Match ends, Northampton Town 2, MK Dons 1.
Northampton climbed out of the League One relegation zone with a third-straight league win as they beat rivals MK Dons.
John-Joe O'Toole's early opener was quickly cancelled out by Alex Gilbey but Chris Long ensured the Cobblers moved up to 18th place and were replaced by Dons in the bottom four.
O'Toole latched onto Joe Bunney's low cross to squirm a shot past visiting goalkeeper Lee Nicholls and hand Northampton a 16th-minute lead.
Their advantage was short lived and only three minutes had passed when Dons restored parity as Osman Sow flashed the ball across goal and Gilbey rifled home first time.
Sow then had a header cleared off the line but the away side were behind again when Long was positioned perfectly to divert Sam Hoskins' low cross into the bottom corner four minutes before half-time.
Peter Pawlett shot wide in the second half and the Cobblers also went close through Hilbeberto Pereira and Matt Crooks before two excellent late saves from Richard O'Donnell preserved the points for the home side, with Chuks Aneke seeing red for MK Dons for his part in a late scuffle.
Match report supplied by the Press Association.
Line-ups
Northampton
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 13O'Donnell
- 24Facey
- 6Taylor
- 37Turnbull
- 39Bunney
- 22Crooks
- 29Grimes
- 14HoskinsSubstituted forPereiraat 57'minutesBooked at 90mins
- 21O'TooleBooked at 90mins
- 8FoleySubstituted forAriyibiat 73'minutes
- 19LongSubstituted forRevellat 90+1'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Cornell
- 2Moloney
- 10Revell
- 17McWilliams
- 26Poole
- 28Pereira
- 45Ariyibi
MK Dons
Formation 4-1-2-1-2
- 1Nicholls
- 25Brittain
- 5Wootton
- 19Ebanks-Landell
- 2Williams
- 8CisséSubstituted forMcGrandlesat 71'minutes
- 17Tavernier
- 26GilbeyBooked at 90mins
- 11PawlettSubstituted forAgardat 83'minutesBooked at 86mins
- 27Ugbo
- 9SowSubstituted forAnekeat 59'minutesBooked at 90mins
Substitutes
- 6Upson
- 10Aneke
- 13Sietsma
- 14Agard
- 16Muirhead
- 18McGrandles
- 21Nesbitt
- Referee:
- Brett Huxtable
- Attendance:
- 7,231
Match Stats
- Possession
- Home53%
- Away47%
- Shots
- Home16
- Away11
- Shots on Target
- Home8
- Away8
- Corners
- Home7
- Away8
- Fouls
- Home13
- Away15
Live Text
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Post update
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Full Time
Second Half ends, Northampton Town 2, MK Dons 1.
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Post update
Corner, MK Dons. Conceded by Richard O'Donnell.
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Post update
Attempt saved. Marcus Tavernier (MK Dons) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner.
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Booking
John-Joe O'Toole (Northampton Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Dismissal
Chuks Aneke (MK Dons) is shown the red card for violent conduct.
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Post update
Foul by John-Joe O'Toole (Northampton Town).
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Post update
Chuks Aneke (MK Dons) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Post update
Hildeberto Pereira (Northampton Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Booking
Alex Gilbey (MK Dons) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Post update
Foul by Alex Gilbey (MK Dons).
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Substitution
Substitution, Northampton Town. Alex Revell replaces Chris Long.
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Post update
Attempt saved. Kieran Agard (MK Dons) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
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Post update
Attempt saved. Chris Long (Northampton Town) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
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Post update
Attempt saved. Chuks Aneke (MK Dons) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
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Booking
Hildeberto Pereira (Northampton Town) is shown the yellow card.
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Post update
Corner, MK Dons. Conceded by Joe Bunney.
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Post update
Attempt saved. Kieran Agard (MK Dons) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner.
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Post update
Corner, MK Dons. Conceded by Ash Taylor.
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Post update
(Northampton Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.