Cobblers show their evolution with dominant display at Crewe as young defeneder catches the eye

Town enjoyed well over 60 per cent of the ball and eight shots to none in the second-half at Gresty Road

Amid another dose of stoppage-time drama at Crewe Alexandra on Saturday, there were some interesting conclusions to be drawn from Cobblers’ performance, particularly in the second-half.

More specifically, the nature of their performance which provided further evidence of how this team is evolving and changing and is now very different from the one that scrapped its way through the opening few months of last season.

Town dominated possession at Gresty Road and made over 200 more passes than their opponents, and whilst the state of the game undoubtedly had an influence on those statistics, that was something they never managed throughout last season.

Cobblers had 62% of the ball and made over 200 more passes than Crewe and that was largely down to their classy central midfielder on loan from Brighton. Made 80 passes himself, the vast majority of which found a team-mate. Always on the move, always looking to keep things ticking over. Willing to be physical too. Increasingly looks like a very astute piece of business... 8

The idea of any away team, let alone Northampton, having over 60 per cent of the ball against Crewe would have seemed fanciful not so long ago but the fact that Cobblers did on Saturday shows where both teams are at.

Crewe are in a similar position as Jon Brady’s side were 12 months ago as they look to build a solid base following relegation from League One.

Town, however, are a year further down the line and that was reflected in how they imposed themselves on Crewe and dominated much of the game, even if it did not translate into clear-cut chances. You would think – and hope – that that fluency and cutting edge will come in time.

As it happened, Courtney Baker-Richardson followed his stunning strike with a tap-in to put Crewe in control but, crucially, Hoskins got one back within minutes and Cobblers gradually wore their hosts down before the country’s leading scorer in 2022/23 scored direct from a corner seven minutes into stoppage-time to snatch a point.

Worked well in tandem with Leonard to give Cobblers control of the game, even at 0-0 the away side were seeing more of the ball. Lacked a little bit of penetration with his passing when they were chasing a goal in the second-half... 7

Hoskins is in sensational form and again grabbed the headlines but that should not detract from the impressive way in which young Harvey Lintott has integrated himself into the team at right-back.

He only started his first league game for the club the previous week but has since played three 90 minutes in a row. Defensively, he has hardly put a foot wrong and whilst he is not the most accomplished on the ball, there were positive signs at Crewe.

"I'm just really enjoying my football,” he said. “It's great that the gaffer and the staff have shown such faith in me.

"I've been happy to get into the team and I'm enjoying it so far and hopefully there are many more games to come.

Sam Hoskins' corner flicked off Zac Williams at the near post and found its way in.

"We are full of confidence at the moment and I think we are still improving as well. We’re obviously unbeaten but we can keep getting better.”

Back at Crewe on Saturday, there was precious little in the game when Baker-Richardson struck in controversial fashion on 26 minutes, his seemingly obvious shove on Tyler Magloire going unpunished before he let fly.

"You just have to let the referees get on with it,” admitted. Lintott “Personally, I don't think the goal should have stood but you have to focus on the game and try and fight back.

"You can't change the referee's mind but we got back into the game and it was great spirit from the boys to keep going until the end.

"Obviously, we would rather it be a comfortable 2-0 win or something like that but I think the boys have such good spirit and that's showing with the last-minute winners and equalisers.”