Hoskins at the double as sensational Cobblers thrash rivals Peterborough to complete famous double

Town supporters could not have dared dream for such a remarkable first half, not even in their wildest fantasy. Kevin Nolan’s game plan to press high and get after Posh worked to perfection as Cobblers hassled and harried their hosts into oblivion and raced into a 3-0 lead.

Northampton ran all over Peterborough and time and time again forced them into mistakes, and they also had the quality and composure to take advantage, Sam Hoskins striking the first blow with a splendid 15th-minute finish.

The away side’s task was then aided by Tayo Edun losing his head before the half-hour mark, the Posh defender shown a straight red card after raising his hands to Cameron McGeehan, before Hoskins’ penalty, his 97th goal for the club, made it 2-0.

That was not even the end of it in a crazy first half as Cobblers added a third before the break with McGeehan setting up Dara Costelloe to cap off the most perfect 45 minutes of football that anyone could have dreamed for.

The second half was mostly a non-event with the game virtually done and dusted, but there was one more opportunity for the 1,600 magnificent travelling fans to cheer when Tom Eaves added a delicious cherry to the most glorious of cakes, heading in a fourth goal in stoppage-time.

It’s the first time Northampton have down the league double over their rivals since 1986/87 and, more importantly, the three points represent a huge step towards League One survival, the gap now seven points to Burton and four to Bristol Rovers with five games to play.

Nolan made some big calls with his team selection as Max Dyche and Tyler Roberts both dropped to the bench while Luke Mbete, Nesta Guinness-Walker, Aaron McGowan and Costelloe all started. Tariqe Fosu was also a notable name among the substitutes given his recent exile from the squad.

And all of Nolan’s decisions paid off in a sensational first 45 minutes. Cobblers made a confident start and they were inches away from leading inside three minutes when Costelloe met Guinness-Walker’s cross and his header flicked off a defender and dropped fractionally wide.

Posh were camped inside their own half for much of the first 10 minutes and they were running into problems against Town’s aggressive press, which so nearly yielded the breakthrough as McGeehan robbed a defender and worked a shooting chance, but Jadel Katongo hacked off the line.

The fast-paced and frenetic nature of the early stages continued and Peterborough then threatened with their first attack, Lee Burge blocking with his legs from James Dornelly.

But Posh just had no answers to Town’s relentless, insatiable pressing and the visitors went close again after another mistake, Ben Perry in sharply before the ball broke to Costelloe, whose shot from a tight angle forced Jed Steer into a smart stop.

There was no let up by Cobblers and they got their rewards with a richly deserved opener on 15 minutes. The ball dropped to Hoskins outside the penalty box and he did the rest, driving forward and working space before curling a wonderful effort into the far top corner.

United could have no complaints about the scoreline having been second best up to that point, but their electric front line only needed a sniff to pose problems and Mbete’s last-ditch block prevented them from going close to a leveller.

Cobblers had Posh rattled though and that was no better illustrated than by Edun’s moment of madness in the 27th minute. Steer gifted possession away with a terrible pass and a foul on Hoskins just outside the box sparked scuffle during which Edun pushed McGeehan in the face, leaving the referee with no choice but to whip out his red card.

A fantastic first half was to get even better for Town 11 minutes before the break. Yet again they forced Peterborough into an area at the back and Costelloe was hauled down in the penalty box for a clear spot-kick. Hoskins stepped up and made no mistake from 12 yards, sending Steer the wrong way for his second of the afternoon and seventh of the season.

Incredibly, it was then three with four minutes of the first half still to play. Cobblers were now seeing more of the ball due to their numerical advantage and a period of possession ended with McGowan’s cross finding McGeehan at the far post and his cross-shot back across goal left Costelloe with a simple tap-in to put the visiting supporters in dreamland.

Home supporters were shell-shocked and they loudly booed their team off at half-time, and it was no surprise to see Darren Ferguson make a triple change at the start of the second period.

Posh did have a couple of half chances after the restart, both for Ricky-Jade Jones, but one was deflected for Burge to save and the other whistled wide, before Town so nearly scored their fourth, McGeehan denied by Steer with Costelloe’s follow-up cleared off the line.

Nolan was not short on options on his bench and he freshened things up after the hour-mark, Roberts, Akin Odimayo and Tom Eaves all introduced, before Max Dyche and Fosu also came on as Town looked to see the game out with no alarms.

The visitors could have added to their lead again as Steer saved well from Eaves, although the damage had been well and truly done and the game was petering out towards a deeply satisfying conclusion.

But there was still time left to add some gloss to a glorious afternoon as Eaves converted Pinnock’s last-minute free-kick to make it 4-0 and complete a famous day across the border.

Peterborough: Steer, Collins (Hayes 45), Wallin, Dornelly, Katongo, Kyprianou © (Susoho 45), Edun, Poku (De Havilland 45), Odoh, Jones (Lindgren 74), Mothersille (Johnston 32)

Subs not used: Bilokapic, Fernandez

Cobblers: Burge, McGowan © (Odimayo 64), Eyoma, Mbete (Dyche 72), Guinness-Walker, Perry, Taylor, McGeehan (Roberts 64), Hoskins (Fosu 72), Pinnock, Costelloe (Eaves 64)

Subs not used: Tzanev, Hondermarck

Referee: Simon Mather

Attendance: 7,780

Cobblers fans: 1,609