Northampton on wrong end of Boxing Day thumping at Burton Albion

Northampton Town had a dismal Boxing Day after they suffered a 5-1 beating at the hands of Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium.

The Cobblers found themselves 3-0 down within half an hour, as Jake Beesley, Jack Armer and a Max Dyche own goal gave them a mountain to climb.

Tom Eaves had scored a goal back, but Tyrese Shade’s double quelled any hopes Kevin Nolan’s side may have had about mounting a comeback as they slipped to a heavy defeat.

Defeat means Burton leapfrog Northampton in the table. The Cobblers now sit 16th in the League One table, with Northampton now 3 points clear of the relegation zone.

Things started to go wrong straight away for Northampton when they fell behind within three minutes. Nesta Guinness-Walker was judged to have fouled Kyran Lofthouse in the box, and from the spot, Beesley rifled in the penalty to give the Brewers the early lead.

Two goals in five minutes then made things worse for the visitors. In the 23rd minute, full-back Armer struck home after Northampton failed to fully clear their lines when his initial strike had been saved by Ross Fitzsimons.

As if that was enough, Northampton would fall 3-0 down in the 28th minute. Dyche was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was struck by a teammate’s attempted clearance, resulting in the ball spiralling home for an own goal. Northampton felt there had been a handball by Beesley in the build-up, but the appeals were rejected.

Northampton then had a flurry of chances, as Brad Collins denied Eaves and Cameron McGeehan hit the crossbar, and with 40 minutes on the clock, they did grab a goal back when Eaves flicked home from Terry Taylor’s cross.

But the comeback hopes wouldn’t last long. A few minutes later, Jake Burroughs was unable to intercept Julian Larsson’s pass. The ball was released Shade, who advanced and scored.

Northampton’s miserable day found a way to get worse when Michael Forbes limped off injured in the second half after they’d already made all their substitutions, meaning they played the final stages with 10 players.

With six minutes of the 90 to play, Sulyman Krubally released Shade for a charge forward, and the scorer of Burton’s fourth goal duly scored the team’s fifth and his second as he ran through before beating Fitzsimons.

That capped off a miserable day for Northampton, who will be seeking better in their final game of 2025 when they visit Huddersfield on Monday.