Date:30 Oct 2010
Kick-off:15:00
Venue:Sixfields Stadium

Beckwith (20)
McKenzie - pen (39)
Palmer (6)

Goal!

Live Commentary

The final whistle goes and the game is over.

93mins Steve Guinan concedes a free kick for a foul on Danny Spiller. Alan Julian takes the direct free kick.

92mins Corner from right by-line taken by Danny Spiller.

92mins Cody McDonald takes a shot. Blocked by Liam Davis.

92mins John Nutter crosses the ball, clearance by Andrew Holt.

90mins Corner taken by Michael Jacobs.

89mins Matthew Lawrence is given a yellow card. Free kick awarded for a foul by Matthew Lawrence on Andrew Holt. Free kick taken by Andrew Holt.

89mins Barry Fuller produces a cross, clearance by Dean Beckwith.

88mins Adebayo Akinfenwa takes a shot. Save made by Chris Dunn.

88mins The referee blows for offside. Indirect free kick taken by Alan Julian.

87mins A cross is delivered by Barry Fuller, John Johnson makes a clearance.

84mins Adebayo Akinfenwa takes a shot. Save made by Chris Dunn.

82mins Centre by Dennis Oli, clearance made by Marcus Hall.

82mins Dennis Oli sends in a cross, Liam Davis gets a block in.

81mins Nathaniel Wedderburn fouled by Danny Spiller, the ref awards a free kick. Marcus Hall restarts play with the free kick.

81mins Dennis Oli takes a shot. Clearance by Dean Beckwith.

80mins Stefan Payne is brought on as a substitute for Chris Palmer.

78mins Steve Guinan is brought on as a substitute for Leon McKenzie. Ryan Gilligan goes off and Paul Rodgers comes on. The referee blows for offside against Leon McKenzie. Alan Julian takes the free kick.

76mins A cross is delivered by Adebayo Akinfenwa, Cody McDonald takes a shot. Save by Chris Dunn.

76mins A cross is delivered by Chris Palmer, clearance made by Dean Beckwith.

74mins Unfair challenge on Jack Payne by Abdul Osman results in a free kick. Danny Spiller restarts play with the free kick.

73mins Michael Jacobs concedes a free kick for a foul on Matthew Lawrence. Tony Sinclair takes the direct free kick.

69mins Michael Jacobs takes a shot. Save made by Alan Julian.

66mins Andrew Holt challenges Barry Fuller unfairly and gives away a free kick. Matthew Lawrence takes the direct free kick.

66mins Danny Spiller is brought on as a substitute for Kevin Maher.

65mins Dennis Oli on for Mark Bentley.

65mins Kevin Maher produces a right-footed shot from the edge of the box and misses to the left of the target.

64mins Kevin Maher takes a shot. Blocked by Marcus Hall.

63mins Billy Mckay goes off and Michael Jacobs comes on.

62mins Header from deep inside the penalty area by Adebayo Akinfenwa goes harmlessly over the crossbar.

62mins The ball is crossed by Jack Payne.

61mins Chris Palmer takes a inswinging corner.

61mins The ball is crossed by Barry Fuller, clearance by Dean Beckwith.

60mins Leon McKenzie delivers the ball.

60mins Ryan Gilligan crosses the ball, clearance by Tony Sinclair.

60mins The ball is crossed by Leon McKenzie,

59mins The ball is delivered by Chris Palmer, comfortable save by Chris Dunn.

58mins Foul by Jack Payne on Nathaniel Wedderburn, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Liam Davis.

55mins Kevin Maher produces a cross.

53mins Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Dean Beckwith by Adebayo Akinfenwa. Free kick taken by Chris Dunn.

52mins The ball is swung over by Barry Fuller, Dean Beckwith manages to make a clearance.

52mins Jack Payne takes a shot. Blocked by Marcus Hall.

49mins Leon McKenzie takes a shot. Alan Julian makes a comfortable save.

49mins Barry Fuller delivers the ball, clearance made by Dean Beckwith.

48mins The ball is delivered by Liam Davis.

45mins Abdul Osman gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Jack Payne. Jack Payne restarts play with the free kick.

The second half begins.

The whistle is blown to end the first half.

46mins Unfair challenge on Cody McDonald by John Johnson results in a free kick. The ball is sent over by John Nutter, Mark Bentley takes a shot. Marcus Hall gets a block in.

46mins Leon McKenzie takes a shot. Matthew Lawrence gets a block in.

46mins Andrew Holt crosses the ball, blocked by Matthew Lawrence.

43mins Liam Davis fouled by Mark Bentley, the ref awards a free kick. Free kick taken by Chris Dunn.

42mins Centre by Ryan Gilligan, save by Alan Julian.

39mins Penalty scored by Leon McKenzie. Northampton 2-1 Gillingham.Matthew Lawrence gives away a Penalty for an unfair challenge on Dean Beckwith.

37mins Corner taken by Nathaniel Wedderburn.

36mins Corner taken by Ryan Gilligan played to the near post, Andrew Holt takes a shot. Save by Alan Julian.

35mins Mark Bentley gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Liam Davis. Direct free kick taken by Chris Dunn.

34mins Unfair challenge on Kevin Maher by Abdul Osman results in a free kick. Matthew Lawrence takes the free kick.

32mins Shot on goal by Cody McDonald from just inside the area clears the crossbar. Cody McDonald gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Dean Beckwith. Chris Dunn takes the direct free kick.

32mins A cross is delivered by Barry Fuller, Marcus Hall makes a clearance.

29mins The ball is crossed by Chris Palmer.

28mins Unfair challenge on Andrew Holt by Mark Bentley results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Ryan Gilligan, Centre by Kevin Maher.

27mins Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Liam Davis by Cody McDonald. Chris Dunn restarts play with the free kick.

24mins Shot from deep inside the area by Billy Mckay clears the bar.

24mins Unfair challenge on Abdul Osman by Kevin Maher results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Chris Dunn.

22mins Ryan Gilligan fouled by Jack Payne, the ref awards a free kick. Free kick taken by Marcus Hall.

19mins Corner from the left by-line taken by Ryan Gilligan, Dean Beckwith scores a headed goal from inside the penalty box. Northampton 1-1 Gillingham.Assist on the goal came from Ryan Gilligan.

19mins Corner taken right-footed by Ryan Gilligan.

19mins Inswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Ryan Gilligan.

19mins The ball is sent over by Dean Beckwith.

16mins Kevin Maher sends in a cross, John Johnson makes a clearance.

16mins Effort from the edge of the area by Nathaniel Wedderburn goes wide of the right-hand post.

14mins Leon McKenzie concedes a free kick for a foul on Matthew Lawrence. Tony Sinclair takes the free kick.

13mins Foul by Dean Beckwith on Cody McDonald, free kick awarded. Direct free kick taken by Mark Bentley.

11mins Corner from the left by-line taken by Ryan Gilligan, Dean Beckwith takes a shot. Inswinging corner taken by Nathaniel Wedderburn from the right by-line. Save made by Alan Julian.

11mins Leon McKenzie takes a shot. Save by Alan Julian.

10mins Corner taken left-footed by Nathaniel Wedderburn from the right by-line, clearance made by Mark Bentley.

10mins Ryan Gilligan produces a cross, Matthew Lawrence manages to make a clearance.

9mins Billy Mckay gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Barry Fuller. Chris Palmer delivers the ball from the free kick left-footed from right channel, Ryan Gilligan makes a clearance.

7mins Kevin Maher takes the inswinging corner, Shot from just outside the box by Chris Palmer goes over the crossbar.

7mins Kevin Maher crosses the ball, Dean Beckwith makes a clearance.

6mins Chris Palmer grabs a goal from just outside the penalty area to the bottom right corner of the goal. Northampton 0-1 Gillingham.Dean Beckwith concedes a free kick for a foul on Cody McDonald. Assist by John Nutter.

6mins Goal scored by Chris Palmer from just outside the penalty area to the bottom right corner of the goal. Northampton 0-1 Gillingham.Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Cody McDonald by Dean Beckwith. The assist for the goal came from John Nutter.

4mins Shot on goal by Nathaniel Wedderburn from just inside the area clears the crossbar.

4mins Nathaniel Wedderburn delivers the ball, clearance by Tony Sinclair.

3mins The ball is delivered by Chris Palmer, clearance made by Marcus Hall.

The match begins.

Match Preview

Cobblers trio set to return Under-pressure Northampton manager Ian Sampson will be boosted for the visit of Gillingham by the returning trio of Leon McKenzie, Dean Beckwith and John Johnson. McKenzie has scored four times in the last two league games and will return after being rested for the Carling Cup defeat at Ipswich on Tuesday night. Centre-half Beckwith will also return to the starting XI after he completed a three-match ban while right-back Johnson is also available after he missed out at Ipswich thanks to a one-game suspension. Sampson has no fresh injury concerns but is in dire need of a win after seeing his side slip to 91st place in the Football League on the back of six straight defeats. Defender Craig Hinton made his first appearance of the season in midweek following a knee injury but will drop out while striker Tadhg Purcell will miss the rest of the season with his knee injury. Gillingham have several absentees for the trip. Goalkeeper Lance Cronin, who has been number two to Alan Julian this term, has a foot injury and will not be included in the squad, meaning youth team keeper Daren Hawkes will step up to the bench. Curtis Weston came off after 30 minutes of the 1-1 draw with Torquay last week with a thigh injury and he will miss out. Mark McCammon is still struggling with an ankle injury while Josh Gowling has a virus and is rated as doubtful. Danny Jackman is back in training after an ankle problem, but the game will come too soon, while striker Adebayo Akinfenwa will be desperate to start against his former club.

Formation:442Manager: Ian Sampson

Northampton

Formation: 442Manager: Andy Hessenthaler

Gillingham

Chris Dunn
John Johnson
Dean Beckwith
Andrew Holt
Marcus Hall
Ryan Gilligan
Abdul Osman
Nathaniel Wedderburn
Liam Davis
Billy Mckay
Leon McKenzie
SUBS
Paul Walker
Paul Rodgers
Kevin Thornton
Craig Hinton
Steve Guinan
Michael Jacobs
Alex Konstantinou

Home

Away

Alan Julian
Barry Fuller
Matthew Lawrence
Tony Sinclair
John Nutter
Mark Bentley
Kevin Maher
Jack Payne
Chris Palmer
Cody McDonald
Adebayo Akinfenwa
SUBS
Darren Hawkes
Danny Spiller
Bruce Inkango
Nicky Southall
Dennis Oli
Stefan Payne
Ashley Miller

Match Report

McKenzie ends Cobblers drought Leon McKenzie was spot on to end Northampton's run of five straight defeats in a 2-1 win at home to Gillingham. The visitors took the early lead through Chris Palmer but Dean Beckwith equalised against his former club, leaving McKenzie to hit the winner from the penalty spot. Palmer gave Gillingham a seventh-minute lead, rounding off a cleverly worked free kick involving himself, Kevin Maher and John Nutter. Facing a seventh straight defeat, Northampton hit back and Nathaniel Wedderburn volleyed just wide before Beckwith equalised in the 20th minute, powerfully heading home at the far post on his return from a three-match ban from Ryan Gilligan's corner. McKenzie volleyed over and Andy Holt saw his near post header tipped over by Alan Julian before Northampton grabbed what proved to be the winner in the 39th minute. Matt Lawrence fouled Beckwith from a set piece in the box and from the ensuing spot kick McKenzie sent Julian the wrong way. Chris Dunn saved bravely at Cody McDonald's feet just before the break but after the interval neither side created much. Adebayo Akinfenwa headed over and then saw a shot on the turn saved by Dunn but rarely threatened against his former club.

Form Guide

WLLLLL Northampton VS Gillingham WDLWDD

Last Meetings

Northampton 1 - 1 Gillingham 20/04/1996 Gillingham 0 - 0 Northampton 04/11/1995 Gillingham 3 - 1 Northampton 18/02/1995 Northampton 2 - 0 Gillingham 14/01/1995 Northampton 1 - 2 Gillingham 02/04/1994 Gillingham 1 - 0 Northampton 27/12/1993

Top Scorers

Northampton L McKenzie 4 K Thornton 2 B Mckay 2 A Holt 1 A Osman 1 Gillingham C McDonald 4 A Akinfenwa 3 M Bentley 2 D Spiller 2 C Palmer 2 J Payne 1

Goals

Northampton Total goals 35 Goals per game 13 (For) 1 (Against) Period 0-10 mins 1 (For) 1 (Against) Period 11-20 mins 1 (For) 1 (Against) Period 21-30 mins 2 (For) 1 (Against) Period 31-40 mins 4 (For) 5 (Against) Period 41-50 mins (For) 4 (Against) Period 51-60 mins 2 (For) 2 (Against) Period 61-70 mins 1 (For) 5 (Against) Period 71-80 mins 2 (For) 2 (Against) Period 81-90 mins Gillingham Total goals 38 Goals per game 16 1 (For) 1 (Against) Period 0-10 mins 1 (For) 2 (Against) Period 11-20 mins 1 (For) Period 21-30 mins 2 (For) 2 (Against) Period 31-40 mins 2 (For) 2 (Against) Period 41-50 mins 4 (For) 3 (Against) Period 51-60 mins 1 (For) 2 (Against) Period 61-70 mins 3 (For) 2 (Against) Period 71-80 mins 1 (For) 4 (Against) Period 81-90 mins