Brady adamant Cobblers 'deserved something' against Wigan Athletic but rues costly moments

Cobblers boss Jon Brady was adamant that his side ‘deserved something’ against Wigan Athletic on Saturday but admitted he was disappointed by the way they defended Callum McManaman’s winning goal.

Town were excellent for long spells at the DW Stadium and deservedly led with 20 minutes to play after Sam Hoskins had picked out the top corner with a superb free-kick midway through the first half.

However, Charlie Hughes headed Wigan level from a corner on 71 minutes and then 10 minutes later McManaman was allowed to cut inside and brilliantly pick out the top corner to complete the turnaround.

"We definitely deserved something from the game,” said Brady. “It’s a set-piece for the equaliser and then it’s a one v one on the side. We shouldn’t let him inside because we know what he (McManaman) can do.

"It’s a step up in level and he comes inside and puts it into the top corner. We had sorted the shape and that shouldn’t happen, but overall we’ve reduced them to no shots on target until the 68th minute.”

Cobblers played particularly well in the first half as they looked to pass through Wigan in possession and then press them high and aggressively off the ball. That led to several chances, including Will Hondermarck’s effort off the post inside 90 seconds and Patrick Brough’s late opportunity which came just seconds before McManaman’s winner.

"They’ve made a lot of blocks and we’ve had some great opportunities, Broughy’s one which trickles past the post, Hondermarck hits the woodwork, and to come here and play the way we did, and pass the ball with purpose, step on the front foot and take the game to them, I felt we were very, very good at times,” Brady added.

"At this level, it’s about key moments and that has let us down today, but it’s learning and we have to learn from this. That extra quality hurts you at this level.”