The Cobblers travel to Blundell Park after a narrow 2-1 defeat to Cheltenham Town. Ian Holloways Grimsby Town are next up for the Cobblers.

Last time out 

Cheltenham Town 2 – Northampton Town 1 | February 25, 2020 | EFL Sky Bet League Two

Varney was brought on in the 81st minute and soon tapped in from close range after Chris Hussey’s corner was not dealt with by the visiting defence. The Robins had to work hard to secure their fourth straight win and their sixth successive home victory after the Cobblers opened the scoring inside three minutes.

Charlie Goode’s long throw was not dealt with and Ryan Watson controlled the ball well before firing into the bottom left corner. The lead lasted for 16 minutes, with Jake Doyle-Hayes finding Ryan Broom, who made room for a shot which he curled beyond the dive of David Cornell from 20 yards.

A low drive from Sam Hoskins was well parried by Cheltenham goalkeeper Owen Evans in the 27th minute and loan forward Callum Morton also went close before half-time. Northampton continued to ask questions after the break, with Lloyd Jones nodding a fine free-kick from Nicky Adams just wide in the 59th minute.

Varney set up Alfie May for a chance within seconds of joining the action, but Cornell saved well. But Varney had the final say five minutes from time as Cheltenham moved within three points of the automatic promotion spots.

Grimsby Town 4 – Newport County 2 | February 25, 2020 | EFL Sky Bet League Two

Grimsby Town came out on top of an entertaining encounter with Newport.

Brad Garmston opened the scoring within two minutes as he reacted quickest from close range after Tom King had saved Charles Vernam’s initial effort. Jordan Green fired in an equaliser for Newport after but a Benson free-kick restored Grimsby’s lead on half-time.

James Hanson’s volleyed Grimsby two goals ahead before Padraig Among gave Newport late hope, but Max Wright sealed the win after 84 minutes. Grimsby leapfrog Newport into 14th in League Two, County drop to 16th.

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTER

Northampton climbed to fifth in League Two after seeing off Grimsby Town at the PTS Academy Stadium.

First-half goals from Scott Wharton and Vadaine Oliver secured the victory for Keith Curle’s men, who have now won five and drawn one of their past six league games. The defeat for managerless Grimsby means they have now gone nine games without a win.

The Mariners started the better of the two sides, but wasted several chances before the Cobblers took the lead after 25 minutes when Wharton headed home a Nicky Adams free-kick. Oliver made it 2-0 after 41 minutes, prodding home from close range following a goalmouth scramble. The second half saw Northampton control proceedings, but they were unable to extend their lead, despite Adams, Oliver and Sam Hoskins going close.

Grimsby Press Conference

• There’s the latest on injuries ahead of the visit of Keith Curle’s side
• Anthony’s take on the threat that the Cobblers might pose
• What it is like working under Ian Holloway.
• Town’s ‘positive’ form

Keith Curle

“It’s the fine margins we need to turn in our favour,” he said.

“Frustration is a keyword but it’s about how we deal with it. The players have taken on board the analysis of the game on Tuesday, elements of the performance were pleasing but there are areas we need to improve on.

“We don’t shy away from that because we know we are still working towards more and more improvement.

“We can be better with our possession in the final third and we can be a little bit more clinical with our final ball. Our movement can improve and when we do create chances we need to hit the target.”

Match Officials

Suffolk based official Chris Pollard will take charge of only his second Town game when the Mariners host Northampton Town on Saturday.

The 36-year-old was officiating on both the National League and the Premier League 2 competitions in 2018/19 but was promoted to the EFL list of referees during the summer.

Having officiated in 23 games so far during the 2019/20 campaign, Mr Pollard has given a total of 73 yellow cards and two red cards.

He will be assisted by Geoffrey Liddle and Matthew Smith, the fourth official will be  Hristo Karaivanov.