SKY BET LEAGUE 2     
Saturday August 27th, 3.00pm
Sixfields

NORTHAMPTON TOWN 0

DONCASTER ROVERS 1
George Miller 69 pen

Attendance: 5,515 (731 away supporters)

Cobblers: Lee Burge, Harvey Lintott (sub Akin Odimayo 84), Tyler Magloire, Jon Guthrie, Ali Koiki (sub Ryan Haynes 84), Sam Hoskins, Shaun McWilliams (sub Jack Sowerby 68), Marc Leonard, Mitch Pinnock, Kieron Bowie, Louis Appere (sub Danny Hylton 68)
Subs not used: Jonny Maxted, Max Dyche, Ben Fox
 
Doncaster: Jonathan Mitchell, Kyle Knoyle, Ro-Shaun Williams, Luke Molyneux (sub Tavonga Kuleya 90), Adam Clayton, George Miller (sub Adam Long 90), Tommy Rowe, Harrison Biggins, Kyle Hurst, Lee Tomlin (sub Kieran Agard 89), Bobby Faulkner
Subs not used: James Maxwell, Louis Jones, Charlie Seaman, Liam Ravenhill

Referee: Neil Hair

Booked:
Cobblers: Sam Hoskins (20, 3rd of the season), Shaun McWilliams (57, 3rd)
Doncaster: Ro-Shaun Williams (90)

5 cautions on or before 19 games; 1 match suspension
10 cautions on or before 37 games; 2 match suspension       
15 cautions at any time in season; 3 match suspension

Sent off:
Cobblers: none      
Doncaster: none

Two unbeaten sides in Sky Bet League Two met at Sixfields as Northampton Town welcomed Doncaster Rovers.

Manager Jon Brady made one change to the team, with Louis Appere replacing Danny Hylton while the fit again Jack Sowerby returned to the matchday eighteen as a substitute. Included in the Rovers side was former Cobblers loanee goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell.

On a sunny late summer’s afternoon, Marc Leonard had an early shot blocked behind for a corner, from which Mitch Pinnock almost caught Mitchell off his line, but the Rovers stopper backpedalled to claim well under pressure.

The former Cobblers loanee was in action again on six minutes, getting behind a curling Sam Hoskins free kick, while the name of Hoskins was the first in to referee’s notebook of the afternoon after a foul on Harrison Biggins just before the half way mark in the first half.

The visitors threatened from a corner on thirty three minutes but the Cobblers had numbers back to block from Lee Tomlin inside the area before scrambling the follow up effort clear in the final opportunity of a goalless first half.

Mitch Pinnock was wide with a shot from distance in the opening exchanges of the second half, while Leonard was also off target with a first time half volley from outside the area soon afterwards.

Biggins met a deep cross but was wide with his effort for Rovers at the other end, but the visitors were close on 54 minutes, Lee Burge doing well to be right behind a 12 yard drive from Lee Tomlin.

Doncaster had the ball in the net from a corner just before the hour mark but the referee’s whistle had already been blown for a foul.

The visitors were awarded a penalty on 66 minutes when McWilliams was adjudged to have tripped Tomlin after the referee originally waved the appeals away, George Miller scoring from the spot after a lengthy delay while Tomlin was treated.

Mitchell was behind substitute Hylton’s header from a Pinnock cross on 79 minutes, before there was a Cobblers debut for Akin Odimayo, on for Harvey Lintott as part of a double change that saw Ryan Haynes replace Ali Koiki.

Hoskins saw a low drive saved by Mitchell, while for Doncaster, George Miller raced clear only to be denied by a superb covering tackle from Tyler Magloire.

With six additional minutes signalled, Hylton headed just wide from a Pinnock cross in what was to prove the final chance of the afternoon as the Cobblers suffered their first league defeat of the season and their first in twelve league games, a run stretching back to early April.

COBBLERS MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)     
SHOTS ON TARGET: (2) 4
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (2) 5
CORNERS: (1) 3         
FOULS: (5) 13       
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (1) 1

DONCASTER MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)      
SHOTS ON TARGET: (4) 9
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (1) 5 
CORNERS: (3) 5
FOULS: (4) 11
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (0) 0