Cobblers put 4 past 10 men Bideford.
The Cobblers got off to the perfect start in part 1 of a 2 week Bideford trilogy with Ed Butcher firing into the bottom corner from outside the area after only 3 minutes.
Both teams soon settled with a couple half chances a piece in a tight game, but just before the half hour mark a rare stray pass from Matt Hurley was pounced upon by Bideford’s Tucker whose composed run took him into space in the box and slot low against an exposed Punchard.
With Bideford in the ascendancy a key moment in the game saw Bideford’s Turner close down Josh Bennett and his late tackle was rewarded with a second yellow card by referee Colin Hubbard.
The second half again saw the Cobblers come flying out of the blocks and on 48 minutes a freekick that Ross Mcerlain headed against the woodwork but the chance saw snapped up by Phil Ormrod who made sure from 8 yards.
From that point onwards it was one way traffic as the Cobblers made the extra man advantage pay and kept pressing for that crucial next goal. They were made to wait for it until the 83 minute with Jamie Short receiving the ball with space on the left flank who raced into the box and cut in to unleashed a powerful shot that looked to be going wide until it hit a Bideford defender and bobbed into the back of the net.
The Cobblers continued to press and wrapped it up two minutes later when some good play in the center of the park saw Short again put through this time down the right and his shot nestled into the far bottom corner.
Man of the match was Ed Butcher chosen by match sponsor Aaron Cribb.
Next up is Somerset Premier Cup tie away at Paulton Rovers on tuesday night.