Jon Brady has eyes on the prize as Northampton move into top three

Posted Sunday, April 24, 2022 by PA

Jon Brady hailed another step towards promotion as Northampton moved into the top three in League Two with a 4-2 away win at Leyton Orient.

A first-half goal-fest saw Mitch Pinnock, John Guthrie and Joshua Felix-Eppiah open up a three-goal advantage before Theo Archibald replied for the home side.

Felix-Eppiah struck again before the half-time whistle to stretch the lead again. Jordan Brown netted for the home side soon after the interval but the Cobblers held on against opponents who finished with 10-men following the late dismissal of Shad Ogie for violent conduct.

“It’s another step towards where we want to be,” Brady reflected.

“I thought our performance in the first half was really controlled and we were very clinical in what we did and taking our chances.

“We possibly could have had more but a lot of the things we worked on in the week were implemented so well by the boys this afternoon and that was really pleasing.

“We controlled how we pressed and overall I was happy to get the three points.

“Let’s get it right, Orient had won six of their last eight games. They are a good side and have some really good players and it’s become a tough place to come since Richie Wellens took over and how he has rejuvenated the club.

“So this was a really tough challenge for us today but we have come out on top and I am really pleased about that.

“We need to keep going and work hard in training. We have Exeter next week and that remains my only focus.”

Orient head coach Richie Wellens refused to be downhearted after the defeat.

“The players have put so much into the last five or six weeks or so,” he said.

“I thought it was a competitive first 15 minutes of the game and they were at it from the start. They are obviously going for it given their league position and chasing promotion.

“It was fairly even at that point but then the next 30 minutes we played like we already had our flip-flops on.

“It was too slow and when you play against a team that want to run and press, then you are just playing into their hands.

“I didn’t agree with a couple of their goals but I can’t blame the referee this afternoon. The majority of the first half looked as though we were already on holiday.

“Second half we played with more of a tempo and we matched them up.

“We had a couple of great chances, one or two cleared off the line and if we had got that third goal, we might have come back but when you start like we did, then it’s really difficult.”