Grimes '˜annoyed' by late miss but happy for Cobblers to take a point from Scunthorpe

On the ball: Matt Grimes makes a pass during Saturday's 2-2 draw with Scunthorpe United. Pictures: Kirsty Edmonds

Standing over a free-kick 30 yards from goal as the clocked ticked beyond the 97-minute mark, Grimes had the opportunity to complete the ultimate smash and grab job with one of his trademark set-pieces.

But while on this occasion it was not to be, sending his effort sailing over the crossbar, it was still a productive afternoon for the Cobblers who earned a 2-2 draw that was as important for their points tally as it was for their morale following Tuesday’s home defeat to Gillingham.

“It annoyed me to be honest,” said the 22-year-old on his last-gasp attempt. “It was a tired free-kick at the end. Obviously it was the last kick of the game after putting a big shift in.

“Normally, it’d be a lot better than that but I’ll get back on the training field and keep practising.

“I think it’s a point gained. We’d have taken a point beforehand coming to a strong team like this away from home. It’s a bit disappointing that we gave away the lead a couple of times, but it’s a good point and we need to build on this.”

Of the last six goals scored by Town, Grimes has been instrumental in four. He netted a seventh-minute penalty to open the scoring at AFC Wimbledon last week, provided assists for Ash Taylor and John-Joe O’Toole and it was his set-piece which caused mayhem in the Scunthorpe penalty box as Chris Long nodded home 13 minutes into Saturday’s clash at Glanford Park.

“We work on set-pieces a lot during the week,” added Grimes. “We’ve got our signals and we know exactly where we should be going.

“If I can get my delivery right, we have a lot of big lads and good headers of the ball. I just need to find a space and let the boys do the rest.”

Long’s ninth goal of the season nudged Town into an early lead on Saturday but Funso Ojo and Murray Wallace seized on some sloppy defending as Scunthorpe twice came from behind to keep the Cobblers just a point above the drop zone.

“We got caught on the break for their first,” continued Grimes. “We threw a few numbers forward and we tried to get back but no one closed him down and he punished us.

“The second goal, I think it was a scrappy one but there’s not much you can do. Richard (O’Donnell) has come and punched it onto the head of Jordan (Turnbull) which has sent it flying up in the air and then it’s anyone’s ball.

“So they were definitely preventable but we’ll take the point.”