Aidy Boothroyd pulled no punches in his assessment of the Cobblers’ defeat at Rotherham and said his side fully deserved to lose the game.

Town made it back-to-back league defeats for the week with a 3-1 loss at the New York Stadium with Clarke Carlisle’s injury-time header proving a mere consolation.

It was a bad defeat for Boothroyd’s men and especially costly as it came against a club who they see as rivals for a place in the npower League Two play-offs.

But the manager had no complaints about the outcome, although he was less than happy with the way his side applied themselves in the contest.

“We have no complaints about the defeat, we definitely deserved to lose this game,” said Boothroyd.

“The only complaint I have is with my players because that is the first time this season we have been outworked by an opposing team.

“They worked harder than us and that is something that doesn’t happen very often. If a team is on a poor run, though, then we usually end it.

“That seems to be occurring quite a lot, we always seem to be able to help these teams out of their little slumps.”

Rotherham went ahead through Daniel Nardiello’s penalty late in the first half, awarded after Ben Harding was adjudged to have fouled Mark Bradley in the box.

The incident was a controversial one as it appeared Harding got his toe on the ball but Boothroyd said it was a fair call.

“I have no complaints about the penalty either,” he said. “He definitely caught their lad and he made a lot of it but I think he was definitely fouled and it was definitely a penalty.”

Saints were made to pay for a shocking first-half showing as they bowed out of the LV= Cup with a 28-19 defeat to Exeter at Sandy Park.

The home side, who had lost their previous four games in all competitions, went 22-0 up inside the first 32 minutes through tries from Ben White, Jack Nowell and Watisoni Votu.

Alex Waller got Saints on the board before the break, but it was a mountain to climb as they introduced some of their big guns just after half-time.

One of those pedigree players, Lee Dickson added two more tries for the away side and another, Stephen Myler kicked the extras.

The Chiefs were also hit with two late sin-binnings as White and Will Carrick-Smith saw yellow, but it was too little, too late for Saints.

Ignacio Mieres, who registered a total of 13 points, added the gloss, booting Jim Mallinder’s men out of the game and out of the competition.

Saints had gone into the game knowing only a bonus-point win would do after Bath’s 32-5 win at Gloucester earlier in the day.

But they never looked likely to get it as Exeter, donning a hot pink strip, started the game in electric fashion.

They had an early try to celebrate as a rapid break from speedy Fijian winger Votu resulted in White picking up and driving over.

Mieres easily added the extras from in front of the posts and the sleepy Saints needed to wake up. Fast.

The away side had opted to kick at every opportunity during the opening exchanges, but it wasn’t a tactic that was working for them.

Exeter were buzzing, and another flowing move, which was sparked by Josh Tatupu saw a second try in the space of the first 15 minutes, with Nowell going over in the corner.

Mieres scuffed the conversion, but Saints, who were struggling defensively, were in real trouble at 12-0 down.

The away side were in desperate need of inspiration, but their half-backs, Ryan Lamb and Martin Roberts weren’t providing it.

In contrast Exeter’s attacking aces were looking menacing, and the hosts stretched their lead to 19 points as dangerman Votu flew over and Mieres converted.

The fly-half added a penalty to make it 22-0 before loosehead prop Waller provided Saints with a platform to build on, scoring his second try in as many weeks.

The prop found himself on the end of a good lineout drive, the only move Northampton managed to string together in the first 40 minutes.

But Lamb missed the conversion and Exeter went in at the break boasting a comfortable lead.

Saints saw out nine minutes of the second half before calling for the cavalry, bringing on the big guns in Myler, Dickson, Soane Tonga’uiha, Phil Dowson and Samu Manoa.

The changes made an immediate impact, both in defence and attack.

Saints held out as Exeter pressed, won a penalty and turned up the heat on the home side, who were reduced to 14 men as White was sent to the bin.

Northampton made them pay immediately, the pack pushing forward with a heavy drive and scrum-half Dickson picking up to touch down.

Myler, unflustered, added the extras and his side were within 10 points, but Mieres soon altered that with a successful penalty attempt.

The home No.10 added another three points to put the game out of sight, from a Saints point of view, at 28-12.

Carrick-Smith became the second Chiefs player to head to the sin bin as the Chiefs cracked under forward pressure and Dickson again grabbed the ball to dot down.

Myler made it a nine-point deficit for Saints, but they were never within reach of the win they needed as they were left to concentrate their efforts on the league.

Exeter: Nowell; Votu, Whitten, Tatupu (Sestaret 70), Foster; Mieres, Chudley (Thomas 61); Rimmer, Yeandle, Brown, Welch, Hanks (Carrick-Smith 64), Muldowney, White, Horstmann (c)

Replacements: T Cowan-Dickie, Budgen, Fairbrother, Simmonds, Dorrian.

Saints: Foden (c); Wilson, Waldouck, Burrell (May 66), Elliott; Lamb (Myler 49), Roberts (Dickson 49); Waller (Tonga’uiha 49), Haywood (McMillan 67), Mercey (E Waller 66), Sorenson (Manoa 49), Day, Craig (Dowson 49), Nutley, van Velze

Referee: JP Doyle

Attendance: 8,181

Saints boss Jim Mallinder said his side were ‘still in the hotel’ during their first-half horror show at Exeter.

Northampton slipped to a 28-19 defeat at Sandy Park, as hopes of an LV= Cup semi-final place were wrecked.

Mallinder’s men knew they needed a bonus-point win to book their place in the last four, but were 22-0 down inside 32 minutes.

They rallied late on as key men such as Samu Manoa and Lee Dickson entered the field, but it was too little, too late.

And Mallinder couldn’t hide his unhappiness at the way his side played during the opening exchanges of the game.

He said: “It’s disappointing. You want to come down and you want to win and we knew we needed a bonus point.

“What you’ve got to do when you come to a place like this is you’ve got to match teams on the physicality side, but we were still in the hotel, still on the bus, whatever you might say.

“They were more up for it than us and we slipped off too many tackles.

“I was pleased with the way we came back into it in the second half. We were a lot more intent, particularly in our defence, looking sharper in attack, but it was a little bit too late.”

So did Mallinder rue his decision not to start with the men who made such a difference from the bench during the second half?

“You’ve always got to be careful,” he said. “Some of these lads have played a lot of rugby and it was the right call to make.

“You can’t be starting these players and have them playing 80 minutes every week.

“That’s the reason why we have this competition and it’s good for other lads to get game time.

“That’s how we use it and we’ll keep doing it that way because otherwise it will backfire towards the end of the season.”

So it appears rumours of the current Cobblers’ side’s impending greatness have been somewhat exaggerated.

The rush of excitement that greeted the club’s elevation to third place in the league two standings 10 days again has been swiftly dampened by a pair of reassessment-generating away defeats.

If the team could play all of their games at Sixfields they would be league champions, or at least very close to it.

But while they are all-conquering on their own ground, elsewhere they are routinely awful; although the loss at Rotherham did not plumb the depths of, say, the Barnet debacle, the result never really seemed in any doubt.

Town fought reasonably hard in the opening exchanges and they were very unlucky with the penalty - opinion is split in the Cobblers camp over whether Ben Harding played the ball or the man first, I personally thought it was the ball.

Rotherham’s route into the game was a fortuitous one but they fully deserved their victory and, when going through the gears in the latter stages of the second half, they looked immensely stronger than their opponents.

The away form is this team’s Achilles heel. It is a stark and obvious weakness. If they don’t improve it they can certainly forget about automatic promotion and probably forget about the play-offs too.

Aidy Boothroyd has tried a number of different methods to rectify it and the latest seems to be to play a more defence-minded system with an extra man in midfield - it worked very well at Aldershot, well to an extent at Gillingham and then not very well at all at Rotherham.

The argument could, and should, of course be made that a top-seven finish is not the expectation of this group of players, who are either new recruits or ones who a little more than a year ago were fighting for Football League survival.

Therein may lie the problem. Although the team now contains plenty of technically-sound players - Chris Hackett and Joe Widdowson are notably strong recent recruits - they still bear the scars of last season’s struggles.

They are still perhaps not mentally equipped to deal with the psychological demands of away matches, despite their protestations to the contrary.

There may be too many of what Gary Johnson would have called ‘shrinking violets’ in the team, players who, for whatever reason, produce diluted performances when in hostile environments.

If that is the case - and proving it either way is pretty much impossible - then the only solution will be to either replace the personnel (which is not really possible at this point) or give them time to build the necessary skills and mental strength.

Time, though, is running out. The season is now almost two-thirds complete, which means Northampton have 16 games left to play, eight at home and eight away. They must win at least six of their home games to have any chance of being in the top seven.

And they must then somehow discover the mettle to start getting results away from home. Because, unless the club can convince the Football League to allow them to play both play-off semi-finals and the final itself at Sixfields, then their Achilles heel will undermine what might yet be a glorious destiny.

How they rated...

LEE NICHOLLS

Confident handling and kicking, thoroughly exposed on all three goals ...6

BEN TOZER

Caught ball-watching for third goal and needs to sharpen up in general play ...4

CLARKE CARLISLE

Took his goal well but made a couple of errors that added to the uncertainty at the back ...4

KELVIN LANGMEAD

Typically rock-like and actually carried the ball quite a lot, presumably because he felt the midfield was not doing so ...6

JOE WIDDOWSON

Was on the receiving end of some rough treatment from both the referee and his marker ...5

CHRIS HACKETT

A definite one to forget for the winger who was either double-marked or took a bad touch when in space ...5

BEN HARDING

Went missing for long periods of the game and seems to be in a real slump at the moment but was unlucky on the penalty ...4

LUKE GUTTRIDGE

Tried to liven the team up both on and off the ball and contributed some thundering challenges in midfield ...6

MANNY OMEYEKE

Was tasked with man-marking Pringle initially but then deployed as a wide midfielder. Made a limited impact in both roles ...4

JAKE ROBINSON

Hit a nice shot against the post in Northampton’s best moment of the game and was not found wanting for effort ...5

ADEBAYO AKINFENWA

Nothing seemed to go his way as the defenders got on top of him and the supply lines were cut elsewhere ...5

Substitutes:

ROY O’DONOVAN (for Omeyeke, 46mins)

Showed promise with some real industry and intelligent movement but was swimming against the tide for most of it ...5

CLIVE PLATT (for Robinson, 71mins)

The timing of Rotherham’s goals took the sting out of Town not long after his introduction, making a tangible contribution difficult ...5

Not used: Johnson, Demontagnac, Snedker, Moult, Hornby

Following Saints’ defeat to Exeter on Saturday, questions were asked of Jim Mallinder’s team selection.

Mallinder opted to leave his big guns in reserve, with Soane Tonga’uiha, Samu Manoa, Phil Dowson, Lee Dickson and Stephen Myler all benched for the game at Sandy Park.

As it turned out, they were forced into the action sooner than expected as Saints stayed in hibernation mode until five minutes before the break.

By that time, Exeter were 22-0 up and running away with it.

The Chiefs were banging the drums, and the Northampton players had lost their ear plugs.

Mallinder called for the cavalry nine minutes into the second half, desperate to keep LV= Cup hopes alive.

But even though the main men made a huge difference - Myler pulled the strings, Dickson scored twice and the forwards cranked up the heat - there was too much to do.

There was no platform for the replacements to build on. Instead, they were walking on quicksand.

The truth of the matter is that Mallinder, who later pointed out the need to keep key squad members fresh for the Premiership, was let down by his fringe players.

A week earlier, many of those men had smashed Gloucester 26-7. There was no reason to feel they couldn’t get a result again, especially as Exeter opted to mix their team up.

But Saints weren’t at the races at the start and by time the pedigree players came on, the horse had already bolted, running helplessly in front of the oncoming traffic.

So while Mallinder’s team selection can be queried on some counts - his selections at half-back were dubious, given the recent form of Ryan Lamb, especially - the players must also shoulder some blame.

They were given a chance to show their worth, to stake a claim for roles during the Premiership run-in. But they failed.

Lamb and Martin Roberts could have laid a marker down for the likes of Myler and Dickson. They didn’t, and will now be consigned to replacement roles for the foreseeable future.

Saints had not been embarrassed since that day at the Madejski Stadium in early October; the words London Irish still send a shiver down the spines of Northampton fans.

But this was another of those Mad days, made worse by the men Exeter, who can only be credited for their appetite, endeavour and intelligence, had left out.

All in all, Saints were the antithesis of the phalanx in pink. It was a black day for Mallinder’s outfit.

They now need the brightest response against Gloucester when Premiership action returns to Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday.

And no prizes will be given for guessing which team will be chosen for that clash.

How they rated...

BEN FODEN

Not the way the full-back would have wanted his first game as Saints captain to go. Didn’t make the impact he would have hoped for after being released by England... 6

JAMES WILSON

Opted to kick too much when keeping the ball in hand may have been the better option. Execution wasn’t the best either... 5

DOM WALDOUCK

Didn’t hit the heights of his performance at Sandy Park a month ago and really struggled to get in the game. He wasn’t the only one, though... 5

LUTHER BURRELL

Like Waldouck, never really made the desired impact, but did at least threaten to break the Exeter line on a couple of occasions... 6

JAMIE ELLIOTT

Had a really tough day up against the rapid Watisoni Votu, who was the star of the show during the first half... 5

RYAN LAMB

Had another one of those days, where little went right. Didn’t get a grip of the game when Saints were calling out for some inspiration... 4

MARTIN ROBERTS

Like Lamb, didn’t dictate the tempo of the game and was unable to pull the strings. Some poor decision making... 4

ALEX WALLER

Got his second try in as many games and didn’t do too bad a job overall. The prop certainly has promise, but this was not an easy day for any Saint... 6

MIKE HAYWOOD

Really struggled with his lineout throws but wasn’t too bad around the field. Still learning but will need to improve next weekend... 5

TOM MERCEY

Not the greatest day for the tighthead prop, but he at least showed a bit of appetite at times... 6

MARK SORENSON

The experienced campaigner was one of those sacrificed during the second half as the big guns came on and he didn’t have his greatest game... 5

CHRISTIAN DAY

Made a successful return from injury a week earlier, but this was a far tougher day and he struggled to conduct the lineout... 5

JAMES CRAIG

Hasn’t got many minutes under his belt due to a recent return from injury and he looked a bit rusty at times... 5

BEN NUTLEY

Showed some real desire during the second half, but it was to be too little, too late for Saints... 6

GJ VAN VELZE

An uncomfortable return from injury for the South African, who was one of the stars of the show when Saints won at Sandy Park in the Premiership in January... 5

Replacements (who played more than 20 minutes)

SOANE TONGA’UIHA (for A Waller, 49)

Helped Saints up their game at the breakdown and his power was key as the away side finally go into the groove during the second half... 7

SAMU MANOA (for Sorenson, 49)

The American upped the physicality stakes and made the expected impact to help make the scoreline more respectable... 6

PHIL DOWSON (for Craig, 49)

Mr Reliable would have been looking on in dismay at how the side fell apart during the first 32 minutes but he helped make a difference... 6

LEE DICKSON (for Roberts, 49)

Saints’ star performer as he was everything Roberts wasn’t. Scooped two tries after good work from the pack and really injected some direction... 8

STEPHEN MYLER (for Lamb, 49)

Saints were much steadier when this man came on and he again cemented his place as the club’s No.1 fly-half... 7

Skills coach Ricky Pellow hailed Exeter’s ruthless streak after they slayed Saints at Sandy Park.

The Chiefs ran in three tries during the opening 32 minutes, surging into a 22-0 lead in the LV= Cup clash.

It left Saints all at sea and though Jim Mallinder’s men rallied late on, the west country side were the ones left toasting a 28-19 win.

Exeter had lost their previous four games, including suffering a 16-6 defeat at Bath a week earlier, and Pellow was delighted to see them rediscover their form.

“We talk about moving forward each week and putting in performances and this showed, moving on from Bath last week, that we could create chances and take them,” he said.

“It was massively pleasing.

“Last week we created the chances and didn’t take them but this week we brought the intensity and line speed and didn’t give them any chance to breathe.

“We carried with real intensity and it just showed that when we created the chances we took them.”

Saints threatened a comeback after bringing five key men, including Soane Tonga’uiha and two-try Lee Dickson, off the bench, but Exeter held out.

And Pellow felt his men had the game by the scruff of the neck throughout.

“They came down with a strong squad: the team that started and obviously the bench as well,” he said.

“The momentum swung a little bit, but we ripped it back off them again and pushed to get the bonus point at the end.

“They’re a strong side but we controlled the momentum for large periods of the game.”

Rotherham United manager Steve Evans was delighted with the way his side neutralised the physical threat of a Cobblers side he feels are ‘the most direct in English football’.

The Millers ran out 3-1 winners the the New York Stadium, with a Daniel Nardiello penalty and goals for midfielders Ben Pringle and David Noble enough for the three points.

Clarke Carlisle scored with an injury-time header that turned out to be a mere consolation for Northampton, who have now suffered back-to-back losses.

“Every game against Northampton is a difficult one because they are a physical side and we had to deal with that first and foremost,” he said.

“They are the most direct team in English football so I was pleased with how we stood up to that.

“We were quite surprised with how they defended because they are normally very good at that side of the game and they have some big lads in there.”

Noble, whose third goal was, he felt, decisive, concurred with his manager and saluted his team-mates for repelling a Town side who went into the game having won five of their past six games.

“For a team that puts you under so much pressure and have such a physical presence, for our keeper to only make two saves shows how solid our performance was,” said Noble.

“But our second and third goals came at good times and the third one really was a nail in the coffin.”

Evans believes the result will help restore some of the belief at Rotherham, who leapfrogged Town as a result of the victory and are now sixth in npower League Two.

“It’s not relief, it’s belief, the belief comes back into yourself,” he said. “We’ve had some dark days but I’ve never doubted what we’ve got here.

“A couple of better managers than I will ever be have told me to keep faith in what we have and what we are doing and to keep working hard on the training ground.

“Over the past couple of games our performances have not been good enough so it was important to get a good performance but we needed a result too. We’d have taken 1-0 with a poor performance.

“It was really pleasing to get this result for the supporters here. We could hear them starting to make some noise a few minutes before the kick-off and we really valued that.”

Fire crews were called to rescue a horse in Northamptonshire today after it fell into a ditch.

The firefighters arrived shortly after 11am to Deene Road, just outside the village of Harringworth.

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service control room said: “One appliance from Corby and a specialist Animal Rescue Unit from Wellingborough attended this incident.

“This was one adult horse aged 16 years and 17.3 hands in height that had fallen down the ditch and was trapped on its side.

“Crews used specialist animal rescue harnesses and lifting strops with to free the horse.

“The horse had no apparent injuries and was left in care of its owners and a vet to undergo a thorough assessment. The rider was also uninjured.”

Aidy Boothroyd did not have much to praise at Rotherham United on Saturday but hailed debutant Roy O’Donovan’s performance as a reason to be cheerful.

The striker, who was signed on transfer deadline day after being given his release by Coventry City, was introduced as a half-time substitute for another debutant, Manny Omeyeke, who started in central midfield but concluded his half as a right-winger.

The Town boss was not a happy man as his side were well beaten by the Millers, who ran out 3-1 winners to slide Northampton back to eighth in npower League Two.

But Boothroyd did find some comfort in the display provided by his latest recruit.

“It was his (Omeyeke’s) first game and we wanted him to do a man-to-man marking job on Pringle because we knew he was one of their key players,” he said.

“But at the end I just felt we needed to make the change to try to get us back into the game.

“Roy gave us a bit of a spark, he chased things down and he will bring pace to our side and a threat of pace in behind.

“He didn’t get the service but he worked his socks off and he was one of the few players in the game who can say they worked as hard as I know they can.”

Boothroyd felt a greater desire by Rotherham was the decisive factor in a defeat that was his team’s eighth of the current campaign away from home.

He was furious that his players had been outfought but took time out to congratulate the Millers on their win.

“We’re better than we showed on Saturday, far better than that,” he said. “It was simple, there was nothing tactical to it, we knew how they were going to play.

“But we couldn’t seem to get hold of the ball, we made bad decisions, we allowed ourselves to be hurried and harried and you have to give credit to Rotherham because that’s what they do.

“We didn’t deal with that. They took the points on the day and they deserved to take them.”

The leader of Northampton Borough Council joined early morning commuters today to talk to them about the plans for a new railway station.

Councillor David Mackintosh was at the railway station from 6.30am to 8am handing out leaflets and getting feedback from rail travellers about the design of the new station.

The £20m redevelopment of the station, which will see it double in size, is set to start in spring this year and will be completed by summer 2014.

Speaking at the station this morning, Councillor Mackintosh said: “I’ve had lots of people say they are looking forward to the new station. I’ve had some questions about the new design.

“Being here you can see the problems with the current station as when it is busy people are queuing out the door.

“When people have been showed the designs there has been generally a positive feeling.”

Plans of the new station will be displayed in a public exhibition at the Northampton Grosvenor Centre, running from today until Saturday.

Saints have announced Australian international prop Salesi Ma’afu will be joining the club ahead of the next season.

Ma’afu is rated as one of the top props in Australia.

The 6ft, 126kg, tight-head has 14 Wallaby caps to his name, along with Australia A and Barbarian representative honours.

Born in Sydney, Ma’afu – whose brother Campese is also an international prop – has built up extensive Super Rugby experience with the Brumbies and latterly Western Force.

His international debut came in 2010, and after fighting back from a serious arm injury he helped Australia to third place in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, including starting the bronze medal match with Wales.

Unfortunately a broken arm sustained during the latter stages of the Force’s 2012 Super Rugby campaign meant that Ma’afu missed the Rugby Championship and November tour, but he starts 2013 as part of the Wallabies’ training squad.

However later in the year Ma’afu will be swapping Subiaco for the Saints, and director of rugby Jim Mallinder says that the 29-year-old has the ability to make a big impact on Aviva Premiership Rugby.

“We have been impressed by what we have seen from Salesi,” Mallinder commented.

“He has built up a good reputation as one of the top props in Australia and has been a big part of the Wallabies’ recent improvements in the set piece.

“Salesi will add a great deal to our group of props and the squad in general going into next season, and we’re looking forward to welcoming him to Franklin’s Gardens later in the year.”

New signing Michael Byrne made an instant impact for Sileby Rangers as he scored the only goal in their 1-0 win over Oadby Town in the big match in UCL Division One.

It was second verus top in Leicestershire, and it was the top dogs Sileby that extended their points advantage to five thanks to Byrne’s decisive header on 37 minutes.

AFC Rushden & Diamonds stayed in the title shake up as they enjoyed a 5-0 win over Wootton thanks to a Jake Newman hat-trick and singles from Alex Deakin and Elliott Dent.

Diamonds are two points behing Oadby and seven adrift of Sileby, with all three teams having played 17 games.

Fourth-placed Eynesbury are a further point back on Diamonds after they beat Harrowby 1-0.

Bugbrooke have games in hand on the top four but lost ground as they were held to a 2-2 draw at Bourne.

Tom Waumsley’s penalty on his Wakes debut had the home side in front at the break before quick fire goals from Jamie Jollands and Ryan Waldock turned the game the Badgers’ way at the start of the second half.

John Currall earned Bourne their point.

There was another stalemate at ON Chenecks where the outcome was a 1-1 draw with Buckingham who picked up their first point under new manager Neil Griffiths.

Joel McCormick’s first half penalty for the Robins was cancelled by another spot kick from Adam Hancock after the break.

Elsewhere, there was a rare win for Olney at Whitworth, a Mark Whittle double and Sam Parrish effort giving the Nurserymen a 3-1 success, Paul Smith scoring the Flourmen consolation.

Raunds picked up a first win in eight beating bottom club Burton Park 2-1 at Kiln Park, Gavin Fitzgerald and George Westley on target for the Shopmates and Matt Redding for Park Wanderers.

In the premier division, there were defeats for both Cogenhoe United and Long Buckby.

The Cooks were beaten 1-0 at leaders Holbeach, while Huntingdon proved to be too big and strong for a young Long Buckby side as they eased to a 4-0 win.

Elsewhere, second-placed Spalding started with a 4-1 success at Newport Pagnell while St Ives won 3-1 at Deeping.

Quorn’s promotion challenge looks all but over after a 3-0 reverse at lowly Sleaford who took the points thanks to a six minute hat trick from Liam Tunstall leading up to the hour mark.

Two goals from Kevin Byrne in the first 11 minutes gave Desborough a 2-1 verdict at Blackstones who replied through Addie Staffieri.

Yaxley and Shepshed played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at In2itive Park. Two Scott Carter goals, the second a penalty, and one from Chris Lenton gave the Cuckoos a three goal interval lead but Dynamo fought back to earn a point through Liam Tuck, Rob Mulonga and Steve Chaplin.

Boston Town extended their winning run to five games with a 4-0 home defeat of bottom markers Irchester. Josh Ford’s penalty set the ball rolling with Jason Field, Ollie Maltby and Mark Foster also netting.

In the NFA Junior Cup semi-finals, Rushden & Higham beat league rivals Rothwell Corinthians 2-0 at Hayden Road with second half strikes from Craig Lawman and Aaron Cormack.

The Russians will contest an all-UCL final against Cogenhoe United Reserves, who beat Northants Combination Premier Division side Brixworth 4-1 after extra time at Compton Park.

A post-mortem examination is due to take place today on the body of a man found in the River Nene.

The body was found near The Lakes business park in Northampton about 1.30pm on Friday.

A police spokesman said the man would not be formally identified until later in the week.

On Friday, access to the path alongside the River Nene was cordoned off by police, opposite Northampton Old Scouts RFC, in Rushmere Road.

Several police cars and fire engines were at the scene.

From the other side of the Nene, a body was clearly visible at the bottom of the banking, and the emergency services were carrying a stretcher to the scene. A large cordon was also in place along the towpath.

A police spokesman said it was “complete speculation” at this stage that it was that of Polish man Artur Liana, aged 32, who went missing on December 22 last year.

Anyone with information can call Northamptonshire Police on 101. Alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

A suspected murderer with links to Northamptonshire is one of 18 high-risk foreign criminals believed to be hiding in the UK, the Metropolitan Police has revealed.

Violent robbers, drug traffickers and rapists are among the offenders being targeted by the Met’s extradition unit, as “extensive” police enquiries have yet to reveal their whereabouts.

They include Dritan Rexhepi, aged 32, who is wanted in Albania and Belgium for murder and aggravated burglary.

It is the third time the force has run Operation Sunfire, with a view to tracing and arresting murderers, violent robbers, drug traffickers and other criminals, then putting them before the extradition courts to face justice abroad.

Rexhepi, who also goes by the name of Gramos Rexhepaj, is an Albanian known to have links to London, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.

He is wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of two men and the non-fatal shooting of another in Albania in 1999.

It is also alleged that in November 2005, Rexhepi and others forced entry into a home in Belgium where the occupants were tied up and threatened at knife point before a quantity of cash and jewellery was stolen.

Detective Sergeant Peter Rance, who is leading the operation, said: “Today I’m asking the public, do you recognise these faces? Maybe you know where these people live, work or socialise?

“They are wanted to face justice for a multitude of crimes in other countries and it is in the UK’s interests to help find them. If you have any information about these people, please call Crimestoppers so we can arrest them. If you see them call 999 and do not approach them.”

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of any of these people is asked to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

A full list of the 18 men is available on the Metropolitan Police’s website.

A driver was lucky to escape injury after a brick was thrown off a bridge and smashed the windscreen of their car.

Police are appealing for information about the incident, which happened on Friday, February 1, between 2.55pm and 3.05pm on the A45 westbound, adjacent to Billing Aquadrome in Northampton.

The brick smashed the front windscreen of the white Vauxhall Insignia estate.

Witnesses to this incident, or anyone with information, should call Northamptonshire Police on 101. Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Australian all-rounder Cameron White says he is available for a return to play for Northants this summer.

The player’s manager, Gerard Sholly, has revealed that White would be keen on going back to the County Ground, after his stint playing for the club in the Twenty20 in 2012.

The Victorian Bushrangers skipper made the last of his four Test appearances for Australia five years ago, and has not featured in his country’s one-day international side since 2011.

White made his last Twenty20 international appearance at last year’s World Cup in Sri Lanka, and recent form suggests he is unlikely to play any part on the forthcoming Ashes tour.

In Australia’s recent Big Bash Twenty20 League, White scored a modest 188 runs in eight innings for the Melbourne Stars at a 22.25 average, and in the Sheffield Shield- Australia’s equivalent of the county championship - he has so far scored 233 runs from nine innings at 25.88.

White’s Ryobi one-day form has been equally disappointing with 73 runs from three innings at 24.33.

White, 29, has also so far bowled fewer than 20 overs of leg-spin overall in all three Australian domestic competitions this winter.

He was one of the Steelbacks’ more productive players in their terrible 2012 Friends Life T20 campaign.

He scored 228 runs with an average of 57 and a strike rate of 131.03.

White’s highest score of was one of 62 not out in his eight innings, but he couldn’t stop the County finishing bottom of their group winning just one of their 10 matches in a shocking summer.

“Cameron is available to play county cricket again this season having enjoyed his time at Northamptonshire last year,” said Sholly.

“He made a lot of friends at Northants and ideally would have stayed for longer if he hadn’t been called up to play for Australia (for a T20 series against Pakistan in Dubai).

“Given his experience and his previously successful stints at Somerset he’s always in demand as an overseas player so he would talk to Northampton if they want him to go back.”

Although seen as a one-day and T20 specialist, White also has a respectable first-class batting average of 39.87, while his 180 wickets have cost 40.63 apiece.

Northants have yet to nail down their overseas players for the new season.

The contract offer made to South African Rory Kleinveldt has been withdraw, and Northants are now chasing Australian pace bowler Trent Copeland, but his deal would only take in the first half of the season, and would not include the T20 competition.

The County have also made an approach to former skipper Mike Hussey, but the player, who retired from international cricket last month, has said he is not interested in returning to Northampton until 2014.

Lewis Hamilton and his new Mercedes team have unveiled their 2013 challenger at the Jerez circuit in Spain.

The new F1 W04 is one of two Formula One cars constructed entirely in Northamptonshire, with the team based in Brackley and the engine built in Brixworth.

Hamilton, aged 28, is set to compete in his first F1 season away from McLaren, a team he was with from the age of 13. He will be partnered by German Nico Rosberg, his former team-mate in karts, who took his maiden F1 win at the Chinese Grand Prix last year.

Speaking to the official Formula One website, Hamilton said: “I’ve been at the factory getting to know the guys, meeting my mechanics and engineers, learning myself into the team and I have never seen a group of people that is hungrier for success than this one.

“They have been flat out this winter trying to pack more performance into the new car and I can’t wait to drive it and see where I can make a difference to help push the team forward with Nico.”

Team principal Ross Brawn said: “We are hugely proud to welcome Lewis to the team as a works Mercedes-Benz driver. With Lewis and Nico, we have what I believe to be the strongest driver line-up in Formula One and I know that a healthy level of competition between them both will help drive the team forward.

“The restructuring we undertook at the team over the past 18 months are now growing in maturity and this is reflected in the F1 W04, which is a clear step forward in design and detail sophistication over its predecessor.

“Many thousands of hours of work have been invested by our technical teams in Brackley and Brixworth to ensure that the new car delivers a step change in performance compared to last season.”

The new F1 W04 is an evolution of last year’s car, which started the season strongly, but suffered a significant drop-off in performance in the second half of the year.

Mercedes are the latest outfit to scrap the ugly stepped nose design featured on most 2012 cars, in favour of a so-called ‘vanity panel’.

The new car will now complete 12 days of pre-season testing prior to the Australian Grand Prix on March 17.

Cobblers player Clarke Carlisle said the football players’ union will continue to support Paul Gascoigne following his worrying public appearance in Northampton last week.

The England star caused extreme worries for his health following an abandoned question and answer session at The Park Inn on Thursday, which provoked sympathy in the national media.

His agent later admitted the former Kettering Town manager’s life is in danger from his drinking problem.

Clarke Carlisle, who is chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Assocaition told Radio 4’s Today Programme: “We’ll continue to give him our full support because that’s what we’re here for.

“We have put several people to Gazza and, bar manhandling him and dragging him to a facility, which unfortunately we can’t do and would do if we could, we have put everyone we possibly can across his path.

“We have been in touch with his friends, his advisers, and agents and we will do again.”

On past attempts to help the ex-Newcastle and Lazio star beat his long-term alcoholism, Carlisle said: “He has been through the clinics on several occasions, he’s had counsellors and therapists at his disposal that he has seen and chosen not to see at times.

“We put out as much as we possibly can for him and all of our members.

“But if he chooses to drink that first drink, it is always a choice and where you go from there is a complete and utter lottery.”

Those who saw Gascoigne at the curtailed charity event on Thursday expressed their sorrow at his state via the Chron’s Facebook page.

Lee Warren: “They said he was ill that night, he was about dead. It was such a shame, there were so many grown men nearly in tears including myself.

“It should have never happened, he should never have gone on that stage.”

Olly Stone once again did his bit to guide England Under-19s towards a ‘Test’ series whitewash of their South African counterparts.

The Northamptonshire paceman followed up his figures of 21-11-31-5 in the first innings by bagging 5-3-2-2 in the second as the hosts ended day two in Paarl just 14 runs ahead with eight wickets remaining.

Stone, who is also skippering the England team, has now taken 13 wickets at 9.38 in the series.

Having bowled out South Africa for 228, England moved to a three-run first innings lead thanks in the main to opener Dominic Sibley’s unbeaten 112.

Stone then made early inroads by removing both openers as the home side’s second knock reached 17-2 at stumps on the second day.

England already lead 1-0 in the two-match contest.

A Northampton man who suffered catastrophic injuries in a road smash has today won a £500,000 interim damages payout at the High Court.

Marcel Beasley, 29, of Kingsland Gardens, was left facing a lifetime of disability after his motorcycle was involved in a smash with a car near Nottingham in May 2009.

The sum, which will help the former power station worker move out of a rehabilitation unit, is likely to be only a fraction of the full damages payout he eventually receives.

Awarding the sum, Judge Jonathan Simpkiss said Mr Beasley’s injuries were “seriously life-changing” and included “very severe” brain damage.

He said: “As a result of the injury, the claimant was hospitalised and was in an extremely critical position for some time. However, he was released to his pre-accident address and, at that stage, received only limited support. His condition deteriorated and he agreed to a period of residential rehabilitation.”

But, the judge said, Mr Beasley’s condition had improved so that there was now a plan in place to move him back into the community in April.

Mr Beasley’s barrister, Richard Gregory, said the £500,000 payment sought would go towards funding a place to live and to compensate for injury and losses.

In a previous trial, which decided liability for the accident, the High Court heard Mr Beasley was on a Yamaha R6 on the A453, near Barton in Farbis, when

he was overtaking a line of stationary, slow-moving traffic. A Volkswagen Golf pulled out of the queue in order to turn around and they collided. Mr Beasley was thrown over the top of the car, suffering devastating brain damage when his helmet strap snapped, causing it to come off.

The judge, Sir Raymond Jack, ruled the blame lay entirely with the car driver.

The hearing was told the final damages sum was likely to be well in excess of £1 million.