Northampton Town 1 Shrewsbury Town 1 - the match report
SKY BET LEAGUE 2
Saturday August 23rd, 3.00pm
Sixfields
NORTHAMPTON TOWN 1
Emile Sinclair 90
SHREWSBURY TOWN 1
James Collins 64
Attendance: 4,369 (442 away fans)
Cobblers: Matt Duke, Ben Tozer, Gregor Robertson (sub Ricky Ravenhill 68), Zander Diamond, Lee Collins, Chris Hackett (sub Lawson D'Ath 64), John-Joe O’Toole, Joel Byrom, Kaid Mohamed, Ivan Toney (sub Emile Sinclair 68), Marc Richards.
Subs not used: Jordan Archer, David Moyo, Alex Nicholls, Sam Warburton.
Shrewsbury: Jayson Leutwiler, Mickey Demetriou, Connor Goldson, Ashley Vincent (sub James Collins 43), Liam Lawrence (sub Ryan Woods 28), Cameron Gayle, James Wesolowski, Andy Mangan, Nathaniel Knight-Percival, Jordan Clarke, Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro (sub Scott Vernon 82).
Subs not used: Aaron Wildig, Andy Robinson, Mark Halstead.
Referee: Mr D Deadman
Booked:
Cobblers: John-Joe O'Toole (73, 2nd of the season)
Shrewsbury: Jayson Leutwiler (45), Ryan Woods (82)
5 cautions on or before 30 November; 1 match suspension
10 cautions on or before 11 April; 2 match suspension
15 cautions at any time in season; 3 match suspension
Sent off:
Cobblers: none
Shrewsbury: Liam Lawrence (26)
Sendings off: 2 cautions in one game; 1 match suspension but cautions do not count towards above totals. Other sendings off; 1 or 3 match suspension. Extra match ban for additional sendings off.
Chris Hackett, Ben Tozer and new loan signing, Preston midfielder Joel Byrom, all came into the Northampton Town side for the visit of Shrewsbury Town to Sixfields. Ricky Ravenhill dropped to the bench with Evan Horwood (tendonitis) and Daniel Alfei, who picked up a knock in the game at Portsmouth in midweek, both unavailable for selection.
It was debutant Byrom who had the first attempt of the afternoon, his snap shot on 7 minutes going just wide. Kaid Mohamed was the first to test Jayson Leutwiler but his effort on 22 minutes was comfortably saved by the Shrews keeper.
Shrewsbury were down to ten men soon after, Liam Lawrence shown a straight red card after the referee adjudged he went in over the top on the ankle of Byrom. The Shrews then made a change following Lawrence’s dismissal, bringing on Ryan Woods for striker Andy Mangan.
As the Cobblers looked to make their numerical advantage count, a sublime cross from Hackett set up a chance for Richards but his acrobatic header was cleared by Cameron Gayle. The Shrews were then forced into making a second change on 43 minutes, James Collins coming on for the injured Ashley Vincent.
Byrom had a shot deflected over in first half stoppage time as the home side pressed hard for an opener. Shrewsbury survived three stoppage time corners however to maintain parity going into the break.
Matt Duke made a good save to tip away a drive from James Collins on 54 minutes, the shot from Collins coming just after Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro had also had an opportunity to put the away side in front.
Jordan Clarke went close to breaking the deadlock just after the hour mark, his rasping drive striking the underside of the Cobblers crossbar before bouncing away to safety.
It was Shrewsbury who did take the lead on 64 minutes, James Collins calmly tucking the ball past Duke.
Chris Wilder responded by making a change, Lawson D’Ath replacing Hackett. That was quickly followed by a double substitution for the team in claret, Emile Sinclair and Ricky Ravenhill coming on for Gregor Robertson and Ivan Toney.
Duke had to be alert on 79 minutes to keep out a shot from Shrews substitute Ryan Woods, who was played in by goalscorer Collins. Micky Mellon then made his final change, Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro making way for former Cobblers loanee Scott Vernon.
The Cobblers equalised in the 90th minute, Emile Sinclair heading home a cross from Lawson D’Ath. Kaid Mohamed then went close to turning the game completely on its head but his shot went just over and the points were shared.
COBBLERS MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (2) 5
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (3) 5
CORNERS: (5) 6
FOULS: (4) 10
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (0) 1
SHREWSBURY MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (0) 3
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (0) 2
CORNERS: (2) 5
FOULS: (4) 9
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (2) 6
The above stats are recorded by club staff. The stats shown elsewhere on this page are recorded by Opta