{"id":12524,"date":"2005-03-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-03-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.staging28.planetswans.co.uk\/?p=12524"},"modified":"2020-09-22T11:26:01","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T11:26:01","slug":"northampton-2-swansea-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/2005\/03\/19\/northampton-2-swansea-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Northampton 2 Swansea 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Kenny Jackett insisted Swansea City could still clinch automatic promotion – even as a place in the top three moved further from their grasp.<\/p>\n

Top-scorer Lee Trundle was Swansea’s saviour again as the Scouse striker salvaged a point from a tense promotion tussle to end a dismal run of four consecutive away defeats.<\/p>\n

But Trundle’s 21st goal of the season was not enough to prevent the top three fading further from Swansea’s view as victories for promotion rivals Macclesfield and Southend left Kenny Jackett’s side four points adrift.<\/p>\n

It means that if the Swans are to reach the 80-point target Jackett has set for them going straight up to League One, they will need to collect 18 points from the last 24 available.<\/p>\n

Jackett, though, believes it can be done.<\/p>\n

"It is a tall order but I honestly believe we can still get there.<\/p>\n

"We’re the sort of side that can go on an excellent run and win our remaining games.<\/p>\n

"Perhaps the fans will go home believing it’s the play-offs for us now, but I still believe it’s open at the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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"We’re four points away and we’ve got Macclesfield at the Vetch next Friday. We need to put another winning sequence together and that could have a snowball effect."<\/p>\n

It seemed Swansea might be on course for a win when the impressive Paul Connor gave them a 30th-minute lead with his 12th goal of the season. But poor Swans’ defending allowed Northampton to turn the tie on its head, Martin Smith and Andy Kirk scoring inside six minutes to give the Cobblers a 2-1 half-time lead.<\/p>\n

Despite performing some way below their best, Swansea managed to dominate the second period and snatched a crucial point when Trundle bundled home Connor’s cross with 20 minutes to go.<\/p>\n

"We showed a lot of character to come back and get a point and that’s something we can build on," insisted Jackett.<\/p>\n

"It’s pleasing to have put our bad away run behind us against a good Northampton side. I know results have gone against us but this is a good point."<\/p>\n

Jackett had made just one change to the side held to a 2-2 home draw against Rochdale last weekend, Garry Monk, who’d missed two matches with a back complaint, returning to the Swans’ back four at the expense of Andy Gurney..<\/td>\n

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NORTHAMPTON<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Harper<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bojic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Murray<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Westwood<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wilmott<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Low<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rowson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Williamson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kirk<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
McGleish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Smith<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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SWANSEA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Gueret<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Austin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Iriekpen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Monk<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ricketts<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bean<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
McLeod<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
O’Leary<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Connor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Forbes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Trundle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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REFEREE<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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ATTENDANCE<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

5,799<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

The first-half was as frantic and as keenly fought as you would expect for two sides desperate to keep their respective promotion pushes bubbling<\/p>\n

Frustratingly for the visitors, it was Colin Calderwood’s play-off hopefuls who were in the ascendancy for most of the opening 45.<\/p>\n

The home side were menacing on the break and did a better job of retaining possession, threatening Willy Gueret’s goal as early as the third minute when Scott McGleish drove narrowly wide from 10 yards. Pedj Bojic even found enough room to meander forward from his right-back station to test Gueret’s handling skills with a piercing long-range effort.<\/p>\n

Swansea had to wait until the 20th minute for their first chance – and it was a chance that went begging, Adrian Forbes slicing a close-range effort wide after Connor teased the ball across goal.<\/p>\n

Three minutes later, Gueret made a fine save from David Rowson before Swansea nipped in front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Goals<\/td>\n

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Trundle turned inside his full-back before finding Connor with a cute reverse pass. He advanced past the last defender to slide home from eight yards.<\/p>\n

But Swansea’s lead lasted only four minutes as the Cobblers proceeded to claim the goal their efforts deserved.<\/p>\n

Jackett must have winced in his technical area as first Swansea failed to clear a corner, and then Gueret allowed the unmarked Smith to profit with a low drive from a tight angle that squirmed under the Swansea keeper’s body.<\/p>\n

Marcus Bean fired wide for the Swans following a darting run through the middle – and Northampton’s response was to race up the other end and make it 2-1.<\/p>\n

There was more defensive dithering from Jackett’s men as Williamson floated in a delicious cross from the right and Kirk outjumped his markers to glance the ball over a Swans’ keeper stranded in no-man’s land.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Northampton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Smith 35<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kirk 40<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Swansea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Connor 30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Trundle 70<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Card Count<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Booked<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Northampton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Williamson 61<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Swansea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
O’Leary 32<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Connor 59<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Austin 67<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bean 87<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sent Off<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Northampton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
None<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Swansea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
None<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Eighteen minutes into the second period and Izzy Iriekpen came agonisingly close to making it 2-2 when his downward header from Kevin McLeod’s cross was superbly palmed away by keeper Lee Harper.<\/p>\n

But Harper was helpless to stop Trundle from claiming a crucial Swans’ leveller on 70 minutes, the Scouser bundling Connor’s cross home after squeezing between two defenders.<\/p>\n

Report: Wales On Sunday<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n
What are your thoughts? Click Here<\/a> To Share Them<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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NEXT UP FOR THE SWANS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

MACCLESFIELD (HOME)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FRIDAY MARCH 25 2005, KICK OFF 7.45PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kenny Jackett insisted Swansea City could still clinch automatic promotion – even as a place in the top three moved further from their grasp. Top-scorer Lee Trundle was Swansea’s saviour again as the Scouse striker salvaged a point from a tense promotion tussle to end a dismal run of four consecutive away defeats. But Trundle’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":453,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/453"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12524\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}