Last time out: 

Northampton 0 – 1 Port Vale

Northampton suffered their first home defeat in more than four months as they were beaten 1-0 by promotion rivals Port Vale. Leyton Orient were the last visiting team to win at Sixfields on 5 October, but Vale repeated that feat thanks to David Worrall’s second-half header.

Worrall shot wide in the first few minutes, while Scott Brown made two comfortable stops at the other end, keeping out Mark Marshall and Nicky Adams. Lloyd Jones also had a shot blocked, but a dour first half was otherwise short on clear-cut chances. Callum Morton found the side-netting moments after the resumption and Adams then missed a golden opportunity, side-footing wide when left unmarked.

Brown tipped over Sam Hoskins’ volley and reacted superbly to thwart Vadaine Oliver as the Cobblers cranked it up. But it was the visitors who took a shock lead with 18 minutes to go, when Tom Conlon’s cross was headed home by Worrall at the back post. Northampton piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser, but Brown continued to frustrate them, saving excellently from Adams late on.

Carlisle 1 – Swindon 1

Carlisle extended their unbeaten run to five games as they earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw at home to League Two leaders Swindon. The Cumbrians recovered from going behind to an early strike by Rarmani Edmonds-Green for Aaron Hayden to head a second-half equaliser and ensure a share of the points on a windswept afternoon at Brunton Park.

Swindon’s first threat of note produced an 11th-minute goal for Edmonds-Green as the home rearguard failed to deal with Paul Caddis’ right-wing corner and Zeki Fryers was able to set up the close-range chance for Edmonds-Green to force the ball past a defender on the line. The Robins very nearly had a second goal in the 24th minute when only the alertness of Adam Collin in the home goal prevented Diallang Jaiyesimi from scoring from close range.

It was some time before Carlisle were able to make an attacking contribution but they went close in the 28th minute when Nathan Thomas played the ball through to Harry McKirdy. This time it was the Swindon goalkeeper Steven Benda to the rescue, coming out smartly to foil the forward’s attempt. Neat work by Mike Jones gave Callum Guy an opportunity to mark his home debut in style, but the former Blackpool midfield man failed to take advantage, slamming his shot well wide from just inside the area

The blustery conditions led to same scrappy exchanges after the break, but Carlisle got back on level terms in the 62nd minute when Elliot Watt’s accurate delivery found the head of Hayden who nodded home from six yards. Admiral Muskwe came on for former Carlisle striker Hallam Hope and the Swindon substitute almost had an instant impact as his close-range drive was blocked by Gethin Jones. Both sides tried hard for a deciding goal, but in the end Swindon’s point kept them clear at the top of the table while Carlisle continued their steady rise away from the lower reaches.

Last meeting – Swindon 0 – 1 Northampton

A controversial Andy Williams strike ended Swindon’s unbeaten start in League Two as the Robins lost at home to Northampton to drop off the top of the table. Former Swindon striker Williams crashed a half-volley in off the inside of the near post after 67 minutes, but appeared to be offside as the ball reached his feet.

It led to lengthy complaints from Swindon players, management staff and fans – however the minds of the officials were not changed. Swindon would have been level in the 73rd minute had Adam May kept his shot from about 12 yards down, but instead it flew over the bar as Northampton clung onto their lead. Swindon’s Lloyd Isgrove and Northampton’s Jordan Turnbull shot over and wide respectively in the first half while Jordan Lyden had a header well tipped over the bar by Cobblers keeper David Cornell in the second. Tyler Reid and Michael Doughty also came close to levelling for the hosts, with Reid having an effort deflected wide and Doughty’s last-gasp free-kick going over.

Classic Clash

Man In The Middle

JAMES ADCOCK

Ryan Whitaker and Andrew Aylott

Fourth Official : David Hunt