Soccer
Northampton hold off Newport to win in front of potential buyer Pato
Northampton beat Newport 1-0 for their first win of the season in front of prospective new owner Alexandre Pato.
The former AC Milan and Brazil striker is part of a consortium in talks to buy a stake in the East Midlands club and he watched on at Sixfields as Joe O’Brien-Whitmarsh’s superb late strike sealed all three points.
Harvey Saunders was denied by Newport goalkeeper Jordan Wright early and O’Brien-Whitmarsh dragged wide, but otherwise the home side were unable to turn their possession into clear-cut chances in a dreary first half.
The visitors carried more of a threat in the second half as Yahya Bamba flashed a dangerous ball into the box, before Nathan Opoku had a weak header saved.
The second half offered even less than the first in terms of goalmouth action and the game looked set to end in stalemate, but with just three minutes left, the ball dropped to O’Brien-Whitmarsh on the edge of the box and he scored in the bottom corner for Northampton’s first league win since February.
