Cobblers slide deeper into relegation trouble as Orient secure Sixfields success

Behind to Dom Ballard’s very simple opener on 11 minutes at Sixfields, Town reached over 230 minutes without a single shot on target after another uninspiring and predictable attacking performance in the first half.

Ballard’s goal was his 16th of the season compared to Northampton’s 26 as a whole team – just 10 of which have been from open play – and things got worse when James Morris slammed in a second just after the restart.

To their credit, Cobblers stuck at it and Tom Eaves halved the deficit but, despite plenty of late pressure, the hosts could not deny Orient a first away win since November.

Kevin Nolan's team are now 22nd in League One, two points from safety ahead of a must-win game against Jon Brady’s Port Vale on Tuesday.

There were five changes from Tuesday’s big defeat Lincoln with fit-again duo Tyrese Fornah and Cameron McGeehan joining Max Dyche, Jack Perkins and Tom Eaves back in the starting line-up.

Cobblers were slow out of the traps and they very nearly fell behind with less than a minute on the clock when hesitation in the home defence allowed Favour Fawunmi to nip in before being denied by an excellent save from Ross Fitzsimons.

The first five minutes were entirely dominated by Orient, and whilst Town did respond with a small spell of decent – if harmless – territory, they suffered a significant setback just 11 minutes in.

It was another goal that the defence will not want to watch back as Dylan Levitt’s high ball confounded the entire back-line and ended with Ballard spinning Elliott Moore and finishing smartly past Fitzsimons.

Eaves skewed a volley horribly wide after a quick throw-in as Town responded relatively well to going behind and they applied a sustained spell of pressure on the Orient goal, with McGeehan seeing three shots blocked in quick succession.

That promise rather fizzled out though and once again Cobblers were severely devoid of any attacking quality, which meant they went into half-time with work to do.

Nolan changed things at the break with Jack Burroughs replacing Perkins, and he also switched to 4-2-3-1 as Hoskins pushed further forward and Nesta Guinness-Walker moving to left-back.

But tactics and formations are irrelevant if you don’t defend properly and yet again it was too easy for Orient to score their second just two minutes into the second half, the visitors working it from right to left for Morris to blast home.

In reply, Cobblers had lots and lots of territory but there were few shots and even fewer chances and it felt as if things were slipping away from them.

But they were given a lifeline on the hour when a rare moment of quality halved the deficit, Dean Campbell’s terrific first-time cross flicked into the far corner by Eaves.

The home side should have kicked on from there but their momentum stalled and Orient did a good job of slowing things down and taking the sting out of the game.

With 20 minutes to go, Hoskins fired into a crowd of bodies and McGeehan was just a fraction late as he slid in at the back post to try and meet Campbell’s teasing cross.

Hoskins went closer still when his close-range effort produced a smart save from Will Dennis but time was running out for Cobblers to get something from the game.

Jake Evans and Elliott List both came on in the closing stages but only five minutes were added on and despite Cobblers throwing the ball forward in desperate search of a goal, Orient clung on for a vital win in the race for survival.

Match facts

Cobblers: Fitzsimons, Dyche, Moore, Guinness-Walker, Perkins (Burroughs 45), Hoskins ©, Campbell, Taylor (Evans 89), McGeehan, Fornah (List 89), Eaves. Subs not used: Burge, McCarthy, McAdam, Swyer,

Orient: Dennis, Morris, Simpson (Happe 70), Forrester ©, Fawunmi (Archibald 77), Casey, Craig, Levitt (Abdulai 83), O’Neill, Clare, Ballard. Subs not used: Cahill, Koroma, Perkins, Wellens

Referee: Ed Duckworth

Attendance: 6,441

Orient fans: 711