Bishop's Stortford v Northampton Town
FA CUP WITH BUDWEISER FIRST ROUND
Sunday November 10, 2.00pm
ProKit UK Stadium
BISHOP'S STORTFORD 1
Reece Prestedge 81
NORTHAMPTON TOWN 2
Danny Emerton 62
Luke Norris 68
Attendance: 2,545 (Cobblers fans not confirmed)
Bishop's Stortford: Joe Wright, Ashley Miller, Johnny Herd, Tommy Fletcher (sub Kyle Asante 77), Sean Francis, Callum MacNaughton, Matt Johnson, Nicky Symons (sub Harry Baker 66), Kyle Vassell (sub George Sykes 58), Cliff Akurang, Reece Prestedge .
Subs not used: Luke Milbourne, Ben Adams, Josh Fagbohun, Sam Cowler
Cobblers: Matt Duke, Lee Collins (sub Ben Tozer 66), Joe Widdowson, Mathias Kouo-Doumbe, Paul Reid, Chris Hackett, Ricky Ravenhill, Kane Ferdinand, Danny Emerton, Jacob Blyth (sub Ian Morris 89), Luke Norris
Subs not used: Ben McNamara, Ishmel Demontagnac, Matty Harriott, Darren Carter, Gary Deegan
Referee: Mr S Martin
Booked:
Bishop's Stortford: Tommy Fletcher (17), Harry Baker (86)
Cobblers: Lee Collins (45, 5th of the season, misses Fleetwood), Chris Hackett (90, 4th)
5 cautions on or before 31 December; 1 match suspension
10 cautions on or before 11 April; 2 match suspension
15 cautions at any time in season; 3 match suspension
Sent off:
Bishop's Stortford: none
Cobblers: none
Sendings off: 2 cautions in one game; 1 match suspension but cautions do not count towards above totals. Other sendings off; 1 or 3 match suspension. Extra match ban for additional sendings off.
Boss Aidy Boothroyd made three changes to the side for the Cobblers FA Cup first round tie at Conference South highflyers Bishop’s Stortford, a game televised live on ITV.
Ricky Ravenhill (signed on loan from Bradford City) and Danny Emerton came into the midfield with returning Leicester City loanee Jacob Blyth partnering Luke Norris up front. Stuart Dallas was not given permission to play by his parent club Brentford. With Ian Morris dropping to the bench (along with Darren Carter), Paul Reid took over the captain’s armband.
Mathias Doumbe saw an early header cleared off the line as the Cobblers started the game very much on the front foot. Chris Hackett was causing problems for the home defence, the winger crossing for Luke Norris but his shot was well saved by Joe Wright.
The Cobblers were denied by the woodwork on 19 minutes, Kane Ferdinand’s header coming back off the crossbar. The crossbar was then struck at the other end after a header from
Bishop’s Stortford striker Cliff Akurang.
Joe Wright made a smart save to deny Luke Norris after some neat play between Ferdinand and Hackett. Kyle Vassell then shot wide for the home side before a lob shot from Hackett was scrambled off the line. The Cobblers winger was clattered by the keeper after making the shot, but no penalty was awarded.
Danny Emerton curled a shot just wide after a good run from Joe Widdowson. Paul Reid then blocked a shot from Reece Prestedge as the non-league side enjoyed a spell of pressure. A cross from Hackett was then headed wide by Norris in the final chance of the first half.
Norris saw a shot saved by Wright at the start of the second half with the rebound almost falling to Blyth who was only to be denied by a last-ditch tackle from Callum MacNaughton.
The home side were dealt a blow on 57 minutes with their top goalscorer Kyle Vassell forced off with an injury, George Sykes the player to come on.
The Cobblers took the lead soon after, Danny Emerton with a curled finish in at the near post.
Luke Norris doubled the Cobblers lead midway through the second half, scoring from close range after Hackett’s initial shot had been saved by Wright.
A glancing header from Norris struck the Stortford crossbar before the home side pulled a goal back with ten minutes to go, Reece Prestedge with a terrific strike from 18-yards that found the top corner.
Ian Morris came on for Jacob Blyth before the Cobblers saw off five minutes of stoppage time to book their place in round two.
BISHOP'S STORTFORD MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (0) 3
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (3) 5
CORNERS: (1) 2
FOULS: (7) 13
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (3) 4
COBBLERS MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (8) 20
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (6) 11
CORNERS: (5) 8
FOULS: (5) 14
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (1) 1
The above stats are recorded by club staff. The stats shown elsewhere on this page are recorded by Opta.