Wycombe Wanderers v Northampton Town
League Two
Saturday, March 16th 2012
The Cobblers’ victory against Wycombe back in November sent the Chairboys to the foot of the League Two table with newly appointed player/manager Gareth Ainsworth looking set for a tough time in keeping his side in the division. Four months on and he has transformed the club from relegation candidates to a comfortable mid-table side that are closer to the playoff positions than the bottom two.
That all points to a tough afternoon at Adams Park with the Cobblers defending a six game unbeaten run against Wycombe on their own ground.
Long run of results put to the test…
That run stretches all the way back to 2001 where Town suffered their last away defeat to Wycombe, a 2-1 reverse in League One. Since then we have taken home three league draws, one league victory and two cup successes (one on penalties).
Doherty rescues a point to help out Town…
Gary Doherty’s late equaliser against Rotherham United on Tuesday night prevented back to back defeats for Wycombe and also aided the Cobblers’ promotion hopes by keeping us above the Millers in the table. They’ve also seen off another playoff contender, Fleetwood Town, this month.
Club Links…
Cobblers midfielder Chris Hackett spent time on loan at Wycombe from Millwall earlier in 2012, making seven appearances in League One.
Ben Harding also played for Wanderers in the first half of last season, also turning out seven times for the club before joining the Cobblers on loan.
Team News…
Wycombe are waiting on the fitness of striker Matt McClure who limped out of Tuesday night’s draw with Wycombe Wanderers whilst Dave Winfield is also battling to be fit after being withdrawn late in the same game. Leon Johnson is set to return after missing Tuesday night through family reasons.
The Cobblers have no new injury concerns ahead of the trip to Adams Park with the main issue facing Aidy Boothroyd being whether to stick to the side that started the game at Morecambe on Tuesday or bring in some of those who helped to rescue a point late on.
Bayo – two goals against Wycombe last time out
Previous Six Meetings…
17/11/12: Cobblers 3-1 Wycombe (League Two)
Earlier this season the Cobblers got the better of Wanderers with a good home win thanks to Bayo Akinfenwa’s double, one a penalty, and Chris Hackett’s second half strike. Joel Grant’s spot kick looked to set up a nervy conclusion but Town held out for an important three points.
16/04/11: Wycombe 2-2 Cobblers (League Two)
An entertaining encounter at Adams Park saw Shaun Harrad give Town the lead from the penalty spot on twenty minutes before Guillem Bauza doubled the advantage. But second half goals from Scott Donnelly and Leon Johnson earned Wycombe a point en route to their eventual promotion.
28/08/11: Cobblers 1-1 Wycombe (League Two)
Andy Sandell looked like he had claimed all three points for Wanderers after netting in the first half but the Cobblers won a late penalty which was converted by Kevin Thornton to give us a share of the spoils.
01/09/09: Wycombe 2-2 Cobblers – After extra time, Cobblers win 3-0 on pens (JPT First Round)
A back and forth JPT First Round tie saw Ryan Gilligan hand Town the lead from the spot before John-Paul Pittman levelled via the same method. Steve Guinan thought he had won it when he scored four minutes from time but Pittman equalised again in stoppage time. After a goalless period of extra time, though, Wycombe contrived to miss all of their penalties in the shoot-out. The Cobblers scored all three of their kicks and headed through to Round Two.
31/01/06: Cobblers 0-0 Wycombe (League Two)
Stalemate at Sixfields as the Cobblers’ charge towards promotion is temporarily halted by a stubborn Wycombe side.
05/11/05: Wycombe 1-3 Cobblers (FA Cup First Round)
Town overcame a tough cup tie at Adams Park in a fantastic contest. Chris Doig broke the deadlock just before the hour with a well taken low shot before Martin Smith made it two a few minutes later. Scott McGleish wrapped it up with ten minutes to play by breaking through and finishing well and despite a late goal from future Cobbler Joe Burnell, we had done enough to pick up a fine victory.
The man in the middle…
Referee for this one is Brendon Malone who last took charge of the Cobblers in the dramatic 3-3 draw at Burton back in September. He was also the official for Wycombe’s 1-0 win at Plymouth in late December. Malone has shown 54 yellow cards and 3 reds so far this season.
Prediction…
I can see this being a really tough one for Town with Wycombe vastly improved from when they visited Sixfields earlier this season. If other results go our way I’d take a draw from any away game and this is no different. If we can start how we finished at Morecambe then we’ll be in with a great shout and I see there being plenty of goals in this one. 2-2
A Load Of Cobblers 
Brilliant preview, shame it’s been called off! 😦