Five from 5,000 - memorable Cobblers league matches

Northampton Town celebrate promotion in the League Two play-off final in 2020. Manager Keith Curle is centrally positioned in a blue jumper and his players are wearing black shirts. Sam Hoskins is standing behind the trophy with a bottle of champagne.
The Cobblers won what is believed to be the first Wembley final behind closed doors in 2020 [PA Media]

Northampton Town Football Club played a milestone match on Saturday.

Their 1-1 draw at Cambridge United in League One was the Cobblers' 5,000th league game since the club's formation in 1897.

BBC News looks back at five memorable matches from 128 years of history.

17 April 1965: Promotion to the First Division

In the 1960s the club enjoyed a rapid rise, achieving three promotions in five years, culminating in their only season in the top flight of English football in 1965-66.

On 17 April 1965, their place in the Division One was sealed with a 4-1 win against Bury at Gigg Lane, with a brace of goals from Don Martin and one each from Bobby Brown and Joe Kiernan.

The Cobblers ultimately finished behind Newcastle United as runners-up in Division Two.

Black and white image of Dave Bowen who is wearing a suit and white shirt.
Manager Dave Bowen oversaw Northampton's remarkable rise through English football in the 1960s [Getty Images]

It meant the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea were welcomed to the County Ground - the club's home until 1994 and shared with Northamptonshire County Cricket Club.

Despite memorable wins over Aston Villa, Fulham and West Ham, Town narrowly missed out on a second season in the sun.

Incredibly, by the conclusion of the 1968-69 season they had been relegated back to Division Four (League Two) to bring about Northampton's very own sense of the swinging sixties.

8 May 1993: Back from the brink

Since the late 60s, Northampton Town have played all of their league football in either the third or fourth tier of English football.

The club has had several brushes with relegation to non-league football on more than one occasion since, but perhaps the closest was on 8 May 1993.

The Cobblers fought back from 2-0 down at half-time to beat Shrewsbury Town 3-2 at Gay Meadow and secure their status as a Football League club.

The winning goal famously rebounded off striker Pat Gavin's backside as he charged down a clearance by the Shrews' goalkeeper to the delight of thousands of travelling fans.

Survival in 1992-93 almost counted for nothing when the Cobblers finished bottom of Division Four the following season - but they were spared relegation after Conference winners Kidderminster Harriers were told their stadium did not meet the Football League's capacity requirements.

It also meant that life at the club's new Sixfields Stadium did not begin in non-league ...

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