Rose relief as he enjoys the double delight of his first goal and league win for Cobblers

The former Mansfield Town striker scored what turned out to be the winning goal in the 2-1 Sky Bet League One success over Swindon Town at the PTS.

It was a big weight off the 26-year-old’s shoulders, who was signed for an undisclosed fee from the Stags at the beginning of this month.

The clash against the Robins was only Rose’s fourth outing in a Town shirt, but he admitted it was a relief to hit the target, and to help the Cobblers end a run of four straight league defeats.

Asked if scoring was a weight off his shoulders, Rose said: “Yeah, I think it is.

“The chances have been coming for the team but we have just not been taking them, but luckily on Tuesday I have taken my chance.

“It was a great ball through from Chris (Missilou) and I am delighted to score, and more importantly delighted with the three points.”

Rose was teed up beautifully by Missilou, whose clipped pass over the top sent the striker in on goal with only goalkeeper Matej Kovar to beat.

Rose, who hadn’t scored since netting a penalty for Mansfield at the Cobblers back on March 7, took a couple of touches before sliding the ball across Kovar and into the corner.

It looked cool calm, and calculated, but Rose admitted it was a nervy moment.

“They are the hard ones, when you are going through one-on-one, because you have a lot of time to think about it,” he admitted.

“I prefer the ones where the ball comes into the box and you can just slide it in first time.

“With those you just have to hit it first time, and you do it on instinct. But I am just delighted to get the goal.”

It would be wrong to say that pressure had been building on Rose, but it is always a relief for a striker at a new club to make his mark early.

Especially when there are other forwards ready to take your place if you don’t do the business.

Rose partnered the impressive Benny Ashley-Seal in the first-half against Swindon, with the teenager making way for Harry Smith at the break.

Caleb Chukwuemeka was an unused substitute, and then there are the likes of Sam Hoskins and Ricky Korboa who can also play up top.

“There are some very good strikers here,” declared Rose.

“I thought Smudge (Harry Smith) was very good when he came on after half-time and held the ball up well.

“He was isolated at times, especially after I went off, but he has held the ball up and we have all got to come in when we are needed. It is a team game, there are a lot of games this season and they are crammed in.

“We are playing Saturday-Tuesday now for the next three or four weeks and you have got to train hard and be fit and ready to go when the gaffer calls on you.”

Another relief for Rose, and the Cobblers, was the fact they managed to hold on to a 2-0 lead - not something they have always been particularly adept at in the recent past.

Many fans will have been fearing the worst when Swindon pulled a goal back to make it 2-1 after 76 minutes, and although Town did then ride their luck on a couple of occasions, they did enough to win. And Rose admitted that is all that counts.

“You see it happen all the time in football, and 2-0 is never a safe lead,” he said.

“I have been involved in 2-0 leads, at Mansfield last season there were a couple of times we were 2-0 up and we went on to lose.

“Swindon got the goal back and we could have easily gone under as confidence is perhaps a little bit down, but we have shown the character defensively and won it.

“We have proved that we can come out of it the other end and come out with the three points, it was a massive win for us. The win is what we wanted, nothing less than three points, we knew that.

“Our first-half performance in particular was very strong, and we have taken our chances.

“The second half was a little disappointing, but we have shown great character and hopefully that can bounce on to Saturday now against Charlton, who are again a very good side.

“There are no weak sides this division, but we can go into Saturday’s game with great confidence after the victory.”