Hoskins misses a penalty as Cobblers are beaten late on by Shrewsbury

Sam Hoskins missed a penalty before Shrewsbury grabbed a stoppage-time winner as Cobblers endured a day to forget at New Meadow on Saturday.

Town were a long way short of their best in Shropshire but still controlled the majority of the game and created the better chances in both halves, not least when winning a penalty 17 minutes from time, only to succumb defeat in the dying minutes.

Mitch Pinnock was denied by an excellent save in the first half before Hoskins smashed against the bar from 12 yards, and that proved crucial as Daniel Udoh popped up with a last-gasp winner, denying Cobblers the chance go the week unbeaten.

New signing Jordan Willis was straight onto the bench against Shrewsbury as Manny Monthé replaced the injured Jon Guthrie in central defence, which meant Sam Hoskins wore the captain’s armband on his 350th Cobblers appearance. There was also a welcome return to the squad for Ali Koiki.

The opening 15 minutes were characterised by mistakes as poor touches and errant passing prevented either side from finding any rhythm and subsequently goalmouth action was hard to come by.

Tom Bayliss and Sam Hoskins exchanged long-range shots, both of which were blocked, but Cobblers’ play was lacking bit of zip and energy and that was only offering encouragement to the home side.

Max Mata couldn’t get over his header when left unmarked in the box and Marc Leonard made an important block, but the best chance of the first half fell to Pinnock 12 minutes before the break. He was released into the penalty box after excellent work by Kieron Bowie but after initially showing good composure to chop inside a defender, his shot was too close to Marko Marosi who made a smart stop.

There were crucial defensive interventions needed at both ends to keep the game scoreless going into half-time, and Cobblers then wasted a couple of counter-attacking opportunities at the start of the second half.

There remained a lack of quality in the final third and half chances continued to be the order of the day as Shrewsbury saw two shots blocked and Hoskins whistled a sweet half-volley narrowly wide.

Cobblers were given a golden opportunity to take the lead with 17 minutes to go when Bowie was taken down just inside the penalty box. Hoskins stepped up but failed to even hit the target from the spot, putting too bar power and height on his effort to smack the crossbar.

That lifted the home fans but their side were still lacking a cutting edge and it looked as if the game would end goalless as the clock ticked past 90 minutes, but there would be a sting in the tail.

A shot from the edge of the box was only half cleared by Cobblers and the ball was poked into the path of Udoh and he made no mistake, shooting low and hard to beat Lee Burge at the near post and win the game for Shrewsbury.

Shrewsbury: Marosi, Feeney (Benning 83), Flanagan, Dunkley, Fleming, Winchester, Kenneh, Perry (Bennett 43), Bayliss (Bowman 60), Udoh, Mata (Phillips 60)

Subs not used: Burgoyne, Sraha, Sobowale

Cobblers: Burge, Odimayo (Lintott 84), Sherring, Monthe, Brough, McWilliams (Koiki 90), Leonard, Pinnock, Hoskins ©, Bowie (Fox 84), Appéré (Simpson 52)

Subs not used: Thompson, McGowan, Willis

Referee: Carl Brook

Attendance: 5,722

Cobblers fans: 760