Match Report: Notts County off foot of League Two table thanks to Northampton Town stalemate

Notts County have moved off the foot of the League Two table and now sit two points from safety following their second successive draw, a 0-0 stalemate at Northampton Town.

The Magpies drew 3-3 against Stevenage last time out and, although they remain chasing a win this season, a second clean sheet of the campaign - following that against Colchester United in August - will come as a much-welcomed improvement.

No day off for Harry Kewell, who hit the big four oh on matchday, as his charges began brightly, Lewis Alessandra cutting in from the left and firing over just three minutes in.

Northampton countered with John-Joe O'Toole let rip from 30 yards, but Ross Fitzsimons would comfortably claim the effort.

Despite a lively start, things went a little dull in the ensuing minutes, with nothing of note happening until Cobblers captain Ash Taylor was shown a yellow card in the 21st minute for a foul on Kane Hemmings.

The summer signing came close to opening the scoring before the break, heading over from Enzio Boldewijn's cross, before Jon Stead saw his own header land on the roof of the net.

Northants keeper David Cornell beat away Alessandra’s deflected shot moments after the restart before a period of Cobblers pressure ended with David Buchanan blasting wide.

Boldewijn then came close as his one-two on the edge of the hosts' box was followed by a shot straight at Cornell, while Hemmings saw a dangerous effort tipped onto the crossbar with 20 minutes to go.

Northampton survived a goalmouth scramble from the ensuing corner before they had their own chances to break the deadlock, O’Toole and Barnett both heading off target in quick succession.

Although the home side finished brightly, with Leon Barnett and Kevin van Veen coming close and Matt Tootle almost scoring an own goal, County held out for a valuable point and a psychologically boosting shutout.

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