Cobblers boss Rob Page: 'We gifted Chesterfield the goals and should have had a penalty.'

Northampton Town boss Rob Page said Chesterfield were gifted their goals in the 3-1 Spireites win at the Proact.
Chesterfield vs Port Vale - Port vale manager Rob Page - Pic By James WilliamsonChesterfield vs Port Vale - Port vale manager Rob Page - Pic By James Williamson
Chesterfield vs Port Vale - Port vale manager Rob Page - Pic By James Williamson

Page was speaking after watching his side taste defeat for the first time since December 2015.

The former Chesterfield defender bemoaned the Cobblers’ defending as Connor Wilkinson bagged a brace and Kristian Dennis scored his first Football League goal.

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“You can look at all three goals, and we have had a couple of deflections, and it was disappointing from that point of view,” said Page.

“Defensively all season we have looked outstanding and every single man has put a shift in, but at this level if one or two just switch off then you get punished, and that’s what happened.

“Chesterfield didn’t have to work too hard for their goals, and we gifted them to them a little bit, which is something we can correct.

“If we had been torn apart today then I would be worried, but we haven’t been.

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“We gave the ball away too cheaply at times, defensively we were far too stretched, and maybe that is because we were on this run.

“We were full of confidence coming into the game, and perhaps we should have been a little bit more disciplined in our defending, as we have been irrespective of playing home or away.

Page was also unhappy that referee Robert Jones didn’t give a spot-kick in the opening minutes of the game, when Alex Revell went down in the box.

“We should have had a penalty after four minutes,” said the Northampton boss.

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“Everybody in the stadium could see, the fourth official tells me it’s a penalty, he sees what I see, and it is a two-handed push in the back of Revs.

“The referee doesn’t give it, and I think if the defender does that in the 20th minute then it’s a penalty. It was a big decision, and he didn’t give it, and then we concede the goal in the manner we did.”