Brady took Hoskins off and changed formation in an attempt to 'combat' Stevenage's second-half pressure

Hoskins was subbed unusually early – after just 57 minutes – as Brady changed shape to three at the back

Jon Brady wanted more height and physicality on the pitch following his decision to replace Sam Hoskins with Akin Odimayo and change shape to 3-5-2 early in the second-half of Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Stevenage.

Louis Appéré’s early goal handed Cobblers a deserved half-time lead as second entertained third at Sixfields, but Stevenage seized the initiative after the restart and cranked up the pressure in pursuit of an equaliser.

Hoskins is rarely ever taken off, let alone as early as the 57th minute, but Brady felt he had to change something to stem the tide. Odimayo came on for his first appearance in two months as Town switched to a back three, but Stevenage continued to dominate and create chances, eventually levelling through Jamie Reid.

"We didn't use the ball well enough at times in the second-half and obviously we decided to change shape to try and combat the pressure they were putting on us,” said Brady afterwards.

"You'll probably ask me about taking Sam off. I felt we needed a bit more height in there so I wanted to get AK on the pitch but obviously it was his first game for a long time and it was difficult with the pressure they put on us in the second-half."

Danny Rose hit the bar, Luke Norris headed straight at Lee Burge and Dan Sweeney volleyed over, and when Reid did eventually equalise, Stevenage looked the more likely winners.

But Cobblers dug in and held on for a valuable point, one which keeps them second in League Two and in a strong position with seven games to go.

"We stood up strong to corner after corner,” Brady added. “They load the ball from just about anywhere on the pitch with free-kicks and crosses. It goes right into your penalty box every time but we stood up strongly and that showed huge character from the players.

"Stevenage are relentless and they bully most other teams but I felt we stood up to them. We still had a few efforts that were close but we keep our momentum going with a point.

"We are top of the form table right now and a point against that Stevenage team is a really good point because they are an excellent side.”