Nolan lauds 'fantastic night' for Cobblers after historic win at Wimbledon

It’s the furthest Northampton have ever gone in the competition and it was achieved in impressive fashion at Plough Lane, particularly in the first half when Nolan’s much-changed side created a number of chances.

Jake Vale eventually took one, dispatching into the bottom corner on 37 minutes, and although Matty Stevens levelled early in the second half, Cobblers came again and won it through Tom Eaves to move to within one game of a Wembley final.

"Fantastic,” said Nolan. “I’m delighted for everyone associated with the club. We’ve worked hard to get this far in the competition and I feel we have used all of the squad really well and it’s been great to see the lads come in and perform.

"All of the ones who came in tonight have given themselves a really good platform to build on. I said we built a squad in the summer so we could be competitive in all competitions. It didn’t happen in the other two cups but we’ve been really good in this competition and I thought we thoroughly deserved it tonight.

"We made 10 changes but I thought we were excellent and some of the stuff in the first half was really good. We should have scored more, three or four wouldn’t have flattered us, and that’s my main gripe because we made it more difficult for ourselves than we should have done.

"They scored from their first shot on target and you worry it might be one of those nights but no, the lads showed that grit and determination to keep going and I thought it was a fantastic goal to win it. They all did themselves a lot of credit tonight and I’m really pleased that we’re into the next round, and now we have to believe again.”