Hoskins and Lintott on target as Cobblers come from behind to beat Stockport County and make it four wins in a row

Cobblers followed a poor first-half with an excellent second as they battled back from a goal down to beat Stockport County 2-1 and make it four league wins in a row.

Fraser Horsfall scored on his old stomping ground to give County a deserved half-time lead at Sixfields and at that point an out-of-sorts Town were sliding towards just their second defeat of the season.

The Cobblers were oddly flat and lethargic in the first-half, there was no spark or intensity to their play, but Jon Brady made a double change at the break and clearly words were exchanged in the dressing room as they came out a transformed side.

They played with far more urgency and gusto and were rewarded with Sam Hoskins thundering in his 11th of the season moments into the second-half before Harvey Lintott’s first professional goal completed the turnaround.

Cobblers have won their last four in a row and will climb to second in Sky Bet League Two unless Barrow beat leaders Leyton Orient later in the afternoon.

Jon Brady made two changes as Harvey Lintott replaced the injured Tyler Magloire and Ben Fox came in for Kieron Bowie, who returned early from international duty to take a place on the bench. Danny Hylton was also back in the squad but Akin Odimayo, Shaun McWilliams, Tyler Magloire and Aaron McGowan were all absent through injury.

There was no energy or zip about Northampton's early play and whilst Stockport hardly flew out of the blocks, they made the brighter start and were rewarded on 12 minutes. Kyle Wootton’s initial header from a free-kick hit the crossbar but Ryan Johnson was quickest to the loose ball and his flick back into the six-yard box presented a simple headed finish for Horsfall.

That should have been a wake-up call for the Cobblers but they remained strangely subdued and failed to get anything going in an attacking sense sense, much to the increasing frustration of home supporters inside Sixfields.

Town did have a brief spell of pressure with a flurry of long throws around the half-hour mark but they conjured just two shots in the opening 45 minutes, both of which were easily blocked before they got anywhere near the visiting goal.

Stockport also toiled in a scrappy and lacklustre affair but they at least posed an occasional threat with Wootton firing over the crossbar and Antoni Sarcevic shooting into the gloves of Lee Burge in first-half stoppage-time.

It was no surprise that Brady saw the need to shake things up at half-time with Louis Appéré and Fox both hooked, replaced by Bowie and Hylton. That also meant a switch to 4-4-2.

Those changes had an immediate impact as Cobblers came out with more purpose and intensity and levelled within three minutes of the restart. Stockport only half cleared a free-kick, the ball dropped to Hoskins on the edge of the box and he hit a sweet shot that flew over Ben Hinchcliffe and into the net.

The game was now a much better spectacle and Town almost completed the turnaround on the hour-mark when Sam Sherring’s header from a Mitch Pinnock free-kick was brilliantly clawed away by Hinchliffe.

No matter, Cobblers would score from the subsequent corner. Pinnock’s delivery was again on the money and an unmarked Lintott buried his header into the bottom corner for his first professional goal.

Hylton struck the base of the post from a Pinnock cross and Bowie skied over from the centre of the penalty box as Town threatened to take the game away from Stockport, however their failure to do so made for a nervy finish.

Stockport applied late pressure and both Pinnock and Sherring made spectacular blocks inside their penalty area before the away side’s misery was compounded in stoppage-time when Akil Wright was sent off for a second yellow card.

Cobblers: Burge, Lintott, Sherring, Guthrie ©, Koiki, Sowerby (Dyche 89), Fox (Bowie 45), Leonard, Hoskins, Pinnock, Appéré (Hylton 45)

Subs not used: Maxted, Haynes, Abimbola, Eppiah

Stockport: Hinchliffe, Kitching (Evens 84), Wright, Horsfall, Croasdale (Hippolyte 84), Johnson, Brown (Madden 70), Collar, Sarcevic ©, Crankshaw, Wootton

Subs not used: Palmer, Jones, Newby, Jennings

Referee: Darren Handley

Attendance: 5,632

Stockport fans: 619