Lee-thal weapon 2! Novak has star billing
NORTHAMPTON boss Keith Curle accused his side of getting the simple things wrong as they crashed to a defeat at improving Scunthorpe.
Two goals in as many first-half minutes from Lee Novak set the Iron on the way to victory, with Kevin van Veen adding a third just after the half-hour mark.
The Cobblers had Vadaine Oliver sent off not long after half-time for a challenge on home goalkeeper Rory Watson and while Curle was disappointed with that decision, he had no complaints about the result.
“Disappointed doesn’t cover it, it’s a lot worse than that,” the Northampton boss said.
“Their attackers were better than our defenders, but I don’t think our attackers gave their defence and goalkeeper enough problems.
“A lot of people will say we had a man sent off, but I don’t think the scoreline was a direct reflection of the game.
“Vadaine made a genuine attempt to strike the ball. Credit to the goalkeeper, he took a knock to the head, but it wasn’t reckless.
“We’ve got a changing room that’s developing and today we’ve had a slap in the face. We have to learn from it.”
Novak put Scunthorpe ahead in the 12th minute when flicking the ball past David Cornell and grabbed his second from close range after the visiting keeper had saved Van Veen’s header.
Sam Hoskins shot wide during a rare sight at goal for the visitors, before Van Veen curled a great strike into the far corner of the net. Any hopes Northampton had of finding a way back into the game disappeared when Oliver was sent off in the 54th minute for catching Watson.
Only a combination of Cornell and the bar denied Novak a hat-trick late on. “We produced a positive first-half performance and while the second half could have been better, the most important thing was the win,” said Iron assistant manager Chris Doig.
“Getting three goals was good. We showed a good work ethic, were positive going forward and got our rewards for that.
“The boys have been working hard and it was nice to see some of things we’ve done in training come to fruition.”