Cobblers! vs Northampton (L2)

Today's trip was to Northampton, City of Dreaming Lift Test Towers (you can have that one Northampton Borough Council if you're looking for a new marketing slogan). The closest league game of the season for me, a mere 25 minutes away. So a quick drive into Northants, having managed to have lunch at home on a Saturday for the first time in ages. Very civilized.

Parking was in a field - £2. Northampton: Cheaper than Chesterfield. There's another one.

A quick walk up to Sixfields and even though it was only 2.10 there was a good Us support already gathered in the South Stand behind the goal. Probably because there's naff all else to do around the stadium. Sixfields is a fairly bleak place. Windy. The corners open. Vinyl signs stuck straight onto stained concrete. Where was it reminding me of? Of course it has four sides (rather than the league 2 regulation three) and we took a side and a half of it. I was wearing the yellow shirt so, 2-1 to us was on the cards. It was getting a bit smelly so I doused myself in flea powder and Old Spice to make the matchday experience nicer for my neighbours in the stand.

The team included Beano as a starter, leaving Jack on the bench, with the newly reloaned Steve 'Macca' Mclean and Tom 'TC' Craddock joining the attack. See how I use their nicknames, it's just like I know them in real life! The Cobblers didn't start with their new signing Shaun Harrad. Apparently because he decided to join Northampton and leave Burton, he has had to go for a brain scan to see if there is a hole where his ambition gland should be.

We started well, and looked like the home team. However the real home team were getting all the decisions from the referee, Mr Andre 'I am a Premier League referee you know' Mariner and his dumpy sidekick with the yellow flag - who constantly let the Northampton players get away with offsides. Mr Andre 'I am a Premier League referee you know' Mariner had obviously decided that he wasn't playing the handball rule either as four Cobblers hands made suspicious ball deviations occur without any punishment. One involved the Cobblers player jumping into the air with his hand up, knocking the ball down and then shouting 'Yoo hoo, Mr Andre Mariner I've just handballed it' without any reprisals.

Meanwhile, Oxford were sticking to playing it with their feet and looked good doing it, but there was a touch of the Arsenals about it all - it didn't lead to many clearcut chances. Mostly due to the lack of any sideways movement up front. The strikers were running the channels, but not going on diagonal runs - which made them very easy to mark. Not that Northampton were doing much better really. They looked distinctly unthreatening, until they unleashed their deadly secret weapon. The corner. Dead ball crosses (well any sort of crosses really) have been our Achilles heel for a while now. One corner, a near post header and cobblers, one down with a few minutes to go until half time. How many games is that now without a clean sheet? 19? 20? Too bloody many, anyway.

Half time, and as against Bradford the team was applauded off despite being a goal down. Apart from some kids taking penalties in the centre circle into a very rickety temporary goal (ironically sponsored by Jewsons the building suppliers), the highlight was the good natured Oxford crowd keeping one of the balls kicked into the stand by a Cobblers player warming up. Teasing the steward about it, who then called a copper over (who I think said something along the lines of 'dont be so wet' before wandering off again) before himself wandering off a bit embarassed. It went on for a while and made me chuckle.

Second half. Again we started like a train and after about then minutes scored an equaliser through a suspiciously-offside-looking Tom Craddock. But it was the same useless lump of a linesman, so I suppose it shouldn't have surprised us. Anyway, we deserved the goal for our superiority. Then it started to go a bit Pete Tong.

I don't know if it was overconfidence, or simply a belief that another goal was inevitable and anxiety to get it sooner rather than later, but bit by bit we started to lose the fluent passing and get more of the aimless hoofing. The ball then started to come back at us quicker, our midfield fell back and Northampton started to look like the home team for the first time in the afternoon. There were a few shaky moments, with Ryan Clarke making some good saves before a nice Northampton move pulled the otherwise very steady Harry Worley out of position, a cross was sent in to the space where Worley should have been and a Cobblers player headed firmly past Clarke to put Northampton back into the lead. Oh. That wasn't supposed to happen.

The game then went very end-to-end, and we didn't really keep the composure that had seen us win against Bradford. Sam 'Lazarus' Deering came on and added a bit, but not enough really. Beano was clean though on goal before Mr Yellow Flag gave him offside (he wasn't), I suspect making up for an earier incorrect decision. Very poor. A few half chances, a stonewall penalty on Beano that that bloody 'Premiership' ref for some reason didn't see (maybe he thought the team playing in red were Manchester United?) and a couple of dreadful corners taken by Heslop (Why? Why? Why? He has hardly delivered a decent one in his time with us!) - one hitting the first man, one floated straight to the goalkeeper, more hoofing upfield and that was about it. Andre Mariner wasted a couple of the three minutes injury time wagging his finger at a couple of players to make sure the Cobblers held on, and it was all over.

Hmm. After a long wait to get out of the car park (just like home!) the journey back into Bedfordshire was nice and quick. Talking of council straplines (as we weren't), the one on the road back home from Northampton used to say 'Bedfordshire - Central to the Oxford/Cambridge Arc'. Brilliant. 'Bedfordshire - between two other, nicer places which are actually quite a way away'.

Ah well - at least there's another match on Tuesday to try and put things right. Against Shrewsbury, who are (I think) fourth in the table. It should give us some idea how we match up against one of the better teams.

Oh - should have mentioned. Our support was great again today, but despite the numbers (and a good new song) some people just won't join in with the vocal support. We were louder than the poor Cobblers support - whatever is the atmosphere like there when the away team bring 86 fans? - but it seemed it was only the same regular away trippers making the noise. Go on , join in - it makes the whole day so much more fun. Even when we lose. Bugger.

Today's conclusions:

We were guilty of overplaying the ball an awful lot today. That lead to us being shot shy up front, and a bit creaky in defence at times.
That doesn't mean hoof it though - we look much better when playing it on the deck as much as possible - when it is safe to do so, of course!
I sound like a broken record, but can we try something else when defending corners? Like jumping for the ball from a running start rather than a standing one? The attackers are doing that and they therefore are getting about two foot in the air above our blokes.
Get someone else (anyone else) other than Heslop to take our corners.
A bit more challenging in midfield please. After doing it well when we were on top, we gave it up later in the game. It showed.
If we can't keep a clean sheet occasionally, then we won't fulfil our potential this season.
Just shoot! For God's sake SHOOT!
If there was a referee's assessor there today, Mr Andre 'Too big for his boots to bother to referee a league two match properly' Mariner will be running the line at Didcot next week.
For me, today shows why we will very probably end up in upper mid-table. We are inconsistent, and leaky at the back - which is never nice. We might sneak into the playoffs, but I think automatic promotion is out of our reach.

That bloody yellow shirt is in the washing machine on boil wash. I'll teach it to let me down!