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Newcastle and Northampton Town don't cross paths very often. In fact, their last meeting was in 1987 (a 2-1 Newcastle win). With the Cobblers being in League Two, the cups are the only way for the two sides to meet. So, here at Coming Home Newcastle, we figured we would get you up to speed on the 118 year history of Northampton Town.
The Cobblers - named such because Northampton is known for their shoe making, not their desserts - were founded in 1897. In all of those years, Northampton Town have played exactly one season in top flight: 1965-66, in which they were promptly relegated. The Cobblers rose from the Fourth Division to the First in the span of five seasons, but were back in the Fourth Division by 1969-70. Fun historical fact: Northampton beat Newcastle in their only season in the First Division.
When it comes to the cup competitions, their best finish was the quarterfinals of the Football League Cup, their last such appearance coming in 1967.
For most of their existence, the Cobblers have remained in the third or fourth division. They've been in League 2 since the 2009-10 season. In their current spell in League 2, their best finish was sixth in 2012-13.
In their current season, Northampton has been up and down. The Cobblers won their first two games, earning clean sheets. And then, they've lost the last two matches, being shut out in each one. This has been somewhat par for the course, as Northampton is 31-15-31 under manager Chris Wilder. On the pitch, the Cobblers are led by Marc Richards was the club's leading goal scorer last year, tallying 18 goals.
While Northampton Town has not seen much luck in cup competitions, they have acted as giant killers. The Cobblers have earned two wins over Premier League clubs in the past seven seasons, beating Bolton in 2008 and Liverpool in 2010. This might be seen as bad news for a Newcastle side that has quite famously struggled in cup tournaments, but the second round has been quite friendly to the Mags. Newcastle hasn't lost in this round since 1990.