Northampton Town: Wrexham AFC lessons led to Birmingham City point | OneFootball

Cobblers delivered St. Andrew's sucker punch last weekend.

Jon Brady made one all-important tweak which helped his Northampton Town side steal an unlikely point from their trip to face Birmingham City on Saturday.

Jay Stansfield opened the scoring for Blues on the hour, but his effort was cancelled out by a superb Mitch Pinnock finish in the dying seconds as Birmingham failed to convert their dominance of the ball into three points.

The point will likely be Cobblers' most prized this season, and they certainly fought hard to right the wrongs of the week prior.

Jon Brady's key tweak from Wrexham to Birmingham

Brady made one key change to his set-up, and despite Tyler Roberts being unavailable against his parent club, as well as Tariqe Fosu and Jack Sowerby pulling out, it was not a personnel one.

The Cobblers manager admitted his team came to 'disrupt and spoil' against big-spending Birmingham, and it was successful as Northampton picked up a historic point.

"To get that equaliser was quite pleasing in the end. They dominated possession. We came to disrupt, we came to spoil, and we did that brilliantly," Brady said, via the Birmingham Mail. "To get the equaliser in the end - it feels like a winner - especially after the week we've had. To give that memory to the supporters feels good."

Brady opted to deploy a flat-back five, as opposed to the four that he has preferred so far, packing out the defensive box and looking to counter-attack.

The call was clearly in response to the quality Birmingham possess and Northampton's growing injury list. However, in similar games against other top opposition, such as Wrexham AFC and Bolton Wanderers, this approach wasn't taken.

When playing a four, especially against Wrexham, Northampton were carved open down the wings after losing possession in the middle of the park.

Ryan Barnett assisted two efforts from Wrexham's right and James McClean scored two and assisted another on the opposite flank. The pair linked up for the opener only eight minutes after kick-off in the 4-1 defeat.

In contrast, at St. Andrew's, Town were willing to concede possession in the middle of the park to ensure they stayed watertight at the back. It paid off as Birmingham were only restricted to three shots on target as opposed to Wrexham's eight when Cobblers visited the Racecourse.

Northampton found a way to hang in v Birmingham

Northampton were under significant pressure for most of the contest as Chris Davies' side dominated possession, but their pragmatic approach helped them to keep Blues at arm's length and have opportunities of their own.

Despite having 18 shots fewer, Cobblers had the same amount on target as Blues and the score ended level in a mastery of making the most of your opportunities.

Cobblers centre-back Jon Guthrie was extraordinarily picked out inside the area in an astonishing opportunity while the game was still level, while Will Hondermarck, playing right-back, had an effort cleared off the line before Pinnock's eventual leveller in the dying moments.

This contrasts with the approach taken against other top clubs in League One, such as the Bolton and Wrexham games, where Cobblers fought fire with fire, taking on their opponents in the middle of the park.

While Brady's side had positive moments in these games, they left themselves far too vulnerable at the back, which was punished on both occasions as they lost 4-2 and 4-1 respectively.

Town's approach on this occasion allowed them to soak up pressure and stay in the contest until the final seconds, making a last-gasp effort such as Pinnock's meaningful and not a consolation, like the two efforts against Bolton.

Cobblers fell foul of approaching big games in a similar way last season, especially away, as they fell to Derby 4-0 and Portsmouth 5-1, but it seems Brady has found a formula to work with when up against top sides.

Never count Northampton out

Brady's Northampton have been synonymous with late goals during his tenure, from equalisers to winners, so much so that there are too many to list.

At 1-0 down entering the final moments, many Cobblers fans would've been satisfied with their players' effort and believed they could snag a late point.

Brady revealed what he said to substitute Martyn Waghorn, to distribute to his squad, when he came on with 20 minutes to go.

"I've just said to the boys, even if we'd have lost 1-0 in the end, I would have come in and been immensely proud of their efforts," Brady said. "But, with five minutes to go, I just asked Neo (Dobson) and Waggy (Waghorn) to stay further up the pitch and have a gamble to free ourselves up and pin their backline if they could.

"Before the injuries happened in the second half we were strong and I felt we really restricted Birmingham in terms of clear-cut chances. We had a couple of great chances in the first half with Jon Guthrie and Cameron McGeehan and then in the second half Will Hondermarck, playing at right wing-back, had one cleared off the line."

The point at St. Andrew's completed an astonishing turnaround from a week before when Cobblers fell to an almost predictable FA Cup exit to Kettering Town.

The result at Blues will have brought fans back on side with Brady and the players, who will carry heightened confidence heading towards their fixture at Blackpool this weekend.