Northampton Town picked up points on the road after a 3-0 win over 10 man Plymouth Argyle in Devon.

Tom Eaves, Elliot List and Jordan Willis scored the goals for Northampton as they won at Home Park against a Plymouth side who had seen Lorent Tolaj sent off between their first two goals.

Victory was Northampton’s first away win over Argyle since 2016, with the result seeing the Cobblers move up to 14th in the League One table. They are now 7 points clear of the relegation zone and 5 off the play-offs.

Northampton’s last away win had come at Doncaster in mid-October, and they almost suffered some early away day misery when Plymouth’s top scorer Tolaj headed into the side netting in the early moments.

Kevin Nolan’s side then thought they had been given the chance to open the scoring from the penalty spot. The referee initially awarded Northampton a spot-kick for a foul on Terry Taylor in the box, but then u-turned after a consultation with the linesman and the penalty award was rescinded.

There were plenty of further chances in the first half, with Plymouth’s Bali Mumba firing wide in a one-on-one with Northampton keeper Ross Fitzsimons before Ethan Wheatley saw a header glance off the post at the other end.

Wheatley would come close a few moments after the restart, as his driving shot bounced back off the post.

But a goal would come for the Cobblers a few moments later. In front of the travelling fans, Perkins’ cross picked out Eaves, who duly headed past Conor Hazard to make it 1-0 to the visitors.

There would soon be more misery for a Plymouth side that have made a poor start to life in League One, as their top scorer Tolaj was shown a straight red card for an off-the-ball incident where he looked to hit Northampton defender Michael Forbes.

Against 10, the Cobblers duly added two more goals to make the points even more secure. The second came when List, who had just come on, tapped in from Perkins’ cross.

Defender Willis then made it 3-0, scoring a first competitive goal in 6 years after he headed in from Taylor’s corner.

The Cobblers’ attentions now turn to the EFL Trophy, with Northampton playing fellow League One outfit Wycombe on Tuesday night. Their next league game is on December 9th, when they welcome Huddersfield to Sixfields.