Striker Oliver believes the Cobblers are building up a fear factor at the PTS

Striker Vadaine Oliver believes the Cobblers are building up a serious fear factor at the PTS Academy Stadium.
Vadaine Oliver celebrates his goal in Saturday's win over Grimsby Town (Picture: Pete Norton)Vadaine Oliver celebrates his goal in Saturday's win over Grimsby Town (Picture: Pete Norton)
Vadaine Oliver celebrates his goal in Saturday's win over Grimsby Town (Picture: Pete Norton)

Town were 2-0 winners over Grimsby Town on Saturday, making it four straight wins at home in Sky Bet League Two, with the Cobblers scoring 10 goals and conceding just one in that run.

It is a big turnaround from earlier in the campaign when Keith Curle's men suffered home defeats to Walsall, Macclesfield and Leyton Orient, and were held to a draw by Crawley Town.

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And Oliver believes the fact that and his team-mates are really starting to hit their stride on home soil is being noticed by the other clubs in the league.

"As long as we keep this run going, I feel we can achieve our goal this season, which is promotion," said Oliver, who scored the crucial second goal against the Mariners.

"Like I said very early on, we need to make this place a fortress so that nobody will want to come here.

"You can see from Saturday's game how teams are changing up their game because they are fearful of us, they don't want to play here.

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"They don't want to play at this stadium when we have the crowd behind us and we are at full force. As long as we can keep that going then we will have a good season."

A summer signing from Morecambe, Oliver broke his Cobblers scoring duck in the 3-0 FA Cup first round win at Chippenham on November 10, and on Saturday he netted his first League goal for the club.

It was not the most spectacular of finishes, with Oliver pouncing after Sam Hoskins' looped header hit the post and created confusion in the six-yard box, but the Town front man didn't care one bit.

"It was definitely my goal, I beat the defender to it and you want to get those scrappy ones as a striker, as as long as the ball hits the back of the net you don't really care," he said.

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Oliver also had a front row seat for the Cobblers' early penalty claim, when it appeared to everybody in thr ground - apart from referee Andy Haines and his assistant - that Andy Williams had been taken out in the six yard box.

"It was a stonewall penalty, I was standing right beside it," said Oliver.

"The referee at the time looked decisive, he had the whistle in his mouth ready to blow, and then for some reason decided to change his mind, but it was a stonewall penalty.

"They got that bit of luck and then went up the other end and nearly scored.

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"But we then showed what we are about, we stuck in there and then Scotty (Wharton) got the first one, I got the second, and then from there it was just a dogged performance to make sure we saw it out.

"What we have shown this season is that we have the ability to put on professional performances when we need to, and we did that."

The Cobblers are without a game this week, and then host Notts County in the FA Cup second round at the PTS on Sunday (ko 2pm).