Aidy Boothroyd described the Cobblers’ second-half display at York City as one of his favourites in football management.
Town came back from a goal down a man down following Matty Blair’s goal and Louis Moult’s sending-off in the first 45 minutes to take a point from a 1-1 in an end-to-end game at Bootham Crescent.
It was a good display of resilience from a side who went from looking down and out at the interval to one who had the better chances to win the game, mainly through the guile and excellence of Chris Hackett.
“Showing spirit is a must if you’re going to do anything,” said Boothroyd, who admitted the Moult sending-off was fair. “When you go down to 10 men you’re either naïve or you’re too enthusiastic.
“It was a wonderful second-half performance. It was a good and professional performance and we had the better chances in the game.
“To be able to come back the way we did, and the way we were throwing the bodies on the line, was very pleasing.
“That was one of my favourite performances as a football manager.”
As well as praising Hackett, Boothroyd was also delighted with the contribution of teenage midfielder Lewis Hornby.
Hornby was introduced as a half-time substitute and played a key role in central midfield, to the delight of his manager.
“We went for it. We tried to win it, and Chris Hackett and Lewis Hornby were excellent,” he said. “To a man the team were terrific and everybody stepped up.
“Lewis, for a young man, showed a real calmness under pressure, he needed to change a couple of things earlier in the season and he has responded to that.
“He’s a good professional but he needed to be doing a couple of things differently and I thought he was outstanding in this game. He looked like a veteran out there.”
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