Northampton Town 0-1 Oldham Athletic
Stu Vose at Sixfields Stadium

Andy Liddell stroked home a spot-kick winner as resurgent Athletic smashed Northampton's unbeaten home run.

The veteran stepped up with a quarter of an hour remaining to win the match from the penalty spot after Lee Hughes had been cut down in the box.

Athletic had their chances - Hughes hit the post in the first half - and  they stayed solid defensively to see off a gung-ho offensive from the hosts in injury time.

The game ended on a sour note when Hughes received his second booking of the game following a seemingly innocuous clash with defender Kyle Walker.

Meanwhile, debutant Darren Byfield made an impressive bow as the visitors kept up a lively pace and carved out a number of chances.

The Cobblers went into the fixture as the only team still unbeaten at home, and boasting two clean sheets in as many games on home turf.

But Latics stated their intent from the off when Mark Allott crashed an ambitious effort wide from 20 yards in the first minute.

Boss John Sheridan was forced into a hasty change after just eight minutes, replacing Deane Smalley with Liddell after the former complained of hip trouble.

Lively midfielder Alex Dyer saw a shot blocked soon afterwards, while Hughes tested keeper Frank Fielding at the other end with a ferocious 20-yard drive.

But his opposite number Mark Crossley was forced into a fine save just before the quarter-hour when he got down well to gather a Dyer shot from close range.

The linesman's flag denied Hughes an opening goal a minute later - the striker flagged after he received an incisive ball from Mark Allott and slipped the ball beyond Fielding.

Athletic continued to carve out some decent attacking opportunities, coming close when a stretching Fielding tipped a Liddell cross away from the waiting Chris Taylor at the back post.

Town's Ryan Gilligan shot wide just before the half-hour before Hughes had a second effort chalked off for offside in a close decision.

And the Latics striker must have been cursing his luck in first-half injury time when he wriggled free in the box and crashed a shot against the inside of the post.

Latics kept up the pace in the second half, coming close on 48 minutes when Byfield headed Kelvin Lomax's cross over the bar under pressure from defenders.

Then Byfield surged beyond his marker and fired off a powerful low drive which was well gathered by Fielding at his near post.

Both Byfield and Taylor had shots blocked as Latics kept up the pace, while Byfield blasted into the side-netting from a tight angle with a wide-open Hughes calling for the ball in the middle.

Ex-Latics frontman Leon Constantine caused momentary concern when his neat touch took him beyond the Athletic defence, but his shot was high and wide.

Latics, though, weren't to be denied and earned a penalty when Hughes' tricky footwork took him beyond three defenders - until he was brought crashing down by the lunging Gilligan.

Liddell stepped up and made no mistake, sending Fielding the wrong way from 12 yards for his sixth goal of the season.

Gilligan had a shot blocked as the hosts piled forward in the final ten minutes, but the visiting defence held firm under an aerial barrage.

They were reduced to ten men in bizarre circumstances in injury time when Hughes - who had already been booked for dissent in the first half - received his second yellow card when Walker went down as the two challenged for the ball.

Manager Sheridan sent on Sean Gregan to bolster his back line as Town threw caution to the wind, with keeper Fielding even heading forward to join one attack.

There were some frantic scenes in the box as time ticked away, but Athletic held firm to protect their lead and secure three vital - and richly deserved - League points.