Northampton Town vs Luton Town FC (25th Oct 2025)

25/10/2025 NORTHAMPTON 0-1 LUTON TOWN

Fanne strike gives Wilshere first win in charge

New boss celebrates first victory thanks to midfielder's second half strike

The Jack Wilshere era is off and running as Lamine Fanne’s goal earned the new Town boss his first win in charge at Northampton.

The midfielder slid home Izzy Jones’ cross with 13 minutes left to spark scenes of wild celebration in the away end and on the touchline.

And although the Hatters restricted the hosts to limited chances, the Cobblers almost snatched a late, late point but Hakeem Odoffin, making his first appearance of the season since joining from Rotherham, cleared Ethan Wheatley’s shot off the line in the sixth minute of added time to help secure victory.

It started with the Wilshere making three changes to the side that lost against Mansfield last weekend with Nigel Lonwijk, Cohen Bramall and Jake Richards coming in. Millenic Alli missed out through illness.

The Town started brightly and the first big chance of the afternoon came in 11th minute when Jordan Clark’s low cross from the left was poked over the bar by Nahki Wells from close range.

Both sides struggled to carve out many clear-cut chances in the first half with Gideon Kodua’s shot saved on 38 minutes and Lonwijk’s back-post header a moment later stopped by home goalkeeper Ross Fitzsimons.

After the break the Town continued to press, dominating possession, and they came close to breaking the deadlock eight minutes into the second period when Clark’s super curling effort was headed to safety by Cobblers defender Jordan Thorniley.

Whenever the hosts threatened, it was on the counter, and the Hatters needed to be alert on 55 minutes when Tyrese Fornah saw a shot turned behind by Josh Keeley.

But it was all the Town and shortly before the hour mark they came even closer to taking the lead when the lively Kodua stormed forward and saw his effort rattle the crossbar.

Clark hobbled off with an injury and his replacement Jerry Yates was the next to come close for the Town – this time the striker delaying his shot and forced behind by Fitzsimons.

Yates was denied again by Fitzsimons on 65 minutes before the Town then survived a goalmouth scramble at the other end as the hosts pushed for a goal themselves.

And the Cobblers spurned their best chance of the game on 74 minutes when a ball swung to the back-post found Wheatley but, unmarked in the six-yard box, the striker could only shoot straight at Keeley.

It was a massive let-off for the Hatters and they made the hosts pay three minutes later. George Saville pinged a wonderful pass out to Jones, himself just on for his first appearance of the season. The winger darted goalwards down the left and squared for Fanne to slide home from close range for his first in Luton colours with 13 minutes left on the clock.

Ahead, the Town then needed Keeley once more to stop a low free-kick from ex-Hatter Cameron McGeehan from finding the bottom corner on 81 minutes.

As time ticked down the Hatters needed to see out six added minutes to secure victory.

But in the final moments there was one final chance for the hosts. Kal Naismith made a hash of a defensive clearance to allow Wheatley the chance to slot past Keeley. However, as the ball rolled agonisingly towards goal, Odoffin sprinted back to clear off the line with millimetres to spare.

It was a crucial contribution on his first appearance in a Luton shirt and was celebrated like a goal given its significance and the Hatters held out the final moments to give Wilshere his first win in charge.

The result closes the gap on the teams above the Town in the table but it’s cup action next up for the Hatters with a Vertu Trophy fixture on Tuesday followed by Forest Green on Friday in the FA Cup. We’ll see you then.

Up the Town.

Town: Keeley, Lonwijk (sub Odoffin 87), Bramall, Mengi, Naismith, Saville, Richards (sub Andersen 87), Fanne, Kodua (sub Jones 73), Clark (sub Yates 60), Wells.

Subs not used: Shea, Nordås, Nelson.

Attendance: 8,029, the biggest crowd ever at Sixfields, including 1,551 backing the Hatters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vofZrvCaOAQ – Jack Wilshere post match interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W23EPwY8kvw – match highlights

League One: Northampton Town 0 Luton Town 1

Fanne nets first Luton goal to earn Wilshere his maiden win as Hatters boss

Lamine Fanne scored his first goal for the Hatters to secure Jack Wilshere’s maiden victory as Luton manager at Northampton Town this afternoon.

The Spanish midfielder struck with just 13 minutes of the contest left, sliding in from the fit-again Izzy Jones’ low cross as the visitors won for the first time at Sixfields since 2001, Town ending a run of three straight defeats in the process. Before kick-off, Wilshere had made three changes for the clash, with both full backs changing, Nigel Lonwijk and Cohen Bramall in for Christ Makosso, who dropped out completely, Kal Naismith moving inside to partner Teden Mengi, with Mads Andersen on the bench.

In attack, Milli Alli was absent with illness, as Jake Richards was recalled, while there was excellent news on the bench, as both Jones and Hakeem Odoffin were able to be named for the first time this campaign, the duo going on to play a huge part in the end result. Early on, Town kept things tight at the back, as they created the one real opening too, Nahki Wells, who kept his place despite missing from the spot against Mansfield last weekend, seeing his attempt deflected behind.

Luton should have led on 11 minutes though when Clark sent over a low cross that the Cobblers defence bizarrely opted to leave, Wells sliding in to stab well over the bar from a matter of yards. Naismith then had a terrific few minutes in enemy territory full of tricks and flicks, one backheel in particular catching the eye as he won yet another free kick that saw Bramall have a crack, only to see it nick off the wall and fly behind.

Town continued to remain on top, but they weren’t able to really turn their ascendancy into another clear-cut opportunity until 38 minutes, when Naismith finally saw one of his passes upfield able to hold up and release Gideon Kodua. He managed to fashion a shooting opportunity, firing goalwards on his right foot which took a nick, Wells, for some reason, opting to let the ball bounce across for a corner rather than finish what looked like a certain tap in.

The resulting corner was cleared out and put back into the box where Lonwijk met it, his header from a tight angle repelled by the legs of keeper Ross Fitzsimons. In injury time, Kodua was cynically hauled back when breaking away, as the free kick was sent forward by Naismith, rebounding out to Fanne who connected well with his volley, only to miss the target by a few yards.

Town made a positive start to the second period too, Wells looking to break away, as on his second foray, he found Kodua who was able to pick out Clark, the midfielder curling goalwards, with a home defender getting an absolutely vital flick on it, as keeper Fitzsimons didn’t look like he was going to reach it. With the game then entering the kind of chaos moments Wilshere had talked about beforehand, Luton might have won a penalty when Richards got into the box and was pushed over Kamarai Swyer, who could have been sent off if it was given, only to see referee Matt Corlett give nothing.

The Cobblers then had their best spell of play on 55 minutes, Swyer getting up the other end and almost finding the net, Keeley out to deflect behind with his legs. Town were still the more likely though, Kodua free on the left, as he motorward away and cut inside, curling in another shot which beat Fitzsimons, but didn’t quite dip enough, hitting the bar and bouncing down, rebounding against the lurking Wells and going over the bar.

Clark then went off with an injury which saw Yates on with an hour gone and he should have scored with his first touch, a goal kick being sent back through the middle, sending the sub clean through, but with Fitzsimons committing himself, rather than dink him, the summer signing oddly tried to go round him, with the angle already tight, allowing the keeper to tip behind.

The worry was that Luton were going to be made to pay for their missed chances and it almost happened on 66 minutes when a good move saw the hosts go close, Richards of all people back to make a vital last-ditch challenge to prevent that happening. With 18 minutes left, Jones came on for his first outing of the season in place of Kodua, as Luton should have been behind 60 seconds later, a cross in met by Ethan Wheatley who put his volley straight at a hugely grateful Keeley.

It was Luton who broke the deadlock on 77 minutes though as George Saville arched a lovely pass out to the left flank where Jones took off and sent in a low ball that saw Fanne busting a lung to reach it first, sliding in to send the 1,500 travelling fans wild with his first goal for the club. Having moved in front, Town then came under attack, from one of their former players too as Cameron McGeehan’s 20-yard free kick was well parried away by Keeley, with the midfielder breaking into the box to meet a long throw, but putting it straight at the Irishman.

Mengi showed his positional sense to head away two deep crosses, as Odoffin got his first outing in a Hatters shirt for the final three minutes, with Andersen on too as Luton looked to bolster their back-line with the incoming aerial bombardment. Stoppage time saw quite an end to the contest, Naismith with an ill-advised back header that saw Wheatley away to roll his shot beyond Keeley.

It was heading towards goal, only for Odoffin to get back superly and clear the ball off the line, preventing what would have been a crushing leveller. Town then almost got away themselves with a four on one break, Yates playing through Wells, but rather than take the ball wide, he hammered over the bar. Luton still pressed, Bramall’s fierce drive well stopped by Fitzsimons, but fortunately the job was done, allowing Wilshere to celebrate a first triumph with the overjoyed away fans.

Cobblers: Ross Fitzsimons, Cameron McGeehan, Sam Hoskins ©, Kamaral Swyer (Ethan Wheatley 67), Nesta Guinness-Walker, Tyrese Fornah, Jordan Thorniley, Joe Wormleighton (Kyle Edwards 26), Michael Forbes, Jack Perkins (Jordan Willis 67), Terry Taylor.

Subs not used: Lee Burge, Michael Jacobs, Ollie Evans.

Hatters: Josh Keeley, Nigel Lonwijk (Hakeem Odoffin 86), Teden Mengi, Kal Naismith ©, Cohen Bramall, George Saville, Jordan Clark (Jerry Yates 60), Lamine Fanne, Jake Richards (Mads Andersen 86), Gideon Kodua (Izzy Jones 73), Nahki Wells.

Subs not used: James Shea, Zack Nelson, Lasse Nordas.

Booked: Perkins 13, Fanne 40, Swyer 45, Naismith 52.

Referee: Matt Corlett.

Attendance: 8,029 (1,551 Hatters).

Hatters boss declares his Luton players set the bar during Cobblers victory

Town secure first three points of Wilshere’s reign

Luton boss Jack Wilshere felt his side have set the bar with what he thought was a deserved first victory of his managerial reign as the Hatters beat Northampton Town 1-0 at Sixfields this afternoon.

The visitors had the better of the first half, Nahki Wells putting the best opportunity over from close range, but it wasn’t until an end-to-end second period where they finally went ahead, a fit-again Izzy Jones coming off the bench for his first outing of the campaign, crossing for Lamine Fanne to slide in and open his account for the club.

Luton then had to weather an aerial bombardment in the closing stages, which included eight minutes of stoppage time, Hakeem Odoffin, another who was on for his first outing for the club, making a stunning goal-line clearance to prevent Ethan Whestley from bagging a last-gasp equaliser.

With Town’s defence putting in a real shift all afternoon, skipper Kal Naismith back to his best and Teden Mengi winning a huge number of duels, then speaking about the display, Wilshere said: “I’m over the moon, I’m really, really happy for the players, I think they deserve that. I think the work they’ve done and the preparation they’ve done since I’ve been here, has been outstanding. Last week was disappointing, it was, we felt we had some control in the game, but some moments we missed out on and we were punished.

"I think the job today was still to dominate but minimise those moments. We did that and I think we deserved it today. They were outstanding and every day since I’ve been here I’ve been speaking about unity, and what you see on the pitch is unity, Kal missing a header at the end, but Hak’s there and clearing up for him, celebrating like it’s a goal and hugging each other.

"We had to fight, we had to deal with their directness and it was a challenge, it always is when you play against direct teams as anything can happen if you don't win that first duel or even if you do win that fires duel, you have to land on the seconds as they can flip it in behind again, but really, really proud of the players now, as that’s the bar now, we have to keep that level.”