Wilder hails team spirit and lauds Cobblers fans after Newcastle exit

Cobblers boss Chris Wilder was proud of the way his side responded to a nightmare start against Newcastle United in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday and hopes it’s a sign of things to come.
IN WITH A SHOUT - Cobblers boss Chris Wilder (right) and Newcastle boss Steve McClaren dish out the orders from their technical areas (Picture: Kirsty Edmonds)IN WITH A SHOUT - Cobblers boss Chris Wilder (right) and Newcastle boss Steve McClaren dish out the orders from their technical areas (Picture: Kirsty Edmonds)
IN WITH A SHOUT - Cobblers boss Chris Wilder (right) and Newcastle boss Steve McClaren dish out the orders from their technical areas (Picture: Kirsty Edmonds)

Northampton found themselves 2-0 down in no time against the fast-starting Magpies as Florian Thauvin and Siem De Jong both netted inside eight minutes, but the visitors bounced back through Marc Richards’ penalty a minute later.

Richards then squandered a golden chance to level, planting a diving header wide from a well-worked free-kick, and that proved the turning point as Newcastle went on to claim a 4-1 win.

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“We got ourselves back up off the canvas which is what pleased me most,” Wilder said afterwards. “We’ve got a lot of spirit and hopefully the performance against Plymouth on Saturday was a one-off.

Northampton's fans were in fine voice all nightNorthampton's fans were in fine voice all night
Northampton's fans were in fine voice all night

“They paid us ultimate respect in terms of the team that they picked and the subs they had. Quite a lot of these early rounds are filled in with U21 players but they certainly didn’t have any of those tonight.

“We got off to an awful start but we got ourselves off the canvas and we had an opportunity to get right back into it through a fantastic free-kick to make it 2-2.

“A couple of times we were on the rocks but you have to look at the quality we were up against.

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“We looked more like a team than we did on Saturday. We had to withstand a lot of pressure but we were in the game until the fourth goal.”

Wilder was also full of praise for the travelling Cobblers contingent, who were in fine voice throughout despite their side’s struggles.

He added: “All of our players went to the supporters at the end for the backing we had because it was outstanding effort.

“It’s a long way to come on Tuesday - to take a 1,000 supporters is first class and hopefully they’ll go away with good memories in terms of the occasion and that we’ve given it a go.

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“We didn’t take advantage of our moments. We broke the play up quite well and we drove forward but maybe we didn’t pick that final pass or finish.

“I’ve got no complaints about the attitude of my team tonight. We looked a team and now we’ve got to take that forward.”