Rampant 10-man Portsmouth put dismal Cobblers to the sword in one-sided League One contest

Cobblers were comprehensively outplayed and ultimately well beaten 4-1 by League One table-toppers Portsmouth on a poor, error-strewn afternoon on the south coast.

Town went into this game as big underdogs but that did not excuse them from delivering such a limp, sub-standard performance at Fratton Park. They conceded two poor early goals and even when Pompey went down to 10 men early in the second half, the visitors remained second best.

Connor Ogilvie’s seventh-minute header was followed by a swift second for Paddy Lane, and if the half-time scoreline wasn’t bad enough, Cobblers also lost top scorer Sam Hoskins to a potential hamstring injury late in the first half.

Tom McIntyre was dismissed soon after the restart but Town could not capitalise and instead they were the team that capitulated as Lane’s second made it 3-0 before Callum Lang smashed in a fourth.

Marc Leonard’s exquisite late strike at least gave the 756 travelling fans something to cheer but it did not sugar-coat a poor afternoon as Cobblers dropped two places to 11th in League One.

Jon Brady shifted to a back three for the trip to the league leaders as Harvey Lintott, making his first League One start of the season, and Manny Monthé replaced Aaron McGowan and Tyreece Simpson. Fit-again duo Ben Fox and Sam Sherring made the bench, as did new signing Dominic Gape.

There was an early let-off for Lee Burge with only five minutes on the clock when Town’s goalkeeper made a hash of Ogilvie’s tame long-range shot and Colby Bishop smuggled in the rebound, only to be denied by the offside flag.

But the visitors were not to be given another life just two minutes later as Pompey’s rampant start led to an opening goal. Kieron Bowie conceded a cheap free-kick wide on the right and Marlon Pack’s magnificent ball in was glanced home by Ogilvie.

Pompey were utterly dominant as Cobblers struggled to cope, and it was no surprise when the dangerous Lane made it 2-0 after just 16 minutes. Afforded too much time and space down the right, as he had been all half, Lane cut inside and fizzed a low shot into the far corner.

It already felt as if this had become a damage limitation exercise for Northampton and Portsmouth continued to make all the running, nearly adding a third on the half-hour mark when a corner was not dealt with and Jon Guthrie hacked off his own goal-line.

The afternoon took another turn for the worse five minutes before the break when Hoskins pulled up mid-stride and immediately clutched the back of his hamstring. Whilst he initially tried to run it off, Town’s top scorer could not continue and was replaced by Louis Appéré.

And Portsmouth should have rubbed further salt into Cobblers wounds at the end of the first half after Lintott was harshly adjudged to have fouled Myles Peart-Harris in the penalty box, but Bishop’s spot-kick was excellently kept out by Burge.

That meant Cobblers still had a glimmer of hope when play resumed after half-time, and their chances were handed a further boost nine minutes into the second half when McIntyre was shown a straight red card after a reckless challenge on Mitch Pinnock.

However, disaster struck four minutes later as they conceded a third goal in comical fashion. Awarded a free-kick 30 yards out, Town tried a clever short routine but they made a complete mess of it and suddenly Pompey had two on one on the break, with Lane slamming home his second of the game.

Neither Bowie nor Appéré could force the ball home when a chance presented itself to pull one goal back, and there was to be more misery for Cobblers at the other end as Lang smashed in a fourth from a free-kick.

Bowie had a one-on-one opportunity moments later but was denied by Will Norris before Portsmouth’s goalkeeper reacted impressively to thwart Appéré, however he was a helpless spectator when Leonard’s sweet strike whizzed into the net via the crossbar.

That was barely even a consolation, however, on a tough afternoon on the south coast.

Portsmouth: Norris, Rafferty, Shaughnessy, McIntyre, Ogilvie, Lowery (Moxon 84), Pack ©, Lang (Sparkes 75), Peart-Harris (Raggett 57), Lane (Kamara 75), Bishop

Subs not used: Macey, Martin, Saydee

Cobblers: Burge, Willis (Springett 69), Guthrie ©, Monthé, Lintott (Fox 79), Brough, Leonard, Hondermarck, Pinnock, Hoskins (Appéré 40), Bowie (Simpson 79)

Subs not used: Moulden, Sherring, Gape

Referee: Sam Purkiss

Attendance: 19,245

Cobblers fans: 756