Northampton boss Jon Brady was delighted after his side secured back-to-back League One wins by beating Reading 3-1 at Sixfields.
The home side were dominant in the first period and goals from Sam Hoskins and Louis Appere gave them a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Reading fought back and Dom Ballard’s goal 24 minutes from time resurrected hope of a comeback, but that was killed off by Mitch Pinnock in stoppage-time.
“I think we showed both sides of our game tonight,” said Brady. “For the first 15 or 20 minutes, I felt we had them on the back foot with how we started and how we played.
“It gave us a strong foothold, especially when we got that early goal from Sam. That was really important but full respect to Reading because I think they are a high level side.
“We watched them over and over and they play with a 4-2-2-2 and their movement is excellent. We compressed them and worked so hard and in the second half we really had to dig in and show a different side to our game.
“They pushed their full-backs right on but we were a threat on the counter-attack and got that third goal at the end.
“We dominated the first 25 minutes and then had to weather a few storms but I’m just pleased to make it back-to-back wins because that’s hugely important at this level.”
Having been docked four points this season, Reading are now third from bottom in League One with just six points from their opening 10 games while Andy Yiadom – an unused substitute – was shown a red card by the referee in stoppage time.
Royals boss Ruben Selles said: “It’s a tough night and again it was the first part of the game where we were not ready.
“We came here with an idea of how to play at the start of the game but we did completely the opposite and it’s difficult to come back after those tough moments.
“We had some opportunities to equalise but their goalkeeper made two fantastic saves and then straight after we concede another goal and that makes it very difficult.
“We did well in the second half, we got the goal and we had chances to score again but you can make mistakes when chasing the game in the last few minutes and we did that.
“We need to reflect and we need to learn quickly. We’re not scoring enough goals but we’re getting into the right positions so we need to be more ruthless and more clinical with our finishing.
“That’s the thing which is stopping us from winning games.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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