Pinnock bags dramatic late winner as injury-hit Cobblers come from behind to beat Swindon for fifth straight win

Mitch Pinnock scored a late winner as injury-hit Cobblers pulled off another dramatic comeback to make it five league wins in a row with a 2-1 victory over Swindon Town at the County Ground on Saturday.

The two teams cancelled each other out in a goalless opening half but Jonny Williams broke the stalemate an hour into the contest by steering Swindon ahead and that sparked the game into life.

Ben Fox came off the bench to change the game, first heading in an equaliser seven minutes later – his first goal for the club – before turning provider just two minutes from time, scampering away on the right side of the penalty box and delivering a delicious cross that Pinnock poked in at the back post to snatch a superb away victory.

That condemned Swindon to only their second defeat of the season and their first at home, and Cobblers achieved it without a host of key players, including top scorer Sam Hoskins. They are now only a couple of points off top after leaders Leyton Orient were beaten by Newport County.

It is the third time Northampton have scored a late winner already this season and it’s also the third time they have come from behind to win.

Hoskins was one of three players who dropped out of the squad with illness overnight, alongside Josh Eppiah and Max Dyche. That meant Ryan Haynes made his first league start out of position on the wing and Town only had six substitutes on the bench.

Cobblers had to battle against a stiff breeze in the first-half but they made a promising start and whilst Swindon dominated the ball, the visitors enjoyed the better moments in attack.

A Mitch Pinnock corner almost reached an unmarked Sam Sherring at the back post before Pinnock himself was an unable to get his touch right and the chance went begging after a well-worked Town move.

The away side felt they were denied a clear penalty on 16 minutes when Louis Appéré pressed Swindon’s back-line into an error before he was seemingly shoved to ground inside the penalty box, only for referee Alan Young to remain unmoved.

The hosts continued to boss possession but they did not threaten Lee Burge’s goal in the opening 45 minutes, passing up their best opportunity on the break when Ronan Darcy failed to get any contact on Ben Gladwin’s cross.

Northampton’s injury problems mounted in first-half stoppage-time when Ali Koiki came off worse after a clash of heads and had to be replaced by Danny Hylton.

Swindon finally created a decent chance five minutes into the second-half but Williams scuffed his shot from Romeao Hutton’s cutback, and Town responded in kind as Pinnock wasted an even better opening a few moments later, spooning over from the middle of the box after good work by substitute Fox.

And Northampton were punished within minutes of that miss. Caught out at a throw-in, Williams found enough space to drive into the penalty box and place a calm finish past Burge and into the bottom corner.

But Cobblers’ response was as swift as it was impressive and midway through the second-half they were level. Swindon conceded a cheap free-kick on Kieron Bowie outside the box and Pinnock made them pay, delivering a fine ball that was flicked into the bottom corner by Fox.

The game could have gone either way from there as Bowie dragged a shot wide via a deflection seconds after the equaliser while Harvey Lintott’s miscued clearance landed just wide of his own net.

Fox went close to scoring his second, managing only a faint touch on Pinnock's corner, but those two would once again combine as Town completed the turnaround with only two minutes of normal time remaining. Hylton brought down a high ball, found Fox and he crossed for Pinnock to convert at the back post.

Swindon launched forward in search for an equaliser and they so nearly grabbed it when an unmarked Ciaran Brennan headed against the post in stoppage-time, and that was to be their last chance as Cobblers held on for a superb away win.

Swindon: Brynn, Hutton, Clayton (Brennan 85), MacDonald ©, Blake-Tracey, Gladwin, Reed (Iandolo 61), Darcy, Williams, Wakeling, Jephcott (Shade 77)

Subs not used: Brann, Aguilar, Lavinier, Roberts

Cobblers: Burge, Lintott, Sherring, Guthrie ©, Koiki (Hylton 45), Sowerby, Leonard, Haynes, Pinnock, Bowie (Odimayo 90), Appéré (Fox 54)

Subs not used: Maxted, Abimbola, Cross

Referee: Alan Young

Attendance: 9,789

Cobblers fans: 614