Northampton Town 2-3 Plymouth Argyle: FLW reports as Pilgrims stage stunning comeback over Cobblers | OneFootball

Action from the final day of League One as relegated Northampton Town hosted play-off outsiders Plymouth Argyle.

Plymouth Argyle came from 2-0 down to beat 10-man Northampton Town 3-2 on the final day of the League One season, but the Pilgrims ultimately fell short in the play-off race.

Northampton ripped up the script inside the first 20 minutes by taking a 2-0 lead. Elliott List's composed finish from inside the box was followed up by a rocket from Michael Jacobs five minutes later.

It took Argyle until around the half-hour mark to get on the scoresheet through Lorent Tolaj's close-range effort before Malachi Boateng thumped home from a corner when the Cobblers failed to clear their lines, sending the sides in level at the break.

Northampton had to endure the final 30 minutes of the contest with 10 men when Conor McCarthy received a second yellow card for a crunching challenge on Brendan Wiredu.

Wiredu was involved again 15 minutes later, receiving the ball from fellow substitute Xavier Amaechi before smashing an excellent strike into the bottom right corner of Lee Burge's net.

However, late winners for both Stevenage and Luton denied Argyle a spot in the play-offs after a superb comeback on the day and a great second half of the campaign.

Northampton Town 2-3 Plymouth Argyle

It took Argyle less than 40 seconds to test Burge in the Northampton net. Skipper Joe Edwards found space on the right before cutting the ball back to Pepple, whose shot was gathered by the Cobblers' stopper.

20 seconds later, it should've been 1-0. Tolaj's cross to the back post found Owen Dale arriving completely unmarked, but the winger somehow drifted his effort wide of the post.

The Greens would rue the two early misses, as they found themselves behind after 15 minutes. List used his pace to slip in down the left flank before cutting inside and tucking past Ashby-Hammond.

It was nearly 2-0 not much later when Nesta Guinness-Walker fired a stunning volley towards goal, which Ashby-Hammond had to get his weight behind to prevent it from creeping over the line.

The Cobblers would double their lead in the 18th minute through an absolute peach of a strike. The ball was played to Jacobs on the edge of the box, who leathered a first-time effort off the bar and in.

10 minutes later the Pilgrims struck back when a deflected shot from talisman Tolaj just about beat Burge, slashing the deficit in half and giving the travelling supporters a crumb of hope after a bleak start to the game.

After some sustained pressure, the visitors got themselves back on level terms five minutes before halftime. Northampton failed to clear their lines from a corner, which allowed Boateng to lash home from inside the box.

Another stint of Plymouth pressure brought the first half to a close, with Tom Cleverley's men knocking on the door for a third, but nothing doing before the break.

The first real chance of the second half came 10 minutes in when Ashby-Hammond's goal kick was held up by Tolaj and played into the path of Ronan Curtis, whose shot was well saved by the onrushing Burge.

Substitute Amaechi then cut inside and drilled a daisy-cutter off the turf not long after his introduction, which forced Burge to get down low and hold onto the powerful shot.

A frantic five minutes then ensued with Guinness-Walker coming off with an injury, momentarily reducing Town to 10 men, before they were actually reduced to 10 with McCarthy being shown a second yellow card for a vicious challenge on Wiredu.

The atmosphere inside Sixfields had turned hostile towards referee Ben Speedie, with both sets of fans left feeling somewhat aggravated by some of his decisions, adding to an already tense feel around the ground.

Some heroic defending from substitute Sam Hoskins prevented a certain goal when Curtis followed up on a shot from Wiredu which was spilt by Burge. The attacker was on the line to block the Irishman's shot in the nick of time.

With 15 minutes to go, the moment Argyle fans had been praying for came. Amaechi and Wiredu linked up to create what was a crucial third goal, with the latter rifling home from outside the box.

It had looked so promising for Plymouth's play-off chances, but it would all be in vain, as late winners for both Stevenage and Luton saw the Greens narrowly miss out on the play-offs after a valiant comeback.

Northampton Town player ratings

L. Burge - 5

C. McCarthy - 3 (Sent off 62')

J. Willis - 4

M. Dyche - 4

N. Guinness-Walker - 6 (W. Hoskins 59'(6))

M. Jacobs - 7 (J. Vale 85'(5))

T. Taylor - 5

K. McAdam - 5 (D. Campbell 85'(5))

C. McGeehan - 5

J. Evans - 5 (J. Vale 85'(5))

E. List - 7 (K. Swyer 70'(5))

Unused substitutes: M. Moon-Arnaez, R. Fitzsimons

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Plymouth Argyle player ratings

L. Ashby-Hammond - 6

J. Edwards - 6 (J. MacKenzie 69'(5))

M. Ross - 5 (J. Pleguezuelo 69'(5))

A. Mitchell - 6

W. Harding - 5

O. Dale - 5 (X. Amaechi 55'(6))

M. Boateng - 6

C. Watts - 4 (B. Wiredu 55'(7))

R. Curtis - 6 (M. Sorinola 87'(5))

A. Pepple - 5

L. Tolaj - 7

Unused substitutes: Z. Baker, B. Ibrahim

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Match attendance

There were 7131 fans present for the final game of the season at Sixfields, including an excellent following of 1531 making the trip up from Plymouth.