Northampton Town v Bury
SKY BET LEAGUE 1
Saturday October 29th, 3.00pm
Sixfields
NORTHAMPTON TOWN 3
Marc Richards 36, 64 pen
Matt Taylor 71
BURY 2
George Miller 74
Zeli Ismail 82
Attendance: 5,739 (282 away fans)
Cobblers: Adam Smith, Brendan Moloney, David Buchanan, Zander Diamond, Gabriel Zakuani, Jak McCourt (sub John-Joe O'Toole 86), Matt Taylor, Paul Anderson (sub Alfie Potter 81), Sam Hoskins, JJ Hooper, Marc Richards (sub Lewin Nyatanga 90)
Subs not used: David Cornell, Kenji Gorre, Harry Beautyman, Aaron Phillips
Bury: Ben Williams, Greg Leigh, Anthony Kay, Andrew Tutte (sub Hallam Hope 46), Danny Mayor, James Vaughan, Neil Danns, Jacob Mellis, Tom Soares (sub George Miller 54), Niall Maher, Tom Walker (sub Zeli Ismail 46)
Subs not used: Kelvin Etuhu, Scott Burgess, Paul Rachubka, Jacob Bedeau
Referee: Mr C Boyeson
Booked:
Cobblers: Marc Richards (30, 2nd of the season)
Bury: Jacob Mellis (35), Zeli Ismail (46), Anthony Kay (47), Danny Mayor (70), Neil Danns (90), Hallam Hope (90)
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
Bury: none
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.
Cobblers boss Rob Page made two changes for the visit of Bury to end the month of October, Matt Taylor came straight back into the side following a three-match ban while Marc Richards replaced the suspended Alex Revell up front.
Sam Hoskins tested Ben Williams with a first time shot on 9 minutes before Richards went close to opening the scoring following a delicious ball in from Taylor. Andrew Tutte meanwhile found the roof of the net in a rare opening for the away side.
A good save from Adam Smith denied Neil Danns midway through the first half while Sam Hoskins headed wide.
The Cobblers took the lead on 36 minutes, Marc Richards breaking the deadlock with an instinctive close range finish from Matt Taylor’s free-kick.
Hoskins had a chance to quickly make it 2-0 but was denied when one-on-one with the Bury keeper. From a McCourt cross Hoskins then found the side netting as the home side continued to dominate.
Bury boss David Flitcroft made a double change at half-time, bringing on Zeli Ismail and former Cobblers loanee Hallam Hope.
The Cobblers started the second half on top with Hoskins again heavily involved in the action, first seeing a shot blocked at close range by Niall Maher and then curling an effort just over the bar from the ensuing corner.
Williams saved another shot from Hoskins before play quickly switched to the other end, Smith saving at the feet of Shakers substitute George Miller.
Marc Richards doubled the Cobblers lead from the penalty spot, the penalty awarded after Hoskins was felled in the area.
On the hunt for a hat-trick Richards almost completed his treble when he charged down a clearance from Williams before JJ Hooper looped a header wide from a ball forward from Anderson.
A superb Matt Taylor free-kick made it 3-0 with just under 20 minutes to go but Bury did pull a goal back soon after, George Miller’s header coming totally against the run of play.
Zeli Ismail’s deflected effort made it 3-2 as the visitors set up a tense finale.
As the game entered stoppage time Anthony Kay saw a header saved by Smith while Gabriel Zakuani made a terrific challenge to deny the on-rushing Hope. It was a nervous end to the game with nearly 10 minutes of injury time but the Cobblers held on to claim the three points.
COBBLERS MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (4) 11
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (4) 9
CORNERS: (2) 4
FOULS: (6) 9
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (1) 2
BURY MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (1) 7
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (3) 4
CORNERS: (1) 3
FOULS: (9) 17
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (0) 0
The above stats are recorded by club staff. The stats shown elsewhere on this page are recorded by Opta