Northampton 3-1 Chesterfield: John-Joe O'Toole's brace sees Cobblers home

John-Joe O'Toole's first-half brace set Northampton Town on their way to a 3-1 victory over struggling Chesterfield at Sixfields.

Marc Richards was denied by goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson before Northampton went ahead in the 12th minute when O'Toole headed home from Hiram Boateng's corner.

The visitors responded well to going behind. Daniel Jones had a shot blocked while Dan Gardner fired over from long range and David Faupala was denied by Adam Smith.

In between, Michael Smith went close for Cobblers as did O'Toole with another header. Faupala and Tom Anderson were also off target with headers for Chesterfield.

But Cobblers doubled their advantage three minutes before the break. Keshi Anderson's shot was blocked and O'Toole was on hand to score from close range.

And the hosts extended their lead three minutes after the restart when Richards headed home a Matt Taylor free-kick.

Jon Nolan went close for the visitors before they reduced the arrears from a 54th-minute free-kick when Dion Donohue set up Faupala, who fired home from inside the box.

The second half developed into a scrappy affair despite Chesterfield getting back into it.

Smith went close for Cobblers while Liam Grimshaw was just off target from the edge of the 18-yard box and substitute Ched Evans shot wide for Chesterfield. But their poor run on the road continued and they find themselves in relegation trouble.