Northampton Town's promotion to League One 'an amazing journey'
- Published
Fans watched Northampton Town clinch promotion on a big screen at Sixfields stadium
Northampton Town have sealed promotion to League One with a 1-0 away win against Tranmere. It follows heartbreak last season when the Cobblers missed out on promotion on goal difference on the last day of the campaign. What do the fans think about the team's rise from League Two?
'I've always had faith'
Heidi Green says she has stuck with club through highs and lows
Northampton Town fan Heidi Green says this season has been "fantastic".
"It's had its highs, it started off amazingly and then it took a bit of dip - but I see football like a marriage: in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer," she says.
The 42-year-old has supported the Cobblers since she was six when her father took her to a game at the County Ground.
She is now a "Her Game Too" ambassador, external for the club, which is a national campaign which promotes inclusivity, and took her seven-year-old daughter to the game - her "little Cobbler".
Ms Green, from Northampton, says manager Jon Brady has "not had an easy job" because of player injuries.
"It's so well deserved, I've always had faith," she adds.
'An amazing journey'
Northampton Town fan Martin Maloney (left), pictured with assistant manager Colin Calderwood, says he has been worried about injuries this season
Martin Maloney, from Ecton Brook, says he has "always been glass half full" about the season.
"There have been times with the injuries... where I thought 'what have we got left in the tank' - but again and again Jon Brady has got this bunch of young men pulling together and coming through," he says.
The 49-year-old says the first Northampton Town game he watched was a 0-0 draw at home to Stockport County where he "got the bug", and was then "hooked for life" during the 1986-87 season when Northampton Town won the Fourth Division.
He says this season has "felt inspirational", adding: "They just find a way of getting it done."
'A bit of a rollercoaster'
Northampton Town fans and Sam Hoskins celebrate promotion after the match at Prenton Park
Northampton native Jenny Parker runs the away travel for the Cobblers' supporters club.
The 69-year-old has been connected with the club for over 25 years.
She says Sixfields Travel Club organised seven coaches to take people to and from the game.
For Jenny, this season has "been a bit of a rollercoaster".
Jenny Parker, 69, has worked at Sixfields Travel Club for over 25 years
"We've had some highs, we've had some lows," she says.
Jenny believes Brady has "done well" as the team's manager and that "he's steadied the ship".
She has been "keeping my fingers and my toes crossed" for the promotion to League One.
"Pity we couldn't do it last Saturday but, Northampton Town, we never do it the easy way!"
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