Opposition view: Johnson says 'naivety' and 'individual errors' cost Fleetwood against Cobblers

Fleetwood manager Lee Johnson blamed naivety and individual errors after his side were well beaten 3-0 by Northampton at Sixfields on Saturday.

The struggling visitors made the slightly brighter start on a wind-swept afternoon at Sixfields but Mitch Pinnock finished off an excellent passage of play to give Cobblers the lead before Sam Hoskins scored his 12th of the season from the penalty spot just four minutes later.

Fleetwood were then unable to convert possession into many clear-cut chances in the second half and defeat was confirmed in stoppage-time when Pinnock superbly smashed home. Johnson’s side remain in the relegation zone and have now conceded 16 goals and scored none in their last five games across all competitions.

"It’s obviously a very disappointing afternoon,” admitted Johnson. “There's a part of me that feels it wasn't a 3-0 game but there's also a part of me that says we've conceded three goals and (Jay) Lynchy's had to make two fantastic saves.

"I thought the first 20 minutes were pretty even, territorially we probably edged it but there was always the risk of our line being cut open and that first goal is so important at this level – the team that scores first wins 70 per cent of the time.

"The first goal is a really poor goal to concede. We don't close the gap and we give a decent opponent too much space and you just can't do that. We have a very young back four and although there's quality in there, there's also a naivety and we've got to try and coach discipline into them because individual errors are costing us.

"I don’t think we lacked fight and I don’t think we lacked energy, it was a very different performance from the Cambridge United one last weekend, but we just didn’t get that break on a number of occasions.”