Northampton Town manager Jon Brady said the impressive performances of substitutes during the Cobblers’ 1-1 draw at Stockport County on Tuesday has given him plenty of thought for the upcoming game against Crawley Town.
Two subs combined to notch a 92nd-minute equaliser at Edgeley Park. Tariqe Fosu’s late free-kick found Tyler Magloire, who headed in to earn Northampton a point. Fosu also nearly scored after being introduced on the hour mark, while Tyler Roberts also went close.
Northampton Town Super Subs Give Brady Selection “Headache”
Brady started the same XI for the past two games. The Australian coach stuck with the same team that began the 1-0 victory at Sixfields last weekend. Next up for the Cobblers is another home clash against 21st-placed Crawley as the hosts look to extend their three-match unbeaten run.
However, the performances of players like Fosu, Magloire and Roberts means Brady might shift the pack. Speaking to the Northampton Chronicle ahead of the Crawley fixture, the 49-year-old coach said such selection problems are a positive rather than a negative.
The boys came through fine on Tuesday and we don’t have any injured players coming back but I think with everyone contributing it really gives confidence to the group and it gives me some real good selection headaches.
That’s really good and really pleasing and I could pick pretty much anyone to start at the weekend but we will need to rotate the group over the next few weeks.
Northampton are improving following a difficult start to the 2024/25 campaign. The Cobblers won two of their opening 10 in all competitions but haven’t lost since a 4-1 defeat at Wrexham in early October. Looking ahead, Brady believes consistency is key to building form in the coming games.
We feel we are just starting to gain some momentum and now it’s important we continue that. We’ve highlighted various things with the group and we feel it’s been better in the last two games but we always want to keep improving.
Writer’s View
Substitute impacts are often bitter-sweet for managers. They impact a game and generate a positive feeling like Fosu and Magloire did at Stockport. But this comes with the dilemma of changing a settled starting lineup. Nonetheless, it would be a surprise if Fosu in particular wasn’t handed a starting spot against Crawley. The midfielder looked like he had a point to prove at Edgeley Park and may have played his way into Brady’s consideration.
