Northampton Town concerns emerge from Jon Brady | OneFootball

Northampton Town manager Jon Brady says he is concerned by the slow starts his side are making in games and their defensive mistakes.

The Cobblers were knocked out of the FA Cup in the first round by lower league opposition on Saturday, losing 1-0 to Chesterfield at the Technique Stadium. The Spireites, who currently sit third in the National League, won the tie when they took advantage of Sam Sherring’s poor clearance and punished the visitors’ lapse in concentration as the move led to Armando Dobra scoring the only goal of the game in the 14th minute.

It is that kind of error which is of particular frustration to Brady, as well as his side going behind in games, which has happened in six of the last nine matches in league and cup. Of those games, Town have only come from behind twice to win, drawing one and losing three, showing how costly a habit it is proving to be. Brady’s side did create some good chances against Paul Cook’s side on Saturday, but could not find the equaliser and were on the receiving end of an FA Cup upset.

“Unfortunately, at the moment, we are in a habit of conceding early in the first 30 minutes of games and going behind and it’s just too easy to score against us. That’s not usually how we are. We have to be better, we can be better and we will be better,” Brady told the Northampton Chronicle.

“We were playing a very good side and they play some good football but they only had one real chance and we gifted it to them. We had five really good chances and on another day, you win that by two or three.”

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Brady also highlighted some of the tactical concerns he had at the weekend, particularly the way in which Ryan Haynes was exposed against Chesterfield’s Liam Mandeville and the overlapping full-backs in the system the Spireites played.

“Down their right-hand side and on our left, it wasn’t quite right and we had to adjust that at half-time. There were a few tactical things which we had to do to stop that and I thought we stemmed the flow but I would expect us to deal with that first and foremost,” Brady explained.

“We didn’t and that was disappointing so we have things to work on and things to get right. Individually and collectively, we need to be better all over.”

The verdict

Brady’s frustration with his side’s recent form and mistakes is clear and it is understandable why he is concerned.

While the FA Cup is not the priority for the club this season, losing to a side from the division below and suffering an FA Cup shock will be incredibly disappointing, even if it was to a Chesterfield side challenging at the top end of the National League.

The Cobblers are in a strong position in League Two, sitting third in the table, but their recent form has been poor, winning just one of their last six games and losing three, reinforcing Brady’s worries.

After all, Brady knows the fine margins in the division after losing out on automatic promotion on goal difference on the final day last season.

Town are the top scorers in League Two, with 29 goals to their name, but have also conceded 19, the most of any side in the top seven. They have shown character to recover from losing positions in games this season, but they cannot keep giving themselves a mountain to climb in games by falling behind so often.

There is no doubt they have the attacking ability to turn games around, especially with a striker like Sam Hoskins, who is League Two’s top scorer with 12 goals, but their defensive frailties are putting too much pressure on the front men to deliver.

There is no need for too much panic at Sixfields just yet, but Brady knows he needs to work on his side’s flaws if they are to maintain their lofty league position and achieve their promotion ambitions.