Jon Brady salutes ‘quite special’ victory as Cobblers close in on promotion

Delighted Northampton boss Jon Brady saluted a “special” victory as his side triumphed 2-1 at Sutton.

A second win in three games maintained the Cobblers’ grip on second place in the table on a night when they and third-placed Stevenage both won.

“To come here and come away with three points is quite special really,” said Brady.

“Sutton are a fantastic side, and whenever you come here you know there’s going to be no quarter given.

“It’s a very tough place to come, so for us to go back home with three points is just an incredible achievement from my lads.

“I’ve been back in the changing room and spoken to the lads about how they played.

“As I say, Sutton are a very strong side here, and you really have to stand up to them physically.

“Don’t forget we’ve had a lot of injuries and lost a lot of players recently, so we have got a threadbare squad.

“Players have been forced to come in out of nowhere and really stand up to be counted.

“To get the two goals to win the game and to get three more precious points is very satisfying.”

Louis Appere fired the Cobblers into the lead just before the half-hour mark.

However, Sutton evened it up in first-half stoppage-time when Donovan Wilson was perfectly placed to ram high into the net.

The Cobblers went back in front soon after the restart thanks to Mitchell Pinnock, and Sutton could not find a way back.

They are now winless in eight games and have lost their last four as their campaign appears to be fading away.

Boss Matt Gray remains positive, however, saying: “I thought we were good for large spells.

“I thought it was a dominant performance, and I was particularly pleased with the first-half effort.

“Even then, we were camped in their half for spells in the second half.

“It was probably just the two moments for their two goals which have cost us – cost us at least the point we deserved.

“The first goal was definitely against the run of play, but then we produced a great response collectively.

“It’s our fourth year here now, and it is weird that we’re not actually playing for anything this season, but we’ll still try and finish as high up the table as we can and try and pick up as many points as we can.

“I just want performances that mirror our team and our club, and I think we got that again tonight.

“It’s hard to take this defeat, but the players have done really well tonight and ran through a brick wall for me once again.”