A cloudy but mild Saturday afternoon greeted these well fancied but underperforming teams as they took to the Glanford Park pitch for this important League Two clash.

Paul Hurst’s struggling Iron lie 22nd in D4 but recent creditable draws against Bradford & Plymouth hinted at green shoots of a recovery & the hosts lined up in a traditional 4-4-2 formation as follows;

1  Watson

28 Brown 26 McGahey 23 McArdle 3 Ntlhe

7 Colclough 22 Sutton 5 Songo’o 20 Galliead

17 Novak  10 Van Veen

Keith Curle’s lower mid-table Cobblers took to the field in a 4-2-3-1 formation as follows;

1 Cornell

2 Hall-Johnson 5 Goode 16 Wharton 3 Martin

17 McWilliams 6 Turnbull

7 Hoskins 20 Warburton 10 Adams

19 Oliver

 

After a predictably tentative opening to the game the first opportunity of any note fell to Scunny’s Lee Novak who had his header from Gilliead’s cross saved by Cobblers keeper Cornell but just sixty seconds later the Iron were in front. A fine lofted ball by winger Ryan Colclough put Novak through on goal & the veteran frontman chipped the ball over Cornell to give his team the lead.

Five minutes later it was 2-0 to the rampant Iron, Gilliead’s cross was headed goalwards by Van Veen, Cornell saved well but the loose ball fell to Novak who gratefully grabbed his second goal of the match. The afternoon was getting worse for the beleaguered Cobblers soon afterwards when left back Joe Martin had to leave the field injured & he was replaced by the evergreen Alan McCormack.

The Iron virtually wrapped up the points on 32 minutes with a superb strike by Van Veen against his former club. He took control of the ball just inside the area with his back to goal with nothing looking “on”, but spun around & in one movement produced a sublime chip over Cornell to give his side a commanding 3-0 lead. Colclough was just wide with a snapshot as the hosts continued to dominate proceedings whereas Cobblers front men Warburton & Oliver weren’t getting much change out of Scunny’s rock solid looking defence as a dominant 45 minutes for the hosts came to an end.

HT Iron 3 Cobblers 0

Keith Curle must have been furious with his Cobblers team as he sent his team out for the second period a full four minutes before the host’s reappeared. Striker Andy Williams replaced the ineffective Turnbull as Curle changed formation in a bid to get back into the game. Loanee forward Jamie Proctor replaced Van Veen in Scunny’s attack which I can only assume was for injury as the Dutchman had been excellent in the first half.

The wave of Scunthorpe attacks eased in the early part of the second half with McCormack prominent in organising his defence & midfield using his vast experience to good effect but his team were finding it just as difficult to make inroads into the Iron’s defence. Sub Williams did get through though on 50 minutes but his effort was brilliantly saved by Watson in the host’s goal but the keeper’s afternoon was to be ended abruptly 4 minutes later when he gathered a dangerous loose ball while been challenged by Cobblers striker Oliver who accidentally caught him in the head with his boot.

After consulting his linesman referee Trevor Kettle decided that Oliver’s challenge was serious foul play & issued a straight red card which I thought was quite harsh & if I was Curle I’d be wanting to appeal Kettle’s decision. Watson was replaced by loanee Jake Eastwood for the remainder of the game. Little was seen of Scunthorpe’s attack in the second half but sub Proctor had Cornell scrambling to save his effort from the edge of the box on 70 minutes. Williams introduction had a positive impact on Northamptons attacking play & he came close again on 80 minutes with his effort going just wide but it was the home side who regrouped towards the end of the game with firstly Novak who hit the bar going very close to a hat trick, then the lively Colclough having a late effort saved by Cornell as the hosts closed out a very welcome win & clean sheet.

FT Iron 3 Cobblers 0

A welcome three points for the Iron that continues their improvement & while it doesn’t move them up the table it increases their points advantage over the clubs below them.

I doubt there being a Sunday day of rest at Sixfields as Keith Curle analyses this poor & disjointed performance from his side as the manager still strives for L2 consistency.

words Ian Bradley, D3D4 roving reporter