Luckassen gets debut goal as Cobblers & Bristol Rovers draw
Kevin Luckassen scored on his Northampton Town debut as a substitute as the 10-man Cobblers drew with Bristol Rovers.
Rovers struck in a lively first half through Kyle Bennett, but the Dutch striker that signed for the Cobblers on Thursday had an instant impact when he headed in Brendan Moloney’s cross to equalise.
Northampton did have to play the final stages with 10 men after Matt Crooks was given a second yellow card after a foul on Stuart Sinclair.
A lively first half saw both sides miss chances, with Liam Sercombe hitting the bar and Rory Gaffney firing over for the home side, while for Northampton, Chris Long was twice denied by Sam Slocombe and the goalkeeper also kept out Gboly Ariyibi.
The home side took the lead when Bennett tapped in the rebound after an initial strike from Ellis Harrison was kept out.
Luckassen bought the visitors level within seconds of his introduction on the hour mark.
Northampton then had Crooks sent off for a third time this season, but despite late pressure, they held on to take a point that keeps them outside the bottom four on a day when all of the bottom 7 sides who played picked up points.