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Player	Rating
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Callum Storr	6.5
Doug Tharme	6.5
Harvey Cribb	6.5
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Henry Brown	6.2
Donovan Wilson	5.9
George McEachran	5.9
Evan Khouri	5.9
Luca Barrington	5.8
Jake Eastwood	5.8

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Northampton Preview

By: Richard Hubbert
Date: 10/01/2005

2005 got off to a good start for the Mighty Mariners last Monday, when they beat Cambridge 3-0 at Blundell Park. But can Town make it two in a row against one of the strongest teams in the division?

Home > 2004-2005 Season > Previews > Northampton (h)

The Opposition

Overview

After a mediocre first couple of month of the season, Northamptonâ€™s excellent form in November and December has seen them climb from mid-table into 5th position in League Two. Wins against Mansfield, Bury, Boston and an excellent away win at fellow promotion chasers Macclesfield Town leave the Cobblers eight points away from the automatic promotion places. Although this eight point gap is easily retrievable if last seasons form is anything to go by. This time last season, Northampton were in 17th place and 12 points from the play offs after a 3-1 defeat to Torquay. In the end, they finished in sixth place after losing just five matches in the second half of the season. But after losing in the play offs last time, Colin Calderwoodâ€™s (left) men will be hoping to go one better this time.

Their Squad

Northampton undoubtedly have one of the strongest squads in the division. Ashley Westwood (left) and Chris Wilmott have both played at a higher level with the likes of Sheffield Wednesday and Wimbledon. Josh Low is attracting interest from Premiership side Crystal Palace after having another impressive season in the Cobblers midfield. Low was a £165,000 signing from Oldham in the summer of 2003. Lee Williamson arrived from Mansfield in September and scored a belting goal at the weekend in the Cobblers FA Cup tie with Southampton. In attack, they have the likes of Scott Mcgleish, an experienced striker who has played in the lower leagues with Barnet, Colchester and Leyton Orient - scoring goals at each of them. He already has thirteen goals this term. Eric Sabin has eight goals this season after joining the Cobblers at the end of last season. The French forward has played for Swindon, QPR and Boston in the English league.

Key Player

Trevor Benjamin (left) is a forward who started his career with Cambridge United where he scored 35 goals in 123 appearances, before securing a £1.5 million move to Leicester in 2000. He has been in and out the Foxes side ever since, with loan spells at Palace, Norwich, West Brom, Gillingham, Rushden and Brighton. Now with Northampton, Benjamin will be a real threat in this division. Indeed, he scored on his Cobblers debut against Mansfield.

Recent Form

Town

Northampton

W	Cambridge	(h)	3-0
D	Lincoln	(a)	0-0
D	Macclesfield	(h)	0-0
D	Oxford	(h)	1-1
L	Yeovil	(a)	1-2

Currently 16th in League Two.

L	Southampton	(h)	1-3 (FAC)
L	Bristol Rovers	(a)	1-3
W	Mansfield	(h)	2-1
W	Bury	(h)	2-0
W	Macclesfield	(a)	3-1

Currently 5th in League Two.

Top Scorers

Town

Northampton

Pinault	6
Parkinson	4

McGleish	13
Sabin	8

Team News

Town

Northampton

The Mariners have a mixture of good news and bad news on the injury front. The good news is that Ashley Sestanovich and Michael Reddy could both return after both suffering from the flu bug that has been circulating around the club.

However, Terry Fleming and Graham Hockless have caught the illness and are rated doubtful. Therefore Stacy Coldicott could come in for Fleming, with Pinault moving back into the midfield and Sestanovich playing in â€˜the holeâ€™.

In form defender Rob Jones is struggling with an ankle injury. Therefore Greg Young and Glen Downey are on standby.

Colin Calderwood has no new injury worries, but will hope that Fred Murray will be part of the squad that travels to Cleethorpes. He has a niggling ankle problem, which he was expected to shrug off for the cup tie with Southampton at the weekend, but didnâ€™t. Meanwhile Lee Williamson took a knock in that game, but should ok to play.

On loan Charlie Hearn could return to the starting lineup after sitting on the bench at the weekend, while Pedj Bojic could return after being rested recently.

Probable Teams

Town

Northampton

1	Anthony Williams
2	John McDermott
16	Ronnie Bull
4	Simon Ramsden
28	Terrell Forbes
6	Rob Jones
8	Jason Crowe
17	Thomas Pinault
7	Ashley Sestanovich
26	Martin Gritton
10	Andy Parkinson

1	Lee Harper
2	Luke Chambers
4	Ashley Westwood
5	Chris Wilmott
3	Tommy Jaszczun
10	Josh Low
14	David Rowson
27	Lee Williams
19	Martin Smith
11	Scott McGleish
24	Trevor Benjamin

Subs

Town

Northampton

19	Darren Mansaram
3	Greg Young
9	Michael Reddy
11	Stacy Coldicott
13	Paul Fraser

20	Pedj Bojic
17	Charley Hearn
18	Eric Sabin
21	David Galbraith
13	Mark Bunn

Head to Head

The Cobblers have the edge over the Mariners, having beaten Town just one more time than we have beaten them. The Sixfields side have had 13 victories, with the Mariners 12. It would be fair to say, however, that Grimsby won the most important meeting between the two sides - in the Division Two Play Off Final in 1998.

P 28 W 12 D 3 L 13 F 37 A 47

Northampton Head-to-Head (50th on The Opposition Ladder)

Connections

Former Mariners loan flop Laurens Ten Heuvel (left) had a loan spell with Northampton in 1998, but failed to make a single appearance. The Dutch forward was brought to Blundell Park by Paul Groves in the summer of 2003, in the hope that he would make a good partner for Michael Boulding. This never happened, and after three starts, he went back to Holland to play for De Graafschap.

Local hero Paul Wilkinson ended his career with Northampton after a two year spell with the club between 1998 and 2000. He scored just one goal in 14 appearances, in contrast with his 33 goals in 83 games for the Mariners back in the 1980s. Wilkinson was Townâ€™s reserve team manager until 2003, now he is in the same job with Cardiff City.

Jamie Forrester had a successful three year stay at the Sixfields Stadium before he was snapped up by Hull City in January 2003. Forrester was signed by Brian Laws for the Mariners in 1995 and netted 10 goals for Town before a move in 1997 to Scunthorpe.

Chris Hargreaves made over 150 appearances for Northampton until he left for Brentford in the summer. Hargreaves of course, started his career with the Mariners where he was restricted to mostly substitute appearances between 1989 and 1993.

Mariners legend Dave Gilbert was signed by Alan Buckley for £55,000 from Northampton Town in March 1989. The pint-sized winger stayed at BP until 1995. His three year stay with Northampton saw he make over 100 appearances, netting 27 goals.

Last Meeting

An 86th minute Dean Gordon goal saw the Mariners snatch all three points at the Sixfields Stadium in October, the last meeting between the two clubs. This is still Northamptonâ€™s only defeat at home in League Two this season. The win marked a decent run of form for Town after previous wins against Cambridge and Leyton Orient. After the game, Town leapt to 8th place in the division - a position that Town have not reached since.

Grimsby Team: Williams, Whittle, Forbes, Gordon, Crowe, Pinault, Coldicott, Fleming, Cramb, Reddy (Sestanovich, 66), Parkinson
Subs: (not used) McDermott, Bull, Jones, Marcelle

Northampton Team: Rachubka, Willmott, Murray, Bojic, Low, Rowson, Williamson, Jaszczun, Sabin, McGleish (Galbraith, 80), Smith
Subs: (not used) Chambers, Youngs, Bunn, Cozic

Attendance: 5,805 Report

Prediction

Two wins in a row for The Mariners is surely too good to be true? A 1-1 draw.

1-1

Recent Predictions

Game	Prediction	Score	Points
Cambridge	2-1	3-0	1
Lincoln	1-1	1-1	3
Macclesfield	1-1	0-0	1
Oxford	2-0	1-1	0
Yeovil	2-1	1-2	0
Notts Co	1-0	3-2	1
Exeter	1-1	0-2	0
Scunthorpe	2-1	0-2	0
Swansea	2-0	1-1	0
Chester	0-0	1-2	0

Reader's POMs

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