Northampton 3 Swindon 4 

Town hang on after Cox hatrick

 

Coca-Cola League One

 

RESULT: Northampton 3 Swindon Town 4

 

Swindon scorers: Cox (3) 18, 31, 79; Paynter 40

Northmapton scorer: Akinfenwa 3, Jackman 68, Anya 87

 

They may be still in a relegation scrap, but on this form Town fans have nothing to fear - as long as Simon Cox keeps scoring.

 

Swindon's main man up front bagging arguably his most important hatrick in a Reds' shirt, as Town hung on to win their third game in a row tonight with a first-half performance as good as any this season.

 

Town's only set-backs coming as early as the third minute, when Adebayo Akinfenwa gave the home side a surprise lead, and Danny Jackman and Inkechi Anya made it more than interesting in the last twenty minutes. 

 

Akinfenwa almost spoiling matters as late as the 89th minute when the striker thought he'd made it 4-4, but the referee blew for a foul on Phil Smith.

 

"I don't need too many finishes like that," said the smiling Town manager, "because we'd done all the hard work and deserved the points.

 

"It's a crucial win for maintaining our momentum."

 

The win lifts Swindon to 15th.

 

The League One table

 

1 Leicester 39 39 82
2 Peterborough 39 21 75
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3 Millwall 38 11 70
4 MK Dons 38 31 69
5 Leeds 38 19 65
6 Scunthorpe 38 14 64
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7 Tranmere 39 11 62
8 Oldham 39 4 59
9 Southend 39 -4 58
10 Stockport 39 7 56
11 Colchester 38 2 54
12 Walsall 39 -2 54
13 Bristol Rovers 37 16 51
14 Huddersfield 38 -7 51
15 Swindon 39 -3 44
16 Hartlepool 39 -10 43
17 Crewe 39 -17 43
18 Leyton Orient 38 -13 42
19 Carlisle 39 -14 42
20 Northampton 37 0 41
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21 Yeovil 37-25 39
22 Brighton 37 -18 35
23 Hereford 37 -26 33
24 Cheltenham 38 -36 30

 

Eight games to go: