Cobblers were pegged back to a 2-2 draw by a couple of late goals from Oldham Athletic on Saturday.

Despite the late drama, it was another good performance from the Cobblers. Who led the way? Find out with our player ratings...

The following people were sentenced at Northampton Magistrates’ Court:

SEPTEMBER 19

Warren Brandon Clark, aged 22, of Fallow Walk, Northampton, indecent exposure; to be placed under electronic monitoring, surcharge 85, costs £85; possession of cannabis; no separate penalty.

Ryan Andrew Kelly, aged 30, Froxhill Crescent, Brixworth, assault by beating; Fined £200, surcharge £30, costs £625; failed to surrender at court; fined £200.

Bradley Coulson, aged 19, Main Road, Duston, possession of bolt cutters in connection with theft; jailed for 12 weeks concurrent; stole a bicycle; compensation £240.

SEPTEMBER 20

Lee Robert Rowlands Picketts, aged 40, Campbell Street, Northampton, threats of violence; ordered to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work, restraining order imposed, surcharge £85.

Jack Oliver Read-Groves, aged 23, Hemans Road, Daventry, failed to provide information about a driver; fined £337, surcharge of £34, costs £150, six points on licence.

Mark Liam Chambers, Aged 31, South Holme Court, Northampton, assaulted a police constable; jailed for four weeks, surcharge £122.

Karl James Norris, Aged 32, Manor Road, Kingsthorpe, Northampton, attended an address which you were banned from doing; to have treatment for alcohol dependency, restraining order imposed, surcharge £90, costs £85.

Mohammed Ahmed Sheikh Mumin, aged 44, Woodside Way, Northampton, used abusive or threatening words or behaviour; surcharge £90, costs £85; assaulted a police officer; compensation £50; assaulted a custody detention officer; compensation £50; failed to surrender at court; no separate penalty.

SEPTEMBER 21

Glenn Peter Robinson aged, no fixed abode,

breached a community protection notice; fined £150, surcharge £32.

Angela Tear, aged 45, Pike Lane, Northampton, breached a domestic violence protection order; Fined £100.

SEPTEMBER 23

Natalie Aluoch, aged 24, St Albans Road, Northampton, guilty, while drunk, of disorderly behaviour; fined £50, surcharge £32; costs £85.

Samuel Avadani, aged 25, Stockmead Road, Northampton, drink-driving; Fined £241, surcharge £32, costs £85, banned from driving for 12 months.

Douglas Donald Bensted, aged 51, Verwood Close, Northampton, wilfully obstructed a police officer; fined £76, surcharge £32, costs £85.

Jamie Gary John Blyde, aged 34, Booth Park, Northampton, stole items from Home Bargains; to carry out unpaid work for 40 hours, surcharge £90, costs £85.

Rufus Johnson Cuthbertson, aged 23, Harlestone Road, Northampton, drug-driving; Fined £90, surcharge £32, costs £85, banned from driving for 18 months.

Thomas Hoyle, aged 20, Nutcote, Naseby, drink-driving; fined £190, surcharge £32, costs £85, banned from driving for 12 months.

Andrew Harvey, aged 33, Holly Road, Northampton, sent an offensive message by electronic communication; to have treatment for alcohol dependency, carry out unpaid work for 100 hours; drink-driving; banned from driving for 20 months; assault by beating; restraining order made; broke a non-molestation order; no separate penalty.

Lewis Junior Campbell, aged 32, Brickwell Court, Northampton, failed to stop vehicle after being asked to by a constable; fined £366, surcharge £36, costs £85.

Dariusz Marek, aged 40, Roe Road, Northampton, failed to provide a breath test; to carry out unpaid work for 120 hours, surcharge £90, costs £85, banned from driving for 28 months.

Philip Stanley Bailey, aged 29, Abbots Way, Roade, drink-driving; fined £150, surcharge £32, costs £200, banned from driving for 18 months.

SEPTEMBER 24

Timothy Francis Mccarthy, aged 41, Newcombe Road, Northampton, stole a car; jailed for four weeks, surcharge £122, costs £85, banned from driving for six months; drove without a licence; without insurance; no separate penalty.

SEPTEMBER 25

Deliana Ecaterina Ghilea, aged 33, Semilong Road, Northampton, caused unnecessary suffering to a cat;

Discharged conditionally for 18 months, costs £700, banned from keeping any animals in the property for five years.

Nathan Thomas Barry Evans, aged 30, Friars Crescent, Northampton, assault by beating;

To participate in building better relationships programme for 60 days, surcharge £85, costs of £85.

Jamie Gibson believes the momentum is building at Saints.

But the flanker knows his side can't afford to get carried away, despite being the only Gallagher Premiership team to have won all three league games this season.

Saints sit top of the pile ahead of Saturday's trip to Bath.

The black, green and gold bagged a bonus-point 40-22 win against Harlequins at Franklin's Gardens last Friday to add to victories against Saracens and Worcester Warriors.

But Gibson said: "You have to take each game at a time because there are no games in this league that anybody can think they will win without playing well.

"Home games are a necessity to win, away games you go out and give it your best shot.

"Three games is not a lot, there's a lot more to go but it's building.

"Rugby is a game of momentum and if you can build that momentum week on week, you put yourself in a good place."

Taqele Naiyaravoro and Teimana Harrison both scored twice against Quins, with Mike Haywood also dotting down.

Saints blew the opposition away during the first 38 minutes of the match, scoring four times.

And Gibson, who was making his first start of the season following his recovery from a shoulder injury, said: "We came out knowing Quins are a dangerous side and if you give them opportunities and let them build a lead, they're going to hurt you.

"We felt that if we could put our game on the pitch in the first 15, 20 minutes we could put pressure on them and keep that squeeze on. We did that for 38 minutes.

"It was a little bit disappointing to concede that try at the end of the first half but we came out second half and kept pushing the lead a little bit if not playing as well as we wanted to.

"The best thing about the second half was that we did what we needed to while not playing as well as we could have done.

"We weathered a lot of pressure and a couple of moments broke the back of the Quins boys because they'd had the momentum and suddenly we had more points on the board.

"Grays (James Grayson) pulled the strings well and when he gets that back-line firing, we've got some really dangerous players, who are pushing us on.

"It was a good match in not the best conditions and 40 points is good.

"We always said if we got our first phase right, we've got some young players who have got very good ball control and very good skill, who can throw from both hands.

"If we get big T (Naiyaravoro) into space and Hutch (Rory Hutchinson) moving, we're going to be tough to stop."

Courtney Lawes says England's World Cup campaign was one of the best experiences of his career.

Lawes and Co made it all the way to the final, but they were eventually beaten 32-12 by South Africa in Yokohama last Saturday.

It was tough to take for Eddie Jones' team, who had claimed a superb quarter-final win against Australia and an even more impressive victory against New Zealand in the semi-finals.

But Lawes, who started against the Springboks in the showpiece, playing 40 minutes, is still able to reflect on a special tournament.

And he took to Instagram to look back, while also thanking the England supporters for their backing.

Lawes wrote: "Regardless of the result today, this has been one of the best experiences of my career. I'd like to thank all the boys for making this tournament so special and all the fans for their incredible support, we are truly grateful."

One Saints player will be able to bring a winner's medal back to Franklin's Gardens as scrum-half Cobus Reinach was part of the South Africa squad.

And Reinach posted a picture of himself with the Webb Ellis Cup, simply saying 'A dream come true...'.

Oldham manager Dino Maamria has claimed the Cobblers were 'hanging on for a draw' after his side 'totally dominated' Saturday's dramatic Sky Bet League Two encounter at Boundary Park.

Maamria's comments will come as a surprise to most people who were in attendance at Boundary Park given Town were in control for so much of the contest.

Matty Warburton's sixth-minute opener set Cobblers on their way as they chased a fourth successive victory before Andy Williams scored a late second.

But Scott Wilson and Jonny Smith notched twice in four minutes to rescue a point for the Latics, who nonetheless dropped a place to 20th in Sky Bet League Two.

"The draw is the least we deserved," claimed Maamria. "Take out the first 10 minutes of the game, we totally dominated. We were unlucky not to score, the second goal for them came against the run of play and hurt us.

"But everyone here is seeing the type of team we're trying to build. The character, personality and resilience of the team. This team a few weeks ago 2-0 down would've lost that game three or four probably.

"Now we're not a team that will throw two-goal leads, we're a team that will come back from 2-0 against a big, good Northampton team that have been keeping clean sheets and that's the biggest positive."

Despite his side netting in the 85th and 89th minutes, Maamria felt it was the Cobblers who were fortunate to escape with a point.

"They were hanging on for the draw," he added. "Mohamed Maouche had a brilliant chance to work inside and then outside of the defenders and then hit it with his left foot, it was going in but their defender did well to clear it.

"What a fantastic finish that would be if we win that 3-2. Overall, we've got to take from it is we're building a good team, a resilient team, a never-say-die attitude and that's what we want to see.

"It's another step forward. It was always going to be a difficult game. The last three games have been difficult games and we came away with two draws and a win, it could've been better but it's not. We'll take that though now and build on it."

Just two days after their conviction on Wednesday, four young men have been jailed for life for breaking down the door to a Northampton flat and brutally stabbing a 23-year-old man to death.

The greatest sentences went to Jordan Crowley, 21, and Adison Smith, 20 - two vicious wannabe gangsters who posed for pictures with machetes and led the break-in at Reece's flat.

They will serve a minimum of 34 years and 30 years in prison respectively.

In fact, the life sentences handed down to Crowley and Smith and their co-defendants - Cameron Higgs, 20, and Alfie Drage, 20 - is longer than any of them has been alive.

Also jailed was Ethan Stirling, 22, who was convicted of conspiracy to rob and manslaughter, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

The five men broke into Reece's flat at Cordwainer House, St James, in the early hours of February 1.

At Northampton Crown Court today (Nov 1), Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking said: "All five of you joined in a conspiracy to rob Reece, expecting him to have received a delivery of drugs and possess up to £30,000.

"You armed yourselves with weapons including a machete, other types of large knives and a BB gun."

The group kicked down Reece's door as the 23-year-old was sleeping and surrounded him.

But in the chaotic two minutes that followed, Reece was stabbed seven times in what prosecutor Mr David Herbert QC called a "berserk" attack.

After breaking in to steal up to £30,000, the five men fled the flat with their spoils - a £10 note and an iPhone.

Tragically, Reece Ottaway died in the living room despite the urgent assistance of paramedics.

Smith, Drage, Higgs and Crowley - who is also known as Jordan Kimpton - were convicted of murder on Wednesday.

Throughout the trial, the four young men sniggered and muttered as their crimes were read out. At the sentencing, Higgs refused to attend court and Crowley swore at members of the public as he left the dock.

The judge said of Crowley: "You have embraced a violent criminal lifestyle centred around drugs and gangs.

"Your group viewed Reece as a rival drug dealer."

She also said of Smith: "You, too, have embraced a violent lifestyle. You may be a follower rather than a leader, but you are an enthusiastic follower, happy to use serious and lethal violence."

Higgs and Drage were both sentenced to a minimum of 27 years in prison.

Meanwhile, Stirling reportedly spoke to Reece's mother Charlotte Marshall on the morning of the sentencing. She told the court the 22-year-old had expressed "genuine remorse" for his part in her son's death. He was jailed for 14 years.

It will be the first time the clubs have met, with Town expected to be backed by a 1,000-strong travelling support on their first visit to Hardenhuish Park.
Keith Curle's men will be strong favourites to win the game against the National League South outfit, but we all know winning these FA Cup clashes at non-League clubs is easier said than done!
Over the years, the Cobblers have probably suffered more than their fair share of slips on those 'potential banana skins' when on the FA Cup road.
They were most recently on the end of a 'giant killing' back in 2016, when Rob Page's side were beaten 1-0 at Stourbridge.
That club name is one of a few that will send shivers down the spines of Cobblers supporters, with others including Leatherhead, Crawley Town, Yeovil - and of course, Canvey Island.
It's not all been slip ups of course.
Town have on many occasions secured safe progression, and Curle and his players will be hoping that is going to be the case at the weekend.
Here, we take a look back at the Cobblers on the non-League road in the FA Cup, stretching right back to their encounter with the 'Leatherhead Lip' back in 1976.
Photographer Pete Norton has been on hand to capture the images from most of those matches, and he has trawled through his archives to show some of them off here.

A white car being driven in Kettering Road was chased by a dark motorbike being ridden by two people, both wearing helmets, at around 4.10pm on Thursday (October 31).

They then damaged the vehicle close to the Morrisons supermarket, according to police.

The pair then followed the car along Wellingborough Road before police officers arrived and they made off.

Anyone who saw any part of the incident, or has information about it, is asked to call Northamptonshire Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

There was a statistic that emerged in the aftermath of Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Oldham Athletic which did not improve the mood of anyone from a Cobblers perspective.

This was the third time since mid-September that Town have taken a 2-0 lead and failed to see it out, conceding equalisers in the 89th, 93rd and 95th minutes against Oldham, Morecambe and Crawley respectively.

That alone is enough to frustrate supporters but what really stings is the fact that, had they managed to hold on to all three points each time, the Cobblers would currently be sitting pretty at the top of the table, level on points with Forest Green Rovers.

It must be said, though, that Saturday’s most recent 2-2 draw owed more to ill-fortune than anything else. Whereas against Crawley and Morecambe you could point to questionable game management and a tendency to sit back, at Boundary Park Town were cruising until they were undone by one long ball and a deflected cross. 

But the outcome was the same and questions will inevitably be asked about Cobblers’ mental strength. Manager Keith Curle, though, is having none of it. 

He said: “I know what it’s like as a professional footballer and it doesn’t matter if you’re in League Two or the Premier League, when you’ve seen things happen before, does it cross your mind? It’s bound to.

“We’ve travelled this road before because we’ve been two goals up and not won and it’s annoying and it’s frustrating but we’re a group that’s prepared to learn and prepared to take criticism.

“Sam (Hoskins) is defending against the lad and he’s done well all afternoon but he goes to put a ball in the box, we’ve got four lads covering it and the goalkeeper set in the right position.

“But it takes a deflection and loops over the goalkeeper’s head and takes it into the corner. Is that about mental strength? No. It’s a freak goal.

“It could go anywhere. Another millimetre off Sam’s knee and it goes for a corner or he blocks it. Another millimetre the other way and it lands in Dai’s hands.”

If there was one thing that Curle could criticise his players for on Saturday, it was their defending for Oldham’s first goal as Jordan Turnbull’s miscued header was seized upon by Scott Wilson, who handed the Latics a lifeline. 

“It’s the first goal that was disappointing for me because we get the second goal and then we don’t put enough pressure on the ball and it was too easy for them to put the ball forward,” Curle added. 

“It’s then a mistimed header and we don’t stay with runners in and around the box and the lad has a snapshot. 

“But again, is that about mental strength? No. It’s about being attuned to what’s required. 

“It doesn’t change if you’re 1-0 up, 2-0 up or 3-0 up, your basics have still got to be in place and that’s something we’re trying to spread throughout the group.”

Ismaeel Ahmed tried to leave the store in Booth Lane North after the 'defiant' owner refused to hand over any cash at around 9.30pm on Saturday night.

As the 22-year-old, of Crane Walk, Northampton, left the shop, the owner trapped him between the external roller shutter and front door, police said.

He was arrested by armed response officers, who described it as 'one of our easier arrests', and the firearm was found to be an imitation.

Ahmed has been charged with one count of robbery and one count of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

He is also charged with possession of an imitation firearm in a public place in relation to an earlier incident in Farmfield Court, Northampton.

The 18-year-old signed on a month's loan for the Southern League club last Friday and was thrown straight into the starting line-up 24 hours later.

But it was a disappointing start for McWilliams who, despite showing 'promise' on debut, couldn't stop St Ives from losing 3-0 to Hitchin Town.

Morgan Roberts produced another lively performance for AFC Rushden & Diamonds as he created several goalscoring opportunities, however they were beaten 3-1 by Biggleswade Town.

Fellow Town youngster Ryan Hughes, who's also on loan at Diamonds, has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury.

Burglars fled empty-handed after breaking into a home in Barton Seagrave.

Police have launched an appeal after the break-in in Knibb Place between 5.30pm and 9.55pm on Friday (November 1).

The unknown offenders accessed the rear of a property and broke in, although nothing was taken.

A police spokesman said: "Anyone who saw the burglary or anything suspicious in the area at the time of the offence should call Northamptonshire Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111."

A gang armed with a knife robbed a Wellingborough shop after demanding staff open the tills.

Three men with their faces covered stormed into the Co-op in Farm Road at about 9.30pm on Thursday (October 31) before one produced the 7in blade.

One till was forced open and another opened by staff and the trio stole cash, spirits and cigarettes before they fled towards the Hemmingwell estate.

A police spokesman said: "The first suspect is described as 5ft 9in, of slim build, wearing a green coat with white stripes down both arms, dark tracksuit bottoms and wearing a black bandana with a white pattern covering his face.

"He carried a seven-inch knife with a curved tip and a brown handle with silver dots on it.

"The second suspect is described as 5ft 10in, of slim build, wearing a black/grey hooded top, a full balaclava covering his face, dark tracksuit bottoms, Nike Air Max trainers and carrying a black rucksack on his chest.

"The third suspect is described as 5ft 9in, of slim build, wearing a black Nike hooded top with a white tick and writing on the front, a full balaclava and tracksuit bottoms.

"All three suspects wore gloves."

Anyone with information about the shocking incident is asked to call Northamptonshire Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Police are appealing for information and witnesses after a woman was robbed of her handbag near the canal in Northampton.

At around 2.15am on Sunday, October 20, a woman was walking in Auctioneers Way, close to the footpath which leads to the canal, when she was approached from behind by an unknown man.

He tried to snatch her handbag, leading to a tussle in which the woman fell to the floor, suffering minor injuries, before the man ran off with her handbag.

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Police said: "The suspect is described as a white man in his mid 20s, 5ft 8in to 5ft 10in, of medium build.

"He wore a black hoody pullover with the hood up, dark blue jeans and dark trainers."

Anyone who saw the incident, including a second man who stopped to help the victim, or who has information about it, should call Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

An 'annoyed' Scott Wharton says Cobblers do not have a 'mental weakness' when defending a lead after they relinquished a two-goal advantage for the third time this season.

Town's latest collapse from 2-0 up, suffered at Oldham Athletic on Saturday, was arguably the toughest to take so far after Matty Warburton's early opener was added to by Andy Williams with just 10 minutes left to play.

The visitors seemed destined for a fourth straight 2-0 victory but Scott Wilson pounced on a loose header with four minutes to go and then Jonny Smith's deflected cross salvaged a dramatic point.

"The mood in the changing room is frustration and to concede a couple of late goals like that is annoying," admitted Wharton. "It's happened three times now where we've been 2-0 up.

"We've just got to learn from it because realistically we should be six points better off - where would that put us in the league? It's frustrating and we've got to stop it from happening and learn."

Having also given up 2-0 leads against Crawley and Morecambe this season, some were questioning whether or not it has become a mental issue for the Cobblers.

"It's not mental weakness," insisted Wharton. "If you look at the two goals on Saturday, you could say they were lucky but that's no excuse - we've got to be able to see games out better and that's what we need to work on.

"It's a long season and games are coming thick and fast. We'll stick together as a group and at times on Saturday I thought we looked really good, especially first-half.

"We passed the ball around really well and then Willo scored a great goal in the second-half and we could easily have scored a third so there are plenty of positives to take - we've just got to learn from it."

A man in his twenties has been taken to University Hospital Coventry after a road traffic collision in Northampton.

The incident took place between 8pm and 8.50pm on Friday, November 1, in Clare Street, The Mounts, which involved a red Alfa Romeo 147 Sport and a white Renault Trucks Master.

A man in his twenties sustained serious leg injuries and was taken to University Hospital Coventry by land ambulance.

A 25-year-old man has since been arrested in connection with the case for driving over the prescribed limits of alcohol and driving with no insurance.

He has been released on police bail pending further enquiries.

That's because the sole target for Eddie Jones and his players was to come home as winners, to be the champions of the world.

The past four years of development under the Australian have all been about peaking for this tournament, and for England to claim a second World Cup title to go with the one they won under Clive Woodward in 2003.

Well, the harsh reality is they came up short.

It is all relative of course, and yes there will be plenty of countries who would be delighted to just reach a World Cup Final, let alone win the cup itself.

But when you set your standards and expectations so high, and as high as England did, then if you don't match those expectations, you have say you have failed.

In Saturday's final, England froze on the big stage.

They didn't look right from the first minute, with passes going astray and catches being dropped.

They struggled to do the basics and they were deservedly beaten by a powerful South Africa team who were well worthy of their third world title.

It was a huge blow to England, who were as poor as they had been excellent in the previous week's win over the All Blacks, and in hindsight, perhaps that performance and victory was a peak the players simply weren't capable of reaching again.

England are clearly still an exceptional side, but all the players, and coach Jones. will know this was a huge opportunity missed.

They didn't do themselves justice when it matter, and one thing's for sure, it is going to feel like a very long four years before they get another chance to claim the crown they crave in France 2023.

Now call me old fashioned, and plenty of people do, but what has happened to having defenders on the posts for corners?

Several goals that have been scored in recent weeks would have been stopped with a defender on the post, with the latest team to fall foul of this current defensive trend being Aston Villa.

Sadio Mane's last-gasp winner for Liverpool at Villa Park on Saturday wouldn't have gone in if there was somebody on the far post, but because there wasn't, the Reds striker's hopeful near post flick flew into the bottom corner, and Villa lost.

Now I am sure there is a sound tactical reason for why more and more managers are opting to do away with cover on the posts when defending a corner, but to me it's something that is just gifting goals to the opposition.

The Cobblers stretched their unbeaten run to four games with their 2-2 draw at Oldham Athletic on Saturday, and when you look at the bigger picture regarding Keith Curle's team it looks an encouraging one.

Yes, there was frustration - and anger in some quarters - that the team threw away a 2-0 lead for the third time this season, with the Latics netting twice in the closing minutes to deny Town a maximum haul at Boundary Park.

But the facts are the Cobblers have claimed 10 points out of the past 12 available to them, scoring eight goals and conceding just two in the process.

It will be very handy indeed if they can keep up that sort of form in the next few months!

As it stands, Town are two points off the play-offs, five points off the top three and six off leaders Forest Green Rovers.

With a little more than a third of the season played, the Cobblers are right in the promotion mix, and in my opinion have yet to hit anything like top gear.

I'm sure there is plenty more to come from Curle and his players.

I understand some people aren't fans of Curle and the way he sets up his team, feeling he is too negative, but compared to the past few years, the football has been an improvement, and the club is heading in the right direction.

For me, there is cause for genuine optimism.

It was another great weekend for Saints, who simply blew Harlequins away with a superb first-half performance at Franklin's Gardens on Friday night.

They eventually claimed a comprehensive 40-22 win, although if you believed the Quins coach Paul Gustard after the game, that was all down to bad luck as far as his team is concerned.

His side were at one point 27-3 down and conceded four tries in the first half alone, but apparently that was down to Saints 'having a bit of luck', 'a few missed tackles' from his Quins boys and the fact Saints had the cheek to go and score a try from a maul...

The blustering Gustard rounded things off by saying: "There were some positives in the second half in terms of how we came back and dusted ourselves off because we're not 18 points worse than Northampton Saints. Of that I'm certain."....

Err, I would take a quick look at the result Paul. I'll think you'll find that it proves you are.

It was another weekend where VAR caused more controversy and talking points in the Premier League, and things are getting worse not better.

There were four or five incidents where the referee and video referee made a hash of things in various matches, but the performances of Martin Atkinson and the VAR officials in the Everton versus Tottenham match on Sunday were ridiculous.

Dele Alli somehow got away with punching the ball in the area, Richarlison was also clearly tripped in the area but nothing was given, and then Davinson Sánchez tripped Richarlison when the Brazilian would have been clean through on goal in the dying seconds.

Atkinson waited for the VAR call which said 'no red card' and that may have been a fair decision - but the referee didn't even award the free-kick for the clearest foul you will see.

I get the impression that everybody involved with VAR has simply had their heads frazzled.

It's a mess, and sadly I can't see things getting better any time soon.

VAR was supposed to make things better, make things clearer, ensure the right decision is made, but it is failing miserably.

As time goes on the whole system is becoming more and more muddled.

But instead of those responsible holding their hands up and pledging to do their jobs better, they are starting to trot out pathetic statements to try and justify terrible decisions and cover their own backsides.

It's not good enough and, on review, it's a red card for VAR from me!

A nurse who stole and took morphine from a ward he was working on at Northampton General Hospital before going into cardiac arrest has been suspended.

On July 12, 2018 nurse Matija Konjevic was found unconscious in his room at his nursing accommodation, tribunal papers have revealed, after he stole controlled drug medication for his personal use.

Resuscitation staff were then called to administer treatment to Konjevic after he went into cardiac arrest.

While they were inside his room, they saw there was drug paraphernalia stored in one of his drawers, including needles.

A 50ml container of morphine, labelled ‘Rowan Ward’ was also found closeby but only 25ml of morphine was present in the container.

The resuscitation officer at the trust had suspected the cause of Konjevic’s condition was an opiate overdose but could not confirm this.

The day before Konjevec was found unconscious, the ward sister on Rowan Ward had identified 50ml of morphine had gone missing from the ward stock.

Another nurse confirmed she had given Konjevic 'blue keys' to the controlled drugs cupboard on July 11.

Mr Konjevic left the trust, without resigning, and went to Croatia on July 22, 2018 after he was discharged from the hospital.

He was dismissed for gross misconduct on January 2, 2019 following a disciplinary hearing.

Tribunal papers say that in Konjevic’s defence he had no previous Nursing and Midwifery Council findings and made full admissions to the charges.

A spokeswoman for Northampton General Hospital said: “Due to the circumstances of the case the trust immediately referred the individual to the NMC.

“The individual left the country before any disciplinary process could be carried out.”

Konjevec was charged by the Nursing and Midwifery Council for stealing and dishonesty and was subsequently suspended from the profession for one year.

In their third report to the Government since being appointed 18 months ago, Tony McArdle and Brian Roberts have reported that the financial situation still ‘remains stressed‘ at the authority, which is due to be replaced by two new unitary councils in April 2021.

They also say they are disappointed that the Conservative-run council’s financial accounts from 2017/18 have not been given audit sign off and say the prospects for success of the new unitary council’s will be ‘inhibited’ if they have to focus on repairing poor services from the start.

The report was published on October 22, however it dates back to July 12 so the situation has moved on since then.

Children’s services at the council are failing and since the commissioners’ report the first Children’s Commissioner Malcolm Newsam has resigned, along with the highly paid head of children’s services Sally Hodges and her deputy Jean Imray.

The authority is struggling to try to keep reducing the level of spend in the department and is currently predicting it will overspend its £116.6m 12-month budget by more than £7m.

The high levels of children in care, a large spend on agency social worker staff and the high cost of out of county residential places are behind the overspend. The council’s various initiatives have not so far been able to get the finances in line with the budget.

The commissioners say in their report: “A financially sustainable children’s service – this will be the hardest nut to crack. For at least the past six years the council has thrown money that it could not afford, and ultimately did not have, at children’s services. That activity, divorced as it was from any plan to spend that money wisely, has contributed to a large extent to the mess the service is in. It is significantly high cost and significantly low performing.

“The establishment of a Trust will provide a new platform for improvement, but it will take time to deliver the changes in structure, resource, operating practice and performance that are necessary. The resources that the council(s) will have to provide to the Trust to make these changes happen will have to be negotiated for the short and medium term. Achieving a financial plan that works for the trust (and the councils) will be a crucial task to get right.”

They also add: “If, in our first year, the council’s progress was characterised by fast-paced, high-level redirection and change, the second is by contrast likely to be one of incremental improvement brought about through hard graft.”

Government has dictated that an independent children’s trust be established to take over child protection in Northamptonshire, however many councillors have concerns about the proposal.

In response, local government minister Luke Hall MP said the speed with which the commissioners have managed to ‘turn around’ the finances at NCC was impressive but that he did not underestimate the difficulty of the challenges that remain.

Read the report in full here.

Cobblers boss Keith Curle has told his players where they're going wrong and what they must do better in order to prevent more points from slipping away this season.

For the third time in nine matches Town saw a 2-0 lead at Oldham Athletic on Saturday become 2-2 by the full-time whistle as the hosts struck twice in the final five minutes.

The Cobblers have now lost eight points to goals conceded in the 85th minute or later this season, and Curle knows it's a problem that must be fixed sooner rather than later.

Asked what his side must do better, he said: "The message we're trying to convey to the players is that, when you get a goal, work harder, get closer, tackle harder.

"And then when you get a second goal, step it up again because it means you're getting on top of somebody but you also need to be respectful and you need to do more.

"Oldham threw caution to the wind and left five or six people forward so you have to make sure you hurt teams when you retain possession or when you're breaking.

"You've got to be prepared to recycle the ball. If you don't, they can get a mistimed header and a ricochet and it can cost you.

"We've got to stop them putting balls forward with quality and it was too easy for Oldham to put the ball forward for their first goal."

Curle often talks about the importance of putting 'demands' on players and he reiterated that following Saturday's draw at Boundary Park.

"It's the demands we put on people," he added. "If somebody doesn't make the right pass, doesn't make the right decision, doesn't make the run, doesn't do what's required, then they've got to be told on the pitch.

"What you find is if that you get told and you have two, three, four people telling you, the next time you get it you make the right decision and that's what we need to spread and I think it is spreading and it is working."