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A Platform to build on

No hitting the buffers for Cobblers FanZoner Tom Reed

Posted: 27th November 2009 17:50

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A Platform to build on

Sampson: plenty to choo-choo over

Crewe did nothing spectacular up front, but were 2-0 up by half-time thanks to their hardworking strikers, who caught Northampton off guard time after time.

Northampton FanZoner Tom Reed
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'Railwaymen derail Cobblers' declared our local paper after the 2-2 draw with Crewe. I don't think I've ever read an article about Crewe Alexandra without some sort of naff reference to its railway history.

Surely there must be something else of interest in Crewe other than the railway station? In his 1995 book Notes from a Small Island, Bill Bryson was less than glowing about Crewe, calling it the 'armpit of Cheshire'. So, the Northampton press missed out on the chance to run with the potentially legendary headline "Armpits and Cobblers Sweat it Out".

Anyway, in homage to our local sub editor's passion for railway related headlines I've decided to shunt (see I've started already) as many train and railway-related puns into this article as humanly possible. So here goes.

The Cobblers went into the game with Crewe, looking to get back on track after a miserable goalless draw with Grimsby the previous week. It was difficult to gauge how well (or badly) the Cobblers had performed against the Mariners given that the weather was so atrocious, but the number of chances that Northampton created brought hope to the Cobblers faithful.

The loan signing of defensive midfielder Josh Walker from Middlesbrough brought further enthusiasm and signalled Ian Sampson's intent to build a platform from which to claim three points from the Railwayen.

But when the two teams took to the pitch at Sixfields, it was clear that Dario Gradi's men were not content to make up the numbers. Crewe steamed into the Cobblers from the off, their two rangy strikers Calvin Zola and Clayton Donaldson causing all sorts of problems with their runs off the ball.

While Crewe manager, Dario Gradi is no spring chicken at 68, he brings a wealth of experience and knows what it takes to unlock League Two defences. Crewe did nothing spectacular up front, but were 2-0 up by half-time thanks to their hardworking strikers, who caught Northampton off guard time after time.

Spooned

Luckily for Crewe, laid-back defender Patrick Kanyuka and his polar opposite Paul 'Mr Panic' Rodgers had been paired together at the back for the Cobblers meaning that any balls over the top were either left to drop by the stationary Kanyuka or rashly spooned to an opposition player by Rodgers.

The first goal came when Kanyuka appeared to duck a diving seagull (or was it a Mallard?) and let a long ball fall into the path of Donaldson (sounds like a Flying Scotsman!) who neatly chipped Chris Dunn. Their second goal came in similar circumstances, when Zola was apparently given a free ticket to goal before crossing the ball, only for John Johnson to smack it into his own net.

After the game, Dario Gradi said that Crewe could have been 6-0 up at half-time and it is difficult to argue, their midfield breaching the Northampton defence repeatedly with probing through balls.

Indeed, Northampton had goalie Chris Dunn to thank for going into the interval with the deficit restricted to two. The Cobblers fans were in no mood to indulge their players, booing them as they entered the tunnel and Ian Sampson continued the hostilities with a half-time ear-bashing where he 'lost the plot' according to the press.

Sammo clearly had plenty of team problems to choo-choo over but, in the end, was saved by one player: Adebayo Akinfenwa. Now, Bayo, as he is known to the fans, has had his fair share of detractors, mainly due to his injury record and less than regular ability to train.

Rocketing

On Saturday however, all these problems appeared to have been put to bed with Bayo Stephenson's rocketing in two classic strikers' finishes to draw Cobblers level.

The first came with Akinfenwa charging into the Crewe box like a locomotive, managing to collect a pass from Luke Guttridge, before turning his caboose and rifling the ball into the bottom-left corner. The second, equally impressive and again provided by a neat flick from Guttridge, saw Akinfenwa control the ball on the edge of the box, before manoeuvring around it and scoring past Crewe keeper Steve Phillips.

It was a great one-touch finish and in many ways reminded me of his goal a few years back at Orient, expressing Akinfenwa's desire to score quality goals, even at a lower level.

So, honours even between the Armpits and the Cobblers. Next up are Southampton in the cup and the chance to renew our inter-city "Battle of the Hamptons". What's that about rhyming slang?!?

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