Wilson hails 'terrific' Chesterfield as they call a halt to Cobblers' unbeaten run

The Spireites called a halt to Northampton's 31-game unbeaten run in the league, with Connor Wilkinson scoring twice and Kristian Dennis the other.

Wilson declared that he thought his team was 'good value' for the win, and felt that the Cobblers resorted to direct tactics to try and get back into the game.

“I thought we were good value for the win," said Wilson.

"I thought we started very well from kick-off, getting at them, showing our intentions straight away.

“We got a goal really early and fully deserved that.

“Northampton are a difficult team to play. Our defenders in particular have headaches from the past three games we’ve played, with balls lumped into the box.

"But they have defended brilliantly again and not just the first balls, the second ones too.

“We knew we had to do that. They don’t go 31 games unbeaten for no reason, but thankfully they didn’t get their noses in front because that might have made things more difficult.

“I think when Northampton chase the game they leave themselves more open and we took full advantage.”

Wilson reserved special praise for right winger Gboly Ariyibi, saying: “We played some terrific football at times, and I thought Gboly was unplayable.

"it was very difficult for their boys to look after him, he was a great outlet for us."

Chesterfield were dealt a blow ahead of the game when top scorer Ched Evans was ruled out with a heel injury, but Wilson felt his absence probably helped his team it meant they were an unknown quantity to the Cobblers.

“Wilkinson and Dennis gave us something different," said the Spireites boss.

"It might have been a surprise to them that Ched wasn’t playing and we changed our formation. They didn’t settle very well and we did.

“Overall the two strikers gelled very well, held the ball up and worked their tails off. They were fantastic for us, took a few whacks but that’s what they expect."