Northampton Town v Port Vale
SKY BET LEAGUE 1
Tuesday March 14th, 7.45pm
Sixfields
NORTHAMPTON TOWN 2
Aaron Phillips 63
Matt Taylor 88
PORT VALE 1
JJ Hooper 73
Attendance: 4,812 (248 away fans)
Cobblers: Adam Smith, Aaron Phillips, David Buchanan, Zander Diamond, Lewin Nyatanga, Matt Taylor, John-Joe O’Toole, Luke Williams (sub Paul Anderson 83), Keshi Anderson (sub Hiram Boateng 77), Marc Richards, Michael Smith
Subs not used: Jak McCourt, Rod McDonald, Harry Beautyman, Brendan Moloney, David Cornell
Port Vale: Leonardo Fasan, Ben Purkiss, Kjell Knops (sub Remi Streete 81), JJ Hooper, Sam Foley, Anton Forrester, Scott Tanser (sub Francisco Kiko 46), Nathan Smith, Callum Guy, Chris Eagles, Olamide Shodipo (sub Sam Kelly 70)
Subs not used: Deniz Mehmet, Paulo Tavares, Dan Turner, William Reeves
Referee: Gavin Ward
Booked:
Cobblers: none
Port Vale: none
15 cautions at any time in season; 3 match suspension
Sent off:
Cobblers: none
Port Vale: 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.
David Buchanan made his 100th consecutive appearance for the Cobblers as they welcomed Port Vale. On a special night for Buchanan he was handed the captain’s armband while Keshi Anderson replaced Gregg Wylde in the only change to the starting eleven. JJ Hooper, who returned to Sixfields for a loan spell earlier in the season, started for Port Vale.
The Cobblers had the better of the opening ten minutes on a mild night in Northampton, Keshi Anderson curling a shot just over the bar and Luke Williams seeing an effort blocked at close range. After a slight lull in play Leonardo Fasan then made a smart save to deny Anderson with his shot seemingly destined for the bottom corner.
Marc Richards pounced on a chance following a slip from a Vale defender only to see his shot well blocked by Fasan. The home side were pressing and Richards had the ball in the back of the net on 41 minutes only to be thwarted by the off-side flag.
Sam Foley curled a shot wide after a surging run to the edge of the area following a largely scrappy start to the second half.
Aaron Phillips made the breakthrough on 63 minutes, the right-back curling in a cross that went over the head of Fasan.
An improvised effort from Richards went close to making it 2-0 as the Cobblers looked for a quick second.
It was Port Vale who got the next goal though, JJ Hooper scoring from 15 yards following substitute Sam Kelly’s cross.
Matt Taylor put the Cobblers back in front with the 90 minutes nearly up, Taylor scoring with a terrific strike from 30-yards.
There were some nervy moments in stoppage time as Vale pressed for a second equaliser but the Cobblers stood firm to see the game out, Richards also seeing a shot blocked at close range on the break as the Cobblers claimed the three points.
COBBLERS MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (4) 9
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (4) 9
CORNERS: (2) 7
FOULS: (3) 13
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (1) 2
PORT VALE MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (2) 3
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (0) 1
CORNERS: (0) 3
FOULS: (6) 12
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (0) 0
The above stats are recorded by club staff. The stats shown elsewhere on this page are recorded by Opta