Cobblers lose key duo to injury in defeat at Huddersfield

Town were dealt two major injury setbacks inside half-an-hour in West Yorkshire as Cameron McGeehan and Ethan Wheatley both limped off before an unmarked Joe Low headed the Terriers ahead in first half stoppage-time.

Cobblers barely laid a glove on their hosts throughout and, after surviving several missed chances, defeat was eventually confirmed via Bojan Radulovic when he streaked away on the counter-attack seven minutes from time.

Despite leaping up to 10th place a mere two games ago, Northampton have now slipped all the way down to 19th in what remains a remarkably tight division, just a point above the bottom four and yet also only two points from the top 10.

Jon Guthrie made his first start in almost a year as Kevin Nolan rang the changes after his side’s Boxing Day horror show at Burton. Joe Wormleighton, Dean Campbell, Jack Burroughs and Elliott List also all came in, with none of Conor McCarthy, Michael Forbes or Sam Hoskins in the squad. Tom Eaves and Max Dyche dropped to the bench.

Burroughs and Guthrie started in a back three with Wormleighton at wing-back and List up top, and Cobblers started brightly enough as Wheatley darted dangerously into the box inside a minute before Terry Taylor’s free-kick was gathered by Lee Nicholls.

Huddersfield were always likely to dictate terms and dominate the ball but Cobblers dealt with their early threat and saw off a succession of corners as they settled into the contest.

However, whilst his side were well in the game, Nolan did lose two key men two injury in the space of 10 first half minutes. McGeehan limped off with a possible hamstring problem, replaced by Kamarai Swyer, before Wheatley landed awkwardly on his ankle and had to make way for Eaves.

Cobblers reached the half-hour stage still on level terms but the pressure was growing and Huddersfield went close three times in as many minutes. Alfie May dragged just wide from a corner, Ross Fitzsimons brilliantly tipped Radninio Balker’s overhead kick onto the bar, and then Leo Castledine side-footed wide when well-placed in the middle of the box.

The visitors weathered that particular spell but all the stoppages meant seven minutes were added at the end of the first half and it was in the fifth of those when Huddersfield made the all-important breakthrough thanks to Low, who was left in too much space to nod in Lasse Sorensen’s teasing cross.

Straight from the restart the home side were back on the front foot and probing for a second goal that would surely put the result beyond doubt, while Northampton forays forward were few and far between.

Nesta Guinness-Walker skied over after a rare attack but Cobblers rode their luck at the other end where Huddersfield missed two excellent chances to double their lead as both May and Bojan Radulovic failed to hit the target from good positions.

With 14 minutes to play Nolan rolled the dice and introduced Michael Jacobs, Kyle Edwards and Dyche, and Jacobs immediately forced Nicholls into his first serious save of the night, although it was still a relatively comfortable one.

Just as Cobblers were starting to cause one or two jitters, Huddersfield killed the game off with seven minutes to play when they raced away on the counter-attack and Radulovic slammed past Fitzsimons.

Huddersfield: Nicholls, Sorensen, Wallace, Ledson © (Harness 61), Low (Rooksen 45), Balker, Kasumu, Roughan, Castledine (Wiles 73), Radulovic (Gooch 88), May (Charles 73)

Subs not used: Goodman, Ashia

Cobblers: Fitzsimons, Burroughs, Guthrie © (Dyche 76), Thorniley (Edwards 76), Wormleighton, Guinness-Walker, Taylor (Jacobs 76), Campbell, McGeehan (Swyer 16), List, Wheatley (Eaves 26)

Subs not used: Burge, Willis

Referee: Will Finnie

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