Northampton Town picked up their first win of the new season with a 2-0 home win over Exeter City.

First half goals by Ethan Wheatley and Max Dyche did the job for Kevin Nolan’s Cobblers, who picked up a first competitive victory since beating Shrewsbury at Easter.

The win saw Northampton pick up a first win of the new League One season at the fifth attempt.

Seeking the move on from a midweek home defeat to Lincoln, the Cobblers made a flying start against the Devon club with a goal inside the opening minute.

Nesta Guinness-Walker’s pass released Wheatley, who cut inside, evaded a covering Grecians defender and fired past Exeter goalkeeper Joe Whitworth. The goal was Wheatley’s first since joining on loan from Manchester United.

Northampton continued to press in the hunt for a second goal and it would come after 16 minutes, as a deflected Tyrese Fornah cross ended up with Dyche, who scored the goal.

Things could’ve got better for the home side, who looked likelier in the first half to score than concede. Cameron McGeehan narrowly failed to strike from a long throw, before Fornah saw a volley just bounce wide and Whitworth made a stop to thwart Sam Hoskins.

Wheatley then saw a chance denied by Whitworth in the opening minute of the second half, as Northampton attempted to make it 3-0.

The Cobblers couldn’t quite create a multitude of further opportunities after that, but Exeter also struggled to create chances, with their best seeing Ethan Brierley denied by Lee Burge in the 90th minute of the game.

No further chances fell after that, allowing Northampton to toast a job well done as they got the previously elusive victory.

Northampton will now seek to make it back-to-back victories when they play Leyton Orient in East London next weekend.