| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread 20:59 - Feb 24 with 14563 views | HullDale |
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| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 11:35 - Feb 27 with 2428 views | James1980 |
| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 11:25 - Feb 27 by tony_roch975 |
true, they would but also fair to say the pitch has become very bobbly recently - perhaps yesterday's new tactics of touchline wide players and long crossfield balls was a response; it certainly worked |
Robbie commented on the condition of the pitch in a recent interview. |  |
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| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 11:41 - Feb 27 with 2396 views | dawlishdale |
A much improved performance, and a well deserved win yesterday. Complete contrast to the PV game on Tuesday.
Thought every player put a real shift in, including the subs.
Can't understand how Northampton set up...surely the poorest of the teams near the top that we've played. Suppose we made them look poor with our work rate,. we were first to almost every 50-50 ball; again in stark contrast to Tuesday. They never looked likely to score, and I can't recall them troubling Lynch apart from a weak long distance effort.
Welcome return for Jimmy K, who had a solid game, and special mention for Matt Done, who had possibly his most effective game in years.
Up the Dale. | | | |
| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 11:45 - Feb 27 with 2373 views | tony_roch975 |
| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 18:08 - Feb 26 by Shun |
Really good performance. I echo DA in saying that was near enough the perfect 1-0. Defensively excellent, good football, good going forwards. What really pleased me was the movement off the ball of our players. That, coupled with Northampton’s reluctance to press us (a breath of fresh air after Port Vale!), allowed us to make some really nice passages of play.
Everyone played well but a special mention for Done, who was very good, still has an unexpectedly impressive turn of pace, and created our best chance of the game (bar the goal). Keohane as well - when O’Keefe came back nobody was more excited than me but Keohane’s just put in a better performance than Corey has since his return.
Lynch was assured and the back three in particular were excellent. More of the same, please! |
I'm no fan of Newby but I have to say yesterday was his most complete performance too - ratted away at tackles, made a good covering block on the front post and combined well with JK - got a 1st time cross over for the goal. More please Alex.
Dorsett's driving runs out of defence early on set the tone. Equally - Northampton's failure to press us high like Port Vale was a key difference with Tuesday; gave us the space to grow in confidence and get on the front foot (the 10 corners & 12 shots were the consequence) | |
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| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 12:18 - Feb 27 with 2272 views | D_Alien |
| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 11:45 - Feb 27 by tony_roch975 |
I'm no fan of Newby but I have to say yesterday was his most complete performance too - ratted away at tackles, made a good covering block on the front post and combined well with JK - got a 1st time cross over for the goal. More please Alex.
Dorsett's driving runs out of defence early on set the tone. Equally - Northampton's failure to press us high like Port Vale was a key difference with Tuesday; gave us the space to grow in confidence and get on the front foot (the 10 corners & 12 shots were the consequence) |
Yes, it was interesting that when fresh legs were needed later on, the introduction of O'Keeffe led not to the substitution of Keohane or Newby (who switched wings) but Matty Done. That was probably also due to his relative lack of match fitness, age and the energy Done had put in, but nevertheless, it signalled to Newby that if he wants more game time he needs to be doing as you describe and that there's competition
In fact, that's what we're starting to see all over the pitch now, from the goalkeeper upwards, and very healthy it is too. Whilst Downing will no doubt return when fit, Taylor looks to have grow in assurance. The signing of Ball has given us strength in midfield (not to mention the crossfield passes you've referred to) and we've more options up front than at any other stage this season too
I had a concern when Campbell first appeared that he'd be a bit lightweight. He's not the biggest for sure, but he's starting to more than make up for that with real grit and being prepared to fight for every scrap of possession. It led to us gaining a point last Tuesday and he's showing he can put the ball away given the chances. Attitude counts for so much and no doubt RS took this into account when spending money on him. Once Charman is fully up to speed we'll have options galore. All in all, it's telling me that RS knows precisely what he's doing, and as the first hints of spring sunshine shone on the COA yesterday, we may just have seen the first shoots of our footballing regeneration |  |
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| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 12:57 - Feb 27 with 2157 views | TomRAFC |
| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 12:18 - Feb 27 by D_Alien |
Yes, it was interesting that when fresh legs were needed later on, the introduction of O'Keeffe led not to the substitution of Keohane or Newby (who switched wings) but Matty Done. That was probably also due to his relative lack of match fitness, age and the energy Done had put in, but nevertheless, it signalled to Newby that if he wants more game time he needs to be doing as you describe and that there's competition
In fact, that's what we're starting to see all over the pitch now, from the goalkeeper upwards, and very healthy it is too. Whilst Downing will no doubt return when fit, Taylor looks to have grow in assurance. The signing of Ball has given us strength in midfield (not to mention the crossfield passes you've referred to) and we've more options up front than at any other stage this season too
I had a concern when Campbell first appeared that he'd be a bit lightweight. He's not the biggest for sure, but he's starting to more than make up for that with real grit and being prepared to fight for every scrap of possession. It led to us gaining a point last Tuesday and he's showing he can put the ball away given the chances. Attitude counts for so much and no doubt RS took this into account when spending money on him. Once Charman is fully up to speed we'll have options galore. All in all, it's telling me that RS knows precisely what he's doing, and as the first hints of spring sunshine shone on the COA yesterday, we may just have seen the first shoots of our footballing regeneration |
You touch on something special there. Walking out of the Sandy with a well earned 3 points under our belt and the sun shining was absolutely wonderful.
With the late goal on Tuesday, it seemed like a lot of the celebrations were directed at the Port Vale fans. Yesterday's celebrations were directed straight at the players, manager, and the club.
Up the Dale, not for sale! | |
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| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 13:10 - Feb 27 with 2103 views | 49thseason |
If Downing comes back in and replaces Taylor, I think Taylor could be employed as an occasional defensive midfielder, perhaps allowing Ball to get forward more. Its taken a while but Taylors performances over the last 2 or 3 games have been proof positive that there is definitely a player in there and his confidence is improving with every game. And, he scores goals! |  | | |
| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 17:44 - Feb 27 with 1744 views | DaleiLama |
| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 18:08 - Feb 26 by Shun |
Really good performance. I echo DA in saying that was near enough the perfect 1-0. Defensively excellent, good football, good going forwards. What really pleased me was the movement off the ball of our players. That, coupled with Northampton’s reluctance to press us (a breath of fresh air after Port Vale!), allowed us to make some really nice passages of play.
Everyone played well but a special mention for Done, who was very good, still has an unexpectedly impressive turn of pace, and created our best chance of the game (bar the goal). Keohane as well - when O’Keefe came back nobody was more excited than me but Keohane’s just put in a better performance than Corey has since his return.
Lynch was assured and the back three in particular were excellent. More of the same, please! |
Your point about pressing was the difference between 3 points and another draw for me. It was bizarre because after 5 minutes of them pressing and us looking a little nervy, I actually commented that they had read the manual on "how to beat Dale" and I was starting to get a feeling of deja vu. Then, even more bizarrely, they sat back and let us play so we did and went from strength to strength.
There wasn't a bad performance anywhere on the pitch and those 3 points are a credit to management and players alike. Plenty of spirit on show, combative performances from most giving there all and a genuinely glorious afternoon in every respect. As you say, Doney was relentless and when he tracked back and overtook their player it nearly brought a tear to the eye.
If I had one very minor gripe it would be Grant dribbling into cul-de-sacs again. If he just put his head up and laid it off once or twice his assists would go through the roof.
The concern that we are vulnerable to the high press remains (true for even the best teams), but hopefully we learn as we continue to evolve.
I mentioned on the 6 page PV match thread "a win on Saturday versus the Cobblers gives us 8 points from a possible 12 and I think a huge amount of the current angst would evaporate". Not even half way through p3 on this one. The PV thread went into the 6th. Let's hope for several more short match threads in the near future. [Post edited 27 Feb 2022 17:45]
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| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 18:13 - Feb 27 with 1675 views | mikehunt |
Remember Grant made a fantastic solo run just after he came on. Just ran in to trouble before he could shoot. So he does have that in his locker. |  |
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| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 18:36 - Feb 27 with 1596 views | 49thseason |
The main difference for me was the willingness to do the " messy" things, challenging for 2nd balls, pushing, pulling, niggling. We knew they had decent technical skills, now it seems they have learned to scrap a bit as well. The Kids are growing up quickly! | | | |
| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 18:50 - Feb 27 with 1546 views | boromat |
| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 18:13 - Feb 27 by mikehunt |
Remember Grant made a fantastic solo run just after he came on. Just ran in to trouble before he could shoot. So he does have that in his locker. |
He has moments that makes me flash back to Paddy McCourt. He just glides effortlessly past players at times. When he came on I thought he was just taking the p1ss on occasion. If he could find the confidence to pull that off more often and add a final product he'd be going to a team much higher up the pyramid. | |
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| Northampton Town (h) Match Thread on 10:39 - Feb 28 with 1138 views | BucketBstard |
Very encouraging.
Lets hope Charman gets up to match fitness sooner rather than later, we might have a formidable front two :-) | | | |
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