Smith demanded to take the penalty after his 'disappointing' start to Cardiff tie

Striker Harry Smith revealed he was not due to take the first-half penalty that Cobblers were awarded during their Carabao Cup victory over Cardiff City on Saturday.

Keith Curle does not have a designated penalty taker but Ryan Watson, who scored one and missed one last season, was set to step up 33 minutes into Saturday's game after Joseph Mills had been tripped inside the box.

But Smith had other ideas as he grabbed the ball and confidently smashed past Alex Smithies to open his account for the season, setting Cobblers on their way to an excellent victory.

"I wanted to take it," said Smith. "I felt disappointed with how I started the game so I shouted over to the gaffer and said 'listen, I'm having this!' because I needed to get going.

"I said to Watto there's no way you're having it and I think he was a little bit disappointed but no-one was stopping me taking that penalty.

"I was disappointed in the way I was playing in the first 20 minutes. I didn't win enough first contacts and the gaffer made it clear that he needed more from me so I saw an opportunity to take the penalty and I stuck it in and that gave me a little bit more confidence for the rest of the game."

Any disappointment Watson was feeling would have disappeared when he fired home in the second-half, and with Matty Warburton also on target, the Cobblers eased into the second round of the competition.

"I'm always delighted to be involved in the goals but overall, it was a brilliant performance from the boys," continued Smith.

"I thought the three at the back in particular were excellent against a team who only just missed out on getting to the Premier League last season and we won't face much tougher opposition this season."

Smith is now off and running for the season but he will not be setting himself any targets after his struggles last year when injury and inconsistency limited him to seven goals in total.

He added: "There's no chance I'm doing that! I set myself a goal last season and that didn't go very well!

"I just need to keep myself fit, keep working hard and get in the gym and if I can get a run of games, I'm confident I can score goals and help the team have a good season."