Jack Baldwin claimed part of the responsibility for Mansfield Town‘s opening goal after they beat Northampton Town.
After a strong first-half performance at Sixfields, The Cobblers conceded just over a minute after the restart following a series of mistakes in the build up. Will Evans seized upon his fortune and put the visitors ahead and ultimately on the path to victory.
Northampton did have a chance to take the lead in the first period with a penalty but Christy Pym denied Tariqe Fosu-Henry from the spot. The Stags doubled their advantage with a minute to go in normal time with Aaron Lewis powering home a shot from outside the box.
Baldwin discussed the error that led to the first Mansfield goal, saying to the Northampton Chronicle and Echo: “I look at their first goal quite personally because I changed the way we do the kick-off.
“I always get a lot of pressure from the pass back and the kick to the corner so I tried to do it with one touch today and it didn’t really go where I intended it to.
“Their centre-half won the header and then they go on the break and that set them onto the front foot so personally I’m a little bit frustrated with that. We were caught a bit cold and it wasn’t a good start to the second half.”
The result saw three teams jump ahead of The Cobblers; Reading, Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers. They play The Trotters at home tomorrow, having last beat the Lancashire side in 2008 during a League Cup tie.
Despite the hiccup, Northampton have done decently well this season, having picked up points in four of their seven league games so far. They picked up wins against Huddersfield Town and Exeter City and drew to Burton Albion and Barnsley.
Reflecting on the game as a whole, Baldwin added: “It’s very frustrating because the performance was there and we’re very happy with how we played for a lot of the game.
“We produced some brilliant football and on another day we are two, three, maybe four goals up at half-time if we had taken our chances.
“If we keep playing like that, it bodes well for the rest of the season and we’ll win more than we lose.”
Writer’s View
Mistakes are common in football and Jack Baldwin shouldn’t feel too aggrieved by the error which ultimately cost his team on Saturday. Whilst it will sting they now need to find a response and being at home against Bolton will certainly help them in trying to redeem themselves. As the 31-year-old mentioned it was still a good performance from The Cobblers and despite the result not going their way, they did dominate a team that has started very well in Mansfield for a large chunk of the game.
The upcoming fixture list for Town is fairly good for them, with Wrexham being the standout game in the next five league games. Jon Brady will hope his side can build momentum up in these upcoming games to get some well needed points on the board and avoid slipping into a relegation conversation. They are currently one point above Bristol Rovers in 21st who have played a game more than The Cobblers.
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