Curle lauds Cornell's 'match-winning save' and praises quality of Town's two goals at Salford

Cobblers chief Keith Curle hailed the 'match-winning' exploits of goalkeeper David Cornell and also praised the quality of his side's two goals after their 2-1 victory at Salford City on Saturday.
David CornellDavid Cornell
David Cornell

Cobblers had a precarious lead with just a few minutes to go when Jordan Turnbull blocked a shot on the line and then Cornell stuck out an instinctive right arm to tip Nathan Pond's shot over the crossbar.

"It was match-winning save and that's what you're looking for from your goalkeeper," said Curle.

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"Teams that do well have goalkeepers that win you points and that save on Saturday was a points-winning save."

Cobblers also scored two excellent goals at Moor Lane on Saturday, first drawing level when Sam Hoskins lashed into the bottom corner after fine approach work by Nicky Adams.

But it went even further back for Curle, who said: "Just three or minutes before the goal the ball went into Ryan Watson and he should have played the ball forward but didn't and then got told what we do well.

"Then, the next time the ball came to Ryan Watson, there was no thinking, he put the ball into a good area, we win a challenge, the ball lands to Nicky and he's on the front foot, plays the ball out wide to Sammy Hoskins and it's right in Sammy's shooting range.

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"Sammy's understanding now that 100 per cent of balls that go over the crossbar have no chance of going in so you have no chance of scoring - make good contact, keep your eye on the ball and strike through it. It was a great finish."

The visitors then won it through Andy Williams on 63 minutes when the ball landed at his feet and he slapped a sweet volley into the back of the net.

"Arguably the best two chances of the game came at the start of the second-half and they fell to Vadaine Oliver and Andy Williams," Curle added.

"Andy opted to go around the goalkeeper and Vadaine just pulled it on his left foot and missed the target.

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"They were great opportunities and showed good work ethic to get in there, but when the ball lands out there, you're thinking there's no better person for the ball to land to just inside the box than Andy Williams.

"It was good contact, good concentration, good focus and he kept the ball low and if you do that you've always got a chance of scoring."