Derby missed the chance to go seven points clear of third place as Northampton earned their first win in six.
In a scrappy, cagey game, Sonny Bradley’s late red for what appeared to be a headbutt was the final blow on a dismal afternoon for Paul Warne’s side.
With Craig Forsyth, Dwight Gayle and Tom Barkhuizen sidelined, and Joe Ward only fit enough to be on the bench, Warne made four changes from last weekend’s superb 1-0 win over Bolton. Kane Wilson, Martyn Waghorn, Sonny Bradley, and Liam Thompson all came into the starting XI, with Conor Washington back amongst the substitutes too.
The first twenty minutes lacked quality. Northampton edged the first ten, Derby built to look in control of the game.
The first real chance of the match came after twenty minutes. Kane Wilson got the better of Monthé down the right and crossed to Louie Sibley at the back post. Sibley did well to bring it under control before fizzing it back into the middle with what may have been intended as a shot. The ball came to Martyn Waghorn, who fired over from six yards out. A massive chance which Derby would rue, as just three minutes later, Northampton took the lead against the run of play.
After Monthé dispossessed Wilson in a challenge that the referee should have deemed to be a foul, Sam Sherring hit a long ball forward for Louis Appéré who beat Sonny Bradley with ease having had space and time to cut back. Appéré put a cross in for Sam Hoskins in the middle who found the goal with an excellent volley into the bottom left corner for his fifteenth of the season.
Ebou Adams saw an effort cleared off the line by Sam Sherring in the 25th minute, before a gilt-edged chance fell his way in the 29th. Kane Wilson floated a fabulous ball to the edge of the six-yard box, where Adams was unmarked. He headed the ball into the ground, before it bounced over the bar. Multiple golden opportunities had now gone begging for Derby, whilst the Cobblers had scored from just their second shot.
For the rest of the first half, Northampton were the better side, frustrating Derby who struggled on a pitch that felt congested. The Rams had no time on the ball, and no space in the middle of the park. At the break, it was clear something had to change for Warne’s side to get back into the game.
But the second half started as the first had ended. There were no changes for either side, and Northampton were still on top.
The hosts went close to a second in the 57th minute as Monthé rattled the post with a strike from 20 yards out in the inside left channel.
Derby had a few chances in the last half hour, as the game became stretched, but didn’t trouble the ‘keeper frequently enough. With 23 minutes to play, Joe Wildsmith launched the ball forward from a free kick deep in his own half which Cashin headed on from the edge of the box. Waghorn got the ball around the keeper but his shot from a tight angle was cleared off the line by Sherring once more.
In the ten minutes of added time, a chance fell the way of Curtis Nelson. Joe Ward whipped the ball in from a free kick, and it was headed away to the left wing by a Northampton player. Blackett-Taylor, who had some good moments off the bench, put a good cross in, but Nelson could only head straight at Louie Moulden in net.
In the tenth minute of added time came some salt in the wound, one final disappointment for the Rams. After a brawl on the goal line Sonny Bradley was sent off for what appeared to be a headbutt on a Northampton player.
Analysis: An abysmal afternoon, but Derby still control their own destiny.
After the high of last weekend, the huge win against fellow promotion hopefuls Bolton, the trip to Sixfields was a sobering reminder that there is still a long way to go.
Derby were really poor throughout, bar that ten minute spell before Hoskins scored, looking sluggish and failing to find space. As Warne admitted to BBC Radio Derby, his side “failed to move the ball quick enough.” Of course, credit should go to Northampton for some of this too, their game plan of getting everyone behind the ball worked. Sixfields is also a Rugby stadium, and at times it felt as though they had 15 players on the pitch, with how many players they had back.
The Rams lacked the fluidity that we have seen when they’ve played in a 3-4-3 of sorts with Tom Barkhuizen floating around a front two of Gayle and Mendez-Laing in recent weeks. The change was forced, due to injury, but in theory the switch to a 3-5-2 should have given Derby more control and bite with an extra player in midfield. It never seemed that way.
Derby will be incredibly frustrated. There was a foul on Kane Wilson in the build up to Northampton’s goal, but the Rams had the chances to win it themselves. Waghorn and Adams both had gilt-edged chances, and another effort each cleared off the line. Jon Brady’s side very effectively ‘burnt the clock’ as they took their time over set pieces and substitutions, preventing Derby from building any momentum.
And then there was Sonny Bradley’s red card. To get sent off for what appears to be violent conduct is appalling. Based on this he will be given a three-game ban and has let his teammates and coaches down at a crucial time. It’s even worse in the context of the currently extensive injury list. Paul Warne confirmed at full time that Craig Forsyth is out for the season, meaning that Derby have just two first team centre backs available now, though they are the two that would be seen as first choice in Cashin and Nelson. Tom Barkhuizen and Dwight Gayle will miss the next two to three weeks and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing went off with a hamstring injury.
Martyn Waghorn made his first league start since October, and Conor Washington played his first league minutes since the reverse fixture against Northampton on Halloween. Corey Blackett-Taylor showed glimpses of the player he was for Charlton today too. All three will have to step up, and James Collins isn’t too far away from a return either. Kane Wilson was Derby’s only real bright spark today, having the beating of Monthe on many occasions, and putting some good balls in. Could this be his time to shine?
Despite all of this, it’s important to look at the bigger picture. Derby were the only side in the top five to play on Saturday, with most games cancelled due to the international break. Hence, Bolton remain four points behind them, Peterborough and Barnsley seven, but Bolton now have a game in hand on Derby and Peterborough and Barnsley have two. The Rams may have missed the chance to close the gap on league leaders Portsmouth, who remain five points clear, now with a game in hand, ahead of the sides meeting on 2nd April, but even if the chasing pack win their games in hand, they will still be a point off second place.
It was never going to be easy, and going into the final six games, the fate of this Derby side is in their own hands.
Northampton: Moulden (GK), McGowan (C) (Hondermarck 62’), Moore (Koiki 90’), Sherring, Monthé, Leonard, Sowerby, Fox (McWilliams 90’), Pinnock, Appéré (Simpson 90’), Hoskins (Bowie 90’).
Substitutes not Used: Dadge (GK), Gape.
Derby: Wildsmith (GK), Nelson, Bradley, Cashin, Wilson, Adams (Smith 63’), Hourihane (C), Thompson (Blackett-Taylor 63’), Sibley (Elder 63’), Mendez-Laing (Ward 68’), Waghorn (Washington 68’).
Substitutes not Used: Loach (GK), Radcliffe.