Struggling Cobblers fire another blank in tame Wimbledon defeat

Town were dismal in the first 45 minutes at Plough Lane, opened up repeatedly at the back and unable to offer any kind of attacking threat, and they were fortunate to only trail by one at half-time following Callum Maycock’s early opener.

The visitors managed just one shot before the break and the away fans were not shy in letting their feelings known at times, with Kevin Nolan making one sub after 30 minutes and another two at half-time.

The second half was better as Northampton – and Jake Evans in particular – carried more of a threat, but outside of a brief flurry, they again struggled to clear-cut chances and ultimately fired another blank.

It’s the 16th time this season that Cobblers have failed to score in a game, the joint-most in League One, and they now have one win from the last 16 in the league, taking just eight points out of a possible 48 in a run stretching all the way back to Christmas Day.

That all adds up to a desperate situation at the bottom of League One with Town three points from safety having played more games than most the teams around them.

Nolan made only one change from Town’s last league game – the 1-1 draw with Peterborough – as Sam Hoskins was swapped out for Cameron McGeehan, who also took the armband, while Nesta Guinness-Walker returned to the bench.

Myles Hippolyte headed the game’s first chance wide inside two minutes and that was very much a sign of things to come in the opening 45 minutes as Dons made all the running, and it didn’t take them long to hit the front.

The clock hadn’t even reached 10th-minute mark when the hosts struck as visiting defenders failed to follow their men in the penalty box and Marcus Browne’s clever backheel was finished off by an untracked Maycock.

It was James Tilley’s cross that led to the goal and he caused constant problems down Wimbledon’s right side, so nearly creating another when his cross narrowly evaded Matty Stevens and dropped just beyond the far post, before his shot was pushed wide by Lee Burge.

Playing a wing-back system, Dons were finding spaces all over the pitch and Cobblers just could not get any sort of foothold, which forced Nolan into making a substitution after just 30 minutes. A frustrated Tyrese Fornah was taken off and replaced by Max Dyche, a decision that did not go down well with the travelling supporters.

Cobblers moved to a back three themselves and that at least reduced Wimbledon’s dominance, though they remained the more threatening side and nearly had a second in first half stoppage-time when Burge got down quickly to keep out Maycock’s low shot.

It took until the third minute of first half injury-time for Northampton to register their first shot of the game, McGeehan’s effort blocked by a defender, before half-time allowed them an opportunity to take stock and reassess.

Nolan clearly wasn’t happy himself and he made two further changes at half-time, both at wing-back, as Hoskins and Guinness-Walker replaced Jack Perkins and Jack Burroughs.

The initial signs early in the second half were not good but Jake Evans looked lively and he forced home goalkeeper Joe McDonnell into his first save of the day with a drilled shot from the edge of the box.

That was the start of a mini-battle between those two as Town suddenly came alive in attack and McDonnell twice more thwarted Evans. The teenager was sent through by Jack Vale, just on as a sub, but shot too close to the goalkeeper, and then did likewise a few minutes later.

However, the away side’s momentum stalled and Wimbledon re-established a foothold and were looking fairly comfortable heading into the final 10 minutes.

Dons would have put the result beyond doubt if not for a spectacular goal-line intervention by Hoskins, who did brilliant to keep out Browne’s shot, before Nolan’s last roll of the dice was to swap Terry Taylor for Michael Jacobs.

There was some late pressure on the home goal but it was all a bit desperate and hopeful and ultimately Wimbledon saw it out to pile more pressure on Nolan and his players.

Wimbledon: McDonnell, Seddon, Johnson ©, Tilley (Lewis 65), Maycock (Reeves 86), Smith, Bauer, Hippolyte (Nelson 72), Ogundere, Browne (Hackford 86), Stevens (Bugiel 72)

Subs not used: Asiimwe, Nkeng

Cobblers: Burge, Burroughs (Hoskins 45), Moore, Forbes, Perkins (Guinness-Walker 45), Campbell, Taylor (Jacobs 86), McGeehan ©, Fornah (Dyche 31), Evans, Eaves (Vale 55)

Subs not used: Fitzsimons, List

Referee: Elliot Bell

Attendance: 8,142

Cobblers fans: 728