Jon Brady both pleased and frustrated after goalless draw against Blackpool

Cobblers were the better team for large chunks of a pretty disjointed and lacklustre contest at Bloomfield Road but clear-cut chances were hard to come by. Will Hondermarck had the best opening of the first half, denied by goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell, while Ben Fox twice went close in the final 20 minutes.

However, Blackpool finished strongly and could have snatched victory in the closing stages with Lee Burge brilliantly saving from Hayden Coulson before Rob Apter poked wide under pressure from Hondermarck’s excellent last-ditch challenge.

Asked if he saw it as a point gained or two dropped, Brady said: “I think it’s a bit of both. You take the draw but we’ve had some good chances, really good chances – Ben Fox and Will Hondermarck especially.

"I thought our game plan worked in terms of how we wanted to press them. That worked well and I thought our shape was really good and we utilised the ball well. We made some good inroads into their final third.

"Foxy has the header from the corner and there’s one that’s cut back to him and Richard O’Donnell makes a fantastic save from Will Hondermarck, but I’ve got to compliment Burgey for the save that he made at the end. It’s a good effort from the young lad and you don’t expect that as a goalkeeper but he gets down very low and it’s an exceptional save.

"You have to praise the whole group because we have limited bodies and they were fantastic. It’s an exceptional point and that’s now one loss in six games.”