Ending the year on the up
With a third win in a row against opposition who could be described as the bad, the grim and the ugly, Town enter 2026 with renewed optimism, sitting in the top six and carrying important momentum that has proved so elusive for much of the season to date.
Lee Grant has now firmly grasped a lifeline thrown out by a very kind fixture scheduler but, like the majority of us, will understand that knocking over these limited opponents will mean little if the much sterner challenges ahead are not met with significantly more success than in the first half of the campaign.
Despite fielding what looked like an overly defensive starting XI, with little guile evident, Grant is managing a packed schedule and could quite reasonably argue that Northampton’s physicality, experienced very recently in a dreadful encounter, had to be matched from the beginning to deliver a result.
He was proved correct in a first half of attrition as a limited but well-organised Cobblers side sought to spoil and disrupt at every turn, with no little success apart from a bright ten-minute period for the hosts which created pressure and chances, including a spectacular overhead kick by Balker that was very well saved.
Castledine, possibly in his final appearance, should have done better with an opportunity at the end of the best move of the half as May and Sorensen combined well down the right.
Wallace, excellent throughout, along with the much-improved Low and Balker, rather easily snuffed out the little threat carried by the visitors and built a good platform for Town’s greater quality to come to the fore, while Kasumu and Ledson worked hard to win the midfield battle.
The sole moment of concern was a missed chance at the back post from a flick-on, which served as a warning that if their limited opposition could sneak a lead, the task ahead would have been magnified.
The increasingly annoying tactic of a mysterious goalkeeper injury was, predictably, employed, allowing the visitors some breathing space and new instructions. Had Town not done exactly the same in other games, they could have legitimately complained, but pot, kettle, black applies.
Just as Northampton looked like thwarting their previously free-scoring hosts, Town took the lead shortly before the break when Low stayed forward and was left all alone to connect with a very good Sorensen cross, which he despatched nicely with a downward header.
The simplicity of the goal will undoubtedly have hugely annoyed Nolan, the visitors’ manager, who saw 45 minutes of resilience and dark arts ruined by a lack of concentration and organisation.
It was a little surprising that Low was replaced at half-time by Roosken, with Roughan moving to a more defensive role. Whether it was a tactical move, injury, or planned management of his game time, the oft-criticised Low had completed his best half of football for some time.
Taking the advantage into the second half in the context of a tough, uncompromising contest reduced pressure on Town, forced Northampton into greater adventure and opened up a dour encounter, albeit only to an extent.
For all the Cobblers’ obduracy, Town should have wrapped up the points on several occasions in a slightly more entertaining second half, with both strikers guilty of bad finishing.
First, Alfie May was on the end of an excellent Roosken cross but, as he had done at Exeter, his connection was rushed and inaccurate, with the ball flying over. The front man has made some good contributions in recent games since being restored, but scoring goals is what he is paid for and more are required.
However, great work by May on the byline to set up Radulovic should have earned him an assist, but the Serb got his finish wrong and his attempted clip cleared the bar harmlessly from close range.
Roughan then found Castledine with a great ball into the area, which he took down well but mishit his strike to force only a routine save when he should have scored.
The importance of a second goal was emphasised late on when a push in the back of Roughan went unnoticed and allowed Swyer to bear down on Nicholls before Balker slid in with perfect timing to quell the danger.
Other than that, threats from the visitors were sporadic and unconvincing, but it only takes one slip or stroke of luck. There was a brief period when Town were penned back and conceding too many set pieces.
Ironically, the elusive second goal came when Northampton were trying to apply pressure. A long clearance by Harness from an attempted cross was fought for and won by substitute Charles, who did very well to resist the attentions of two defenders before rolling the ball into the path of Radulovic, who sealed the three points.
Despite the limitations of the last three opponents – and Northampton were easily the best of those – this was the type of game Grant and his team were losing or failing to win earlier in the season, and not so long ago, so progress is being made.
Having, hopefully, learned how to despatch the lesser lights of a generally poor division, the vital next step is to compete with nearer rivals, and they could hardly face a tougher test than in-form Lincoln at the dawn of 2026.
Grant has faced justified criticism this season, and questioning the advisability of appointing a manager with no experience and too much control remains valid, but he deserves some praise for a revival in fortunes, however bad, grim or ugly the opposition.
He now needs to double down and motivate a deep, highly paid squad to turn around their underachieving season in the second half. We really shouldn’t be viewing Lincoln City – admirable as their marshalling of more limited resources has been – as a mountain to climb, and the same goes for Bolton, Stockport and Bradford, who are all on the horizon.
Time to start truly punching our weight.
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