Northampton Town Away
We hope you’re looking forward to our first game away this weekend against Northampton Town at Fernie Fields.
Last weekend’s result:
Last week, the Shoe Army met Leafield Athletic away at Castle Vale Stadium and narrowly lost 2-1. After being neck and neck at the break, two minutes before the full-time whistle blew, Leafield regained their initial lead. After being disappointed with their season kicking off with a loss, they will take to their home ground this Sunday with the urge to bounce back.
After finishing fifth in the league last season, Northampton will be looking to close the gap between them and the top three teams this time in the campaign. Last time around, Loughborough Lightning drew on points with league winners Sporting Khalsa, who gained promotion on goal difference. Meanwhile, Peterborough trailed six points behind in third, with Boldmere St. Michaels sitting in fourth with 44 points. Overall, Khalsa won with 53 points in total, leaving a gap of 15 points between them and fifth-place Northampton.
What their pre-season looked like:
Despite losing to Leafield, who finished in the lower end of the table in ninth place lastseason, the Cobblers had a successful pre-season. They lost only one of their five pre-season fixtures, losing 2-0 against Norwich City. The Cobblers drew 1-1 against Luton Town and took the victory against Cambridge United, Wroxham FC and Queens Park Rangers.
NTFCW kicked off pre-season strong, winning their first game 4-0 away against Cambridge United with two trialists debuting on the scoresheet. Following on from their draw against Luton Town, they lost 2-0 against Norwich City but that didn't dampen their pre-season campaign. They then went on to win 3-1 against Wroxham, before making the trip to London to beat Queens Park Rangers 4-2.
Summer Signings:
Over the summer, the Shoe Army gave away clear intentions with their new signings. To begin with, the Cobblers announced the re-signing of 23/24 FA Women’s National League Division One Midlands Golden Boot award winner, Jade Bell. They signed midfielder, Ellie Aston and full-back, Hannah Samuels from Tier 3 side MK Dons. Two players made the move from Luton in attacking midfielders Amber Pearson, and Jess McKay. Northampton added another midfielder to their list with Faith Horner who joins from Lincoln City. Additionally, centre-back Gemma Franklin adds experience to bolster the squad this season after moving across from Tier 3 outfit, Real Bedford.
History in Division One Midlands/other info inc. managers
Northampton Town made their debut in the National League Division One Midlands in 2022 after a disruptive season due to COVID-19. The team had a great first season and ended the 2022/23 season in fifth as they did last year’s campaign.
Alongside the women’s first team, the men play in EFL League One, the third tier of English men’s football. The club’s home ground is Sixfields Stadium and the women’s team is scheduled to play three of their fixtures there this season, including derby day against Peterborough United to finish off the season.
Josh Oldfield and Liam Williams, are joint managers of the side and have seen the team through promotion to the National League and will want to push further than fifth in their third season.
We hope to see you at Fernie Fields on Sunday, cheering us on in what will be another competitive fixture.