Hull City show Northampton Town the harsh reality of League One

Hull City maintained their perfect start to League One by beating Northampton Town 2-0 at Sixfields.

First half strikes from Keane Lewis-Potter and captain George Honeyman handed the Cobblers their first loss of their league campaign.

Lewis-Potter’s opener arrived just after the half-hour mark. A free-kick from Honeyman was weighted perfectly to find the head of the 19-year-old, who guided the ball home passed Steve Arnold.

Honeyman also got in on the action by making it 2-0 just a minute before the interval. Debutant Hakeeb Adelakun’s superb build-up play allowed Honeyman the space to shoot. The former Sunderland man made no mistake when cooly slotting the ball into the bottom corner.

The contest highlighted the struggles Northampton may have back in England’s third-tier.

Facing a Hull team recently relegated from the Championship, the gulf in quality was clear between the two sides. Despite the loss of stars Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki last season, the core of the team still remain and the Tigers will be ambitious of securing promotion straight back to the second-tier at the first time of asking.

In the last ten years, nine teams relegated from the Championship have bounced straight back in the first season in League One. With salary caps now enforced in the league, the need to be back in the Championship is as important as ever.

If they complete this task, they would join the likes of Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United as teams have been promoted immediately in the last decade.

Northampton Town didn’t create clear cut chances and their general play was poor. Throughout the game, it was Hull City who were putting pressure on the Cobblers and creating more chances.

Although they started the season well, the overhaul of departures and new signings are still taking its toll on Northampton. Departures of club captain Charlie Goode, experienced midfielder Alan McCormack and back up keeper Dave Cornell have created a huge gap in the spine of the team that has proved difficult to replace. 

Next up for Northampton Town, they play midweek in the EFL Trophy against Southampton Under 23’s before welcoming Peterborough next Saturday.

As For Hull City, they return next weekend against Plymouth Argyle hoping to continue their unbeaten start to the season.

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