NTFC Season In Review 2011/12: September

Johnson…dug-out hideaway!

The after effects of Shaun Harrad’s sale were immediate at Sixfields as the Cobblers looked to get back on track on the pitch as well as build bridges off it. Gary Johnson was as stubborn as ever with his opinions and always stood by the need to sell Harrad so we all had to get on with it and hope that something else was in the pipeline. Johnson did little to brighten the mood of Town fans as he spent a few games hid away in his dugout rather than giving orders from pitch side.

Southend was the first port of call and after a disappointing run towards the end of August it was nice to be back on track at least with a solid 2-2 draw at Roots Hall. Coming from two goals down made it more impressive with Bilel Mohsni and Ryan Hall putting the Shrimpers 2-0 up only for Bayo Akinfenwa and Arron Davies to turn things completely on its head within a five minute spell in the second half.

Back to Sixfields and a goalless draw against Torquay United was hard fought but still we were searching for that first home victory of the season.

One of the rare times when everything came together under Johnson came a few days later, though. With the Cobblers 1-0 up at Wimbledon thanks to a Bayo penalty, Nick McKoy was sent off on the stroke of half-time and it looked like an uphill battle from there. But the ten men fought through it and scored twice more in the second half, both goals coming from Michael Jacobs, to cap one of the performances of the season.

We needed to follow that up with another result at Macclesfield on the Saturday but frustrating inconsistency haunted us again as two late goals from Ben Tomlinson and Colin Daniel helped the Silkmen to a 3-1 win. Bristol City loanee Marlon Jackson scored the Cobblers’ goal on that day, his first and only strike during his short spell here.

September at least ended with some positive news and, finally, the first home win of the season. Dagenham and Redbridge were the victims as Arron Davies continued his good start to the season by scoring early on and Bayo added another on the hour. Oliver Lee’s late goal was too late for the Daggers and Town ended the month on twelve points and in seventeenth place in the table.

Highlight of the Month: Ten men Cobblers win 3-0 at AFC Wimbledon.

Lowlight of the Month: The subsequent 3-1 reverse at Macclesfield Town.

Player of the Month: Michael Jacobs – the star continues to rise and some solid performances went along with those two crucial goals at Wimbledon.