Kevin Nolan won his first home game as Northampton boss as the Cobblers held out to beat Huddersfield Town 3-2 at Sixfields.

The Cobblers had been 3-0 up against the promotion-chasing Terriers, with Sam Hoskins, Tom Eaves and Liam Shaw giving the hosts the advantage in the contest.

Huddersfield gave Northampton a scare when Herbie Kane and Jonathan Hogg scored goals to trim the host’s advantage down from three goals to one, but despite late chances, Huddersfield couldn’t equalise.

Victory means that Northampton have completed a home and away double over the Yorkshire club this season. It also sees the Cobblers climb a place to 19th in the League One battle, with Nolan’s side now holding a five point lead over the relegation zone.

The game had seemed like a tough test for the Cobblers, despite Huddersfield arriving at Sixfields on the back of two defeats in a row.

Although Huddersfield had most of the possession in the early stages, Northampton had the best opportunity as Jacob Chapman denied Eaves early on.

Just after the half-hour mark, Northampton ended up finding the breakthrough. A ball into the box was flicked back by Eaves and would find Hoskins, who let fly with a first-time strike that duly found the Huddersfield net and put Northampton ahead.

It was soon followed by a second for the hosts. From Terry Taylor’s pass, Eaves was able to outmuscle a covering defender, control the ball and beat Chapman to make it 2-0 to the home side.

Northampton nearly found a third first-half goal when the ball was played into Tarique Fosu in a prime position, only for the Cobblers attacker to miss the target from close range.

Six minutes after the break, however, Northampton would make it 3-0. Cameron McGeehan was able to pick the ball up down the Cobblers’ right flank and feed it inside to Shaw. The recent arrival from Fleetwood duly curled a fine strike into the back of the net to score a second for Northampton in as many matches.

The Cobblers could’ve extended their lead even further, with TJ Eyoma’s crisp strike denied by Chapman.

With 20 minutes to go, Huddersfield would grab a goal back as half-time sub Kane received Callum Marshall’s pass and scored.

Huddersfield then made it 3-2 with just under ten to play, as Hogg fired home a firm strike after a free-kick had initially been blocked.

Sensing a point might be available, Huddersfield pressed hard, with Northampton keeper Nik Tzanev forced into two stops late on to stop goalbound strikes.

But the Cobblers got the job done, holding out to take a first home win since beating Peterborough in early December and take the points.