Northampton 2-4 Bolton

Excluding the game against Arsenal in the EFL League Cup who are two leagues above us, Can we continue the run and make it 3 games in a row?

Thanks kp.

Cajunboy wrote:Thanks kp.

Another great win tonight!

Looked a bit dicy towards the end though with Bolton letting 2 quick goals in.

Roll on the next one!

4-0 up and they can't give me an easy ride to my bed. Good job we had four in the bank or I might have soiled myself.
Again.

The goals -

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Ian Evatt reckons his Wanderers hit their “absolute best” in their 4-2 win at Northampton Town, which lifts them to 11th spot in League One.

Winning a third consecutive game for the first time in the calendar year, Bolton raced into a four-goal lead through John McAtee, George Thomason, Eoin Toal and Dion Charles.

Two late consolations took the shine off the performance somewhat and left Evatt feeling slightly frustrated after the final whistle.

“It has taken the gloss off it a bit for me because I think it was a bit of complacency, over-confidence, I don’t know. Long term it is a reminder that will serve us well that we can’t switch off,” he said of the late goals for Tom Eaves and Jon Guthrie.

“For 90 minutes it was a lot like us. We were fluid, good movement, pressing was intelligent, it was a very good away performance.”

Evatt and his side came under fire for a slow start to the season but have seen an upturn in results after switching back to a 3-5-2 system.

“I think we have reset and reminded ourselves of who we are and who we want to be,” the manager said.

“We don’t need to change into something we are not. There wasn’t a lot broken last season and all the noise from inside, sometimes outside, was that we needed to change, do we have to have plan B etc.

“There are things we can tweak within this system but we have reminded the players what we can do, what we are good at, and in the last few games we have seen it in spells but this was the most consistent performance where we were at our absolute best at times, first goal and second goal in particular.”

This week has also seen the spotlight turned on defender Ricardo Santos after abusive messages were sent to him and his family over the last few weeks.

The 29-year-old had refused acknowledge supporters in the last couple of games but after receiving raucous backing from the 633 travelling fans at Northampton, he did applaud them after the final whistle.

“Football is tough,” Evatt said. “You have highs and lows but it is how you manage the lows that defines you as an individual, a team and a collective, and we have tried to respond in the right way. Our focus now is on a huge game against Shrewsbury on Saturday.

“Winning games is tough, and we have learned that harsh lesson at the start of the season. We are not going to rest on our laurels, we’ll refresh and energise. It has been a tough three away games in six days, different types of places, lots of travelling – and I have to say a massive thankyou to our supporters, they travelled in number, backed the team and supported Rico, which I know meant a lot to him, personally.

“This club is a much better place when it is together, so let’s try and keep it that way as best we can.”

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Northampton boss Jon Brady felt Wanderers' strength in attack was key as the Whites' ran out 4-2 winners at Sixfields.

John McAtee and Aaron Collins got the nod from the start, with Dion Charles and Victor Adeboyejo joining the action during the second half.

McAtee opened the scoring in the early stages with a ruthless finish, while Charles netted the fourth in the final 10 minutes.

“A very tough night,” Brady told the club channels. “We have stepped on with a high line and they have carved through us.

“They played it round the back early and with the aggressive runs through, they scored the first goal early and that really punished us.

“From the quick restart, we don’t adjust our line and they get through us again. You look at the first half and they have three chances overall, we have four good ones.

“It is too easy for them to get in. Their keeper makes some good saves but the goals we gave away were too easy.

“The difference we find at this level is the frontmen. A lot of these teams have invested well and they spend a lot on their frontmen.

“You see the two who start and then the two they bring on, it is a big difference. When you have that strength, it gives them a hell of an attacking prowess. Overall, we were beaten by the better team on the night.”

The Cobblers pulled back two late goals, with one being scored by former Bolton youngster Tom Eaves on his first start for the club.

“We have never been a side that gives in,” Brady added. “You can see the guys were still working extremely hard to get back in the game, but obviously it was too easy at times for them to score.

“The scoreline reflected that at 4-0 but to pull it back to 4-2, goal difference might be so crucial at the end of the season.

“Make no bones about it, the strength of these teams in this league this year is totally different to last.”

Former Wanderer Luke Mbete was stretchered off after suffering an injury during the second half.

When asked about his condition, Brady replied: “I don’t want to speculate but I don’t think it is good.

“I think it is a muscle injury and he was quite upset. He felt a lot of pain. It is something we are having no luck in in that position. I just feel for the lad because he is a cracking young man.”

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Played really well for spells. Granted Northampton are terrible. They also exposed us quite badly at the end. That is a major reason why we won’t be in the mix at the end of the season.

Looked great at 4-0 but the 2 late goals did take the shine off the game. Still work to be done tightening up at the back.

At this point it looks like Birmingham will walk the league - that second spot will suit us but more likely a play-off spot again. A win on Saturday will likely put us in the top six if other results go our way. All we can do is keep our heads down and play like last night.
COYWM