Northampton out of FA Cup after defeat at Oldham Athletic

Northampton Town are out of the FA Cup after a 3-1 defeat away at Oldham Athletic in the First Round.

Michael Mellon, son of Oldham manager Micky, scored all three goals for the League Two Latics as they progressed to the Second round, with Cameron McGeehan scoring a late consolation for the Cobblers.

The result continues a trend of problems for Northampton in the FA Cup, with the Cobblers knocked out of the competition in Round One for the sixth season in a row.

Things began to unravel for the Cobblers in the opening minutes, as Kevin Nolan’s side found themselves 2-0 down with less than 5 minutes on the clock.

Mellon put Oldham in front of 3 minutes, as he read the flight of an attempted clearance and beat Northampton keeper Ross Fitzsimons with a bicycle kick.

Less than a minute later, it was two. Oldham keeper Matthew Hudson’s long goal-kick was flicked on by Joe Garner to Mellon, who duly beat Fitzsimons in the one-on-one.

Mellon would be denied a first half hat-trick by a save from Fitzsimons, but the Oldham striker would score his third five minutes into the second half. A through-pass down the Oldham right released Oli Hammond, who drew out Fitzsimons before laying it across to Mellon, who tapped into an empty net.

Northampton would score in stoppage time at the end of the second half as Oldham failed to deal with a cross from the Cobblers’ right and McGeehan tapped in at the back post.

But no comeback was forthcoming, allowing Oldham to take the victory and the scalp of a side from the division above, while Northampton are out of the FA Cup as their miserable record in the competition continues.