Holmes on target but 10-man Cobblers suffer stoppage-time heartbreak at Crewe

Joe Martin was sent off as Cobblers suffered stoppage-time heartbreak against Crewe Alexandria on Saturday, cruelly beaten by Ryan Wintle's 94th minute winner at Gresty Road.

Ricky Holmes scored his first goal since returning to the club after only three minutes and that was good enough for Town to take a lead into half-time, but it all unravelled after that.

Owen Dale levelled shortly after half-time and then Martin picked up an extremely contentious second yellow card and that was followed by relentless Crewe pressure. Town held firm but just when it seemed they had done enough, Wintle was on hand to prod in a dramatic winner.

Few would begrudge Crewe their victory having dominatd much of the game but it's a defeat that will hit Cobblers hard after they defended so resolutely for so long before being pipped at the death. Manager Keith Curle will also have a few bones to pick with the officials.

Curle recalled his big guns following Tuesday's EFL Trophy win over Exeter City as Holmes, Nicky Adams, Sam Hoskins and captain Cian Bolger all started at Gresty Road.

And it was two of those returning players who combined for the first goal on just three minutes. Town caught Crewe cold with a short free-kick routine and Hoskins was sent away down the right flank and his low cross was converted first-time by the onrushing Holmes.

That temporarily knocked Crewe out of their rhythm but they were soon back in it and Holmes was needed in his own penalty box to make a vital clearance before Christopher Missilou put in an equally important block.

Cobblers were having to do a lot of defending but they did look a threat at the other end and they nearly had a second when Fraser Horsfall stuck out a leg after Harry Smith's header, but the ball flashed a whisker wide.

Town took the sting out of the game wherever they could but Crewe ended the half on top and had three shots in quick succession, two of which were blocked before the third was dragged wide.

Three successive set-pieces also came to nothing as Town put their bodies on the line to maintain their lead at the break.

The pattern of the game quickly picked up from where it left in the second-half, except this time Crewe turned their dominance into an equaliser. Charlie Kirk's left-wing cross flew over the head of two Town defenders and Dale converted at the back post with a scruffy finish that wrong-footed Steve Arnold.

The hosts weren't done there and immediately pushed for another goal, and they probably should have had it on the hour-mark but Oliver Finney skied over the crossbar with only Arnold to beat.

For the second week in a row Town were then reduced to 10 men. Martin was already on a yellow card when he was deemed to have committed another foul, although it looked as if he was the one who had been fouled.

Curle shuffled the pack by bringing on Max Dyche for his first-team debut but it was relentless Crewe pressure. Kirk hit the post, Hoskins cleared off the line and then Arnold thwarted Tom Lowery one-on-one.

It was wave after wave of attack and again Crewe hit the woodwork through Mikael Mandron's header with Kirk putting the follow-up wide.

It seemed as if Town would hold out despite five minutes of stoppage-time, but then came one final twist. With their last attack of the game, Crewe worked the ball into the box from the left side and there was Wintle to poke past Arnold and into the net, leaving Town crestfallen.

Crewe: Jaaskelainen, Pickering (c), Beckles, Wintle, Lowery (Murphy 90), Finney, Lancashire, Offord, Dale (Powell 81), Kirk, Mandron

Subs not used: Richards, Zanzala, Adebisi, Sass-Davies, Johnson

Cobblers: Arnold, Harriman, Bolger (c), Horsfall, Martin, Missilou (Dyche 71), Sowerby, Adams (Watson 62), Holmes (Chukwuemeka 62), Hoskins, Smith (Ashley-Seal 77)

Subs not used: Mitchell, Lines,

Referee: John Busby

Attendance: 2,000