in all an extremely satisfying day’s work. Final Score: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Northampton Town Scorers : Gibson Man Of The Match: Johan Hammar Team: Nicholls, Mendy, Widdowson, Hammar , Gibson , Hackett, Gutteridge (Jones 51), Junior, Keegan, Corry, Scapuzzi The Fifth Round draw followed, and we were in it !. An away tie at Premier Division team Cardiff City . The draw for the FA Trophy semi-final is also made (the other quarter finals were played at the same time as the FA Cup matches), the winner of ourselves and Tamworth will face Newport County. We later on made the £12k signing of Jon Meades, 22, a left sided midfielder mainly, we got him from Bournemouth. He’s spent a lot of time on loan at various clubs in the last couple of season’s and will be cup tied for the FA Trophy match. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Another good cup result, good luck for the replay mate... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 It was, talk about hit & run ! Wednesday January 28th 2015 FA Trophy Fourth Round Venue: The Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (BSP 1st) vs. Tamworth (BSP 12th ) Keegan and Scapuzzi were out with injury meaning we had to go with Twardzik and O’Halloran up front and McCourt on the left. Coke returned after injury. We switched back to our usual 4-4-2 formation and sent them out on the back of a positive team talk that they mainly ignored. The game itself was end to end for a while, but we were the ones who got on the board first. O’Halloran with his first goal for the club, a shot from the edge of the box, on 13 minutes. He made it two on 23 minutes, set up nicely by Widdowson, raiding forward. He might have had a hatrick on 38, but for a good save by the Tamworth keeper. At half time, two up and cruising, I told the lads that they had done well, which they had. Save the ire and the empty threats for another, more important, match. The second half started off fairly uneventfully, we were in full control, but chances weren’t really happening. On 63 though we were awarded a penalty, Tamworth were aggrieved and I could see why. Nevermind. O’Halloran stepped up and completed his hatrick. We sat back on our laurels after that and eased our way into the semi-final. Final Score: Northampton Town 3-0 Tamworth Scorers : O’Halloran 3 Man Of The Match: Michael O’Halloran Team: Nicholls, Mendy, Widdowson, Fulton , Armstrong , Hackett, Coke, Corry, McCourt, Twardzik, O’Halloran After the game some more players signed up. First up Ryan Noble, 23, a striker formerly of Sunderland’s reserve teams. He’s an upgrade and both Twardzik and Bijev came to see me worried about their places in the pecking order. Here’s a clue boys, they have just gone down one. We then signed Sam Minihan, 20, on a three month loan from Rochdale, he’s a right back and will see playing time. We then sign Ryan Thompson, 23, a central midfielder for £22k from Dundee United. He’ll see lots of playing time I think, he’s only going to improve and is a player we can build a team around for years to come. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 Saturday January 31st 2015 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: New Bucks Head AFC Telford (15th) vs. Northampton Town(1st) First games for Meades, on the left and Thompson in the middle, and if Bijev is worried about his place then he best start scoring today as Noble is on the bench. Rory Fallon resumed training today, so for any of them an impression has to be made quickly. Scrappy opening was followed in the 11th minute by a penalty awarded to us as Thompson was hacked down, they can have no complaints though somehow I think they will. Anyway Hammar stepped up and dispatched the penalty decisively. On 13 minutes Bijev hit the post, again, that’s the fifth or sixth time in recent games he’s hit the post, and not scored, he’s not enjoying the best luck at the minute, that’s for sure. The rest of the half proved scrappy also, though Telford should have equalised with a chance just before the break. But half time it was, and we were a goal up. The standard ‘you’re doing ok but I think you can do better’ speech this time. It seemed to work. Indeed we did play quite a bit better in the second half, but it was still quite scrappy. On 63 minutes we were awarded another penalty as Jones was tackled, unfairly in the eyes of the referee, but, on this occasion, not by many other people in the ground. It didn’t matter one little bit to Hammar who stepped up again, and this time, winning the battle of wits, he sent the keeper the wrong way. On 79 we scored again, Thompson finding Meades on the left with a searching pass, Meades crossed low, the ball met by Bijev at close range for his first goal for the club. You could see the relief on his face. That’s how the game ended. In other games, Wrexham slipped up at relegation threatened Southport whilst Oxford withstood a late onslaught to beat Lincoln. They now move back second, we have a seven point lead over them. Final Score: AFC Telford 0-3 Northampton Town League Position : 1st Scorers : Hammar 2 (2 pens), Bijev. Man Of The Match: Johan Hammar Team: Nicholls, Byrne, Widdowson, Gibson , Hammar , Jones, Thompson, Junior, Meades, Bijev (Noble 87), O’Halloran On transfer deadline day we made another signing, David Robertson is a right sided midfielder, aged 28, bought for £22k from St. Mirren. We made no other signings on transfer deadline day, what we had now, would have to do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 Go on, let's spoil you... Wednesday February 4th 2015 FA Cup Fourth Round Replay Venue: The Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (BSP 1st) vs. Nottingham Forest (CH 8th ) Rory Fallon though not fit will get the nod here as his experience will give us the only small chance I think we could possibly get, we have two strikers on the bench (a seven man bench is allowed in FA Cup games) in case he doesn’t, as I expect, last the ninety. I knew we were in for a match when they whistled one past Nicholls right hand post with just 20 seconds gone. We settled a little after that and went close ourselves on 11 minutes, Twardzik snapping a shot narrowly wide. Forest were content to control possession and probe for an opening. We did well however at holding them at arm’s length and they ended up shooting from distance a couple of times when I’m sure their manager would have liked to keep them probing. On 21 we made a foray forward, got a throw down near the Forest goalline, on the right. Mendy took it, to Twardzik who gave it back. Mendy then tucked the ball back to Twardzik enabling him to go into the box, by the byline unopposed. He pulled the ball back to Junior, just arriving in the box, and he hammered the ball home via a big deflection. A slice of luck, but we were 1-0 up ! who would have thought that ? Forest, predictably pushed forward to get the equaliser. On 29 minutes Fulton cleared a goal bound effort off the line. On 32, we passed our way out of defence, up the pitch, with Fallon supplying the final pass, a pass that cut out the last defender and put Twardzik in with a clear sight of goal, he knocked the ball into the box a yard and then powered it past the flailing keeper, 2-0 ! We were in control then, shellshocked Forest didn’t have an answer. Fallon had a shot well saved late on in the half, but we went in to the half time break very much worth our half time lead. I told them I was proud of them and to keep it up, and hoped I wouldn’t live to regret it. Forest came out in the second half like a team that had been reminded of their relative stature in regards to us, and they played better. We defended well, but on 61 minutes they got a goal back. The momentum was definitely with them. Half an hour to go, was it possible we could hold on ? The pressure increased, Nicholls acquitting himself well, on 78 minutes though we broke out and Fallon’s superb 35 yard drive was equaled only by the Forest keeper’s flying save. Things were a lot more even after that. Forest had a corner near the death and skied the rebound as we half cleared it. That signaled the end for Forest and we had, indeed, held on. Final Score: Northampton Town 2-1 Nottingham Forest Scorers : Junior, Twardzik Man Of The Match: Junior Team: Nicholls, Mendy, Widdowson, Fulton , Armstrong , McCourt, Junior, Corry, Coke, Twardzik, Fallon It was announced after the match that our fifth round tie, away to Cardiff would be one of the live games, and be played on the Sunday. It would be worth over £200,000 to the club. Result. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Excellent result again their Chester...there happens to be a Manchester based club that could use your help IRL, fancy giving that a try Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 Mark, I'm not a miracle worker, sorry. Saturday February 7th 2015 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. Tamworth(13th) Several changes to the winning side against Forest. Fallon wanted to play but I’d rather he be fit in the longer term and so O’Halloran and Noble start up front. There’s also a first start for Minihan at right back. Thompson returns from his cup-tiedness too. It took only 9 minutes for us to get on the board today, a Keegan free-kick from the left side, chipped into the box where Hammar was given the time to volley the ball home. Picture goal, terrible defending. Nevermind. For the remainder of the first half we generally controlled the ball and created a number of chances, but our finishing wasn’t as good as it could have been, and their goalkeeper produced a couple of excellent saves. Corry was injured near the end of the half and I brought on Meades, playing a little out of position, to replace him. Ahead by a single goal, but dominating the match I thought I’d try the ‘don’t get complacent’ team talk. As expected it worked well on the defenders, but upset the forwards. That was ok, if we could stop Tamworth scoring we wouldn’t need the forwards to score again, would we ? On 52 minutes we extended our lead, a corner, half cleared, passed back out to Hackett on the wing, he then had the time and space to measure a cross onto the head of Ben Gibson who headed home his first ever senior goal, what a moment for the lad. Just past the hour I took off the wasteful Noble and replaced him with Fallon. The veteran New Zealander was then instrumental, on 73, in creating an opportunity just inside the box that O’Halloran dispatched in off a post. The game the kind faded to a natural conclusion. We had won at a canter, and elsewhere both Oxford and Wrexham had drawn. Final Score: Northampton Town 3-0 Tamworth League Position : 1st Scorers : Hammar, Gibson, O’Halloran Man Of The Match: Johan Hammar Team: Nicholls, Minihan, Warren, Gibson, Hammar , Hackett, Thompson, Corry (Meades 43), Keegan, Noble (Fallon 63), O’Halloran Corry’s injury was a twisted knee, and he’d be out for a month. The loss of Corry was not a welcome thing at this point in the season. All the players are tired to some extent and reducing the numbers available for any one position could weaken us just as the business end of the season is approaching. But I wasn’t that unhappy. We’d managed here to do something we hadn’t done in a while. We won the game after a cup game, no cup hangover here. It seemed that dispatching Forest had given us something more than just a payday at Cardiff, it had also given us belief. Now I hoped that this could carry us all the way to the end of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 Wednesday February 11th 2015 Blue Square Premier Division Venue: Sixfields Stadium Northampton Town (1st) vs. Southport(20th) Southport like to play a 5-3-2 which is a formation we have struggled with in the past, to counter that and to give it a run out before the FA Cup match I choose the 4-5-1 formation. Junior as the anchor and Fallon up front on his own. Robertson gets his first start on the right wing. We start brightly enough but Southport soon get to grips with our formation and we struggle to create anything worthwhile thereafter. It gets to half time goalless. I tell the lads I’m not happy and vow to give the formation 15 more minutes before I consider reverting to a 4-4-2. Only 6 minutes away from that self-imposed deadline we grab a goal, via that most reliable of methods, the Widdowson corner. Keegan this time getting on the end of it to prod it home. Southport regrouped once more and provided more of a challenge, still we shouldn’t have let them get an equaliser, which we did on 86 minutes, sloppy, sloppy defending. Two points let slip, I tell the guys in no uncertain terms at the end of the match, I’m not happy. Final Score: Northampton Town 1-1 Southport League Position : 1st Scorers : Keegan Man Of The Match: Joe Widdowson Team: Nicholls, Mendy, Widdowson, Armstrong, Gibson , Junior, Thompson, Coke, Robertson, Keegan, Fallon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfan2 Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 Cup fever abounded. I tried to temper it in the press conference but it didn’t seem to work. It wasn’t made any better by the draw for the sixth round happening before our fifth round match at Cardiff. That draw in full: Aston Villa (PRM) vs. Man City (PRM) Cardiff (PRM) or Northampton (BSP) vs. Tottenham Hotspur(BRM) Torquay United (L2) vs. Newcastle United (PRM) or Liverpool (PRM) Man Utd (PRM) vs. Norwich (PRM) So, once again Man Utd get the easy home draw Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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