Fleetwood Town vs Northampton Town. Sky Bet League One.
Highbury StadiumAttendance3,049.
Saturday 24 March 2018 19:51, UK
Fleetwood picked up their first home win since October as they beat fellow strugglers Northampton 2-0 at the Highbury Stadium.
On paper the odds were stacked against John Sheridan's side given Northampton's unbeaten spree on the road in 2018 and Fleetwood's last home win being against Oxford on October 28.
But a Kyle Dempsey strike and Cian Bolger's close-range effort saw Sheridan make it five unbeaten with back-to-back wins now moving Fleetwood five points clear of the drop with eight games to go.
Fleetwood took the lead in the league at home for the first time since they lost 2-1 to Bradford on January 1 thanks to another first, midfielder Dempsey's first effort of the season.
New boss Sheridan has given his midfielders a license to attack and Toumani Diagouraga was instrumental in teeing up Dempsey for the 18th-minute opener.
Northampton had not lost away on the road in 2018 and did not go down without a fight as they threw bodies forward to try and find a way back.
But despite multiple set-pieces and a couple of chances for substitute Kevin Luckassen, fortune was not shining on Hasselbaink's end in the attacking third.
Luck was with them in their own box, though, as the referee waved away Fleetwood's strong penalty claim after Ash Taylor appeared to handle Bolger's strike.
With the clock ticking down and Northampton pushing forward Fleetwood showed them how it is done on set-pieces.
Just seconds after Richard O'Donnell diverted Jordy Hiwula's header round a post, Bolger capitalised on some woeful defending to thunder home a Bobby Grant corner from close range in the 83rd minute.
