Northampton boss Jon Brady hailed Sam Hoskins’ ability to pop up in the right place at the right time after his late strike sealed a 1-0 win at Cheltenham.
The only goal of a largely uninspiring game arrived in the 88th minute after a ball over the top of the home defence from Sam Sherring and a slip from Lewis Freestone left Hoskins with only Luke Southwood to beat.
He confidently beat the goalkeeper for his third of the season and Cheltenham rarely troubled Max Thompson in the Cobblers goal.
“It just feels great to get the win away from home against a team you’re probably expected to compete with in same area of the table,” Brady said.
“I felt we came here really positively and again we dominated the ball for most of the game. There was probably a five or 10 minute period in the second half – it felt longer at the time – where we wobbled a little bit and they went more brave. They moved to three at the back, pushed their wing-backs right in and went very direct and tried to land on things.
“I think they only had a couple of shots over the bar and three or four crosses and we had to defend that period well, but we made the changes and I felt we could get in behind their defence.
“Lo and behold we did and there you go – it’s that man again Sam Hoskins who scores a late winner. He’s got a knack of that, which is lovely, and to come away with three points feels really good.”
Will Ferry sent a shot over the bar for the home side in the third minute, but Northampton went on to control much of the opening period.
Patrick Brough smashed an effort wide in the 17th minute and Kieron Bowie was off target after good work from Louis Appere in the 23rd minute.
Sherring saw a header hit the bar after Marc Leonard’s corner five minutes later.
Elliot Bonds curled an effort over the bar in the 61st minute and Luciano D’Auria-Henry’s header was kicked away by Sherring in the six-yard box as Cheltenham showed an improvement.
But Hoskins had the final say as promoted Northampton made it seven points from their last three games.
Cheltenham boss Wade Elliott admitted his side need attacking reinforcements before the transfer window closes on Friday night.
“I really feel for the players because in the second half it looked like if one team was going to edge it, it was going to be us,” Elliott said.
“I thought we were on top in the second half, but ultimately, we can’t keep relying on clean sheets to accumulate points. It’s pretty obvious where we are a little bit deficient at the minute.
“In terms of attacking changes, we were very light. In most departments, we are probably OK, but it’s obvious which departments we need help in.”
