Northampton Town manager Jon Brady has fumed at a number of decisions from referee Ross Joyce which cost his side valuable points in the 2-1 defeat against Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
It was a second successive league defeat for the Cobblers since returning to League One this season after losing 1-0 against Stevenage on the opening day, before exiting the EFL Cup against Swansea City last week.
However, it was a much improved performance against Wigan at the weekend and they will be disappointed to have come away with nothing after taking the lead at the DW Stadium through a stunning free kick from Sam Hoskins in the first half.
Northampton held onto their lead until the 72nd minute, when Latics defender Charlie Hughes headed the hosts level at the back post following a deep corner. This was one of a number of decisions which Brady was unhappy with, claiming that Wigan shouldn’t have been awarded the set-piece. Via Northampton Chronicle & Echo, the manager said;
“Their equaliser wasn’t a corner in the first place. They’ve kicked it over the bar and the ref has given a corner.
It was a game which saw eight yellow cards, but it was a first half caution to midfielder Jack Sowerby which also drew the manager’s wrath;
“The referee didn’t deal with any of those at key moments, which is very disappointing. Jack Sowerby passed the ball straight to their player to where the foul was, he’s given it back to them, and the referee books him.”
Callum McManaman rolled back the years to win the game for Wigan with just over 10 minutes remaining, cutting inside from the edge of the box to curl his effort into the top corner. However, the 32-year-old’s antics did not escape the Australian’s attention;
“McManaman rugby tackles AK (Odimayo) from behind but AK is the one who gets booked. It’s just unfathomable. What were they seeing in those moments?”
Northampton will be hoping for their first points of the season tomorrow night when they return to Sixfields to host Lincoln City.
Writer’s View
Many will call Brady’s comments sour grapes, but he does have a point. Some of the decisions that went against his team were questionable at best, but that is par for the course in football.
The old saying states that these things iron themselves out over the course of the season, but it has been a disappointing start to the campaign for the Cobblers and they will be desperate to start picking up some points sooner rather than later.
Lincoln will present tough opposition tomorrow, but the manager can be confident after what was largely a decent performance from his team on Saturday.
