Northampton Town suffered a 2-1 defeat in the Nene Valley Derby against rivals Peterborough in a game the Cobblers played most of with ten men after an early red card.

The Cobblers saw midfielder Jack Perkins shown a straight red card inside the opening ten minutes, in a decision his boss Kevin Nolan would later describe as very harsh.

Two goals either side of half-time from Peterborough’s Harry Leonard won the game for the Posh, despite Tom Eaves’ goal back for the visitors.

Defeat was Northampton’s first in three league outings. They sit in 14th position in League One after 19 games, though they are just 2 points above the relegation zone in a congested third tier table.

A pivotal moment in the game came when the Cobblers were reduced to ten men with a red card after ten minutes. Perkins was penalised for a high boot on one-time Cobbler Peter Kioso, with the referee showing the Northampton midfielder a straight red.

Luke Williams’ side duly began to put Northampton under pressure, with Ross Fitzsimons denying Archie Collins, Leonard firing wide and the Cobblers keeper Fitzsimons making another stop to thwart Kyrell Lisbie.

A breakthrough would fall for Peterborough in first half stoppage time. Collins teed up Leonard, who duly placed a strike into the net to give the hosts the lead.

Leonard then scored again 3 minutes after the break, as he turned in the rebound after Fitzsimons had denied Lisbie’s initial strike.

With just over 20 minutes to go, however, Northampton would grab a goal back, as a poor back pass by a Peterborough defender released Eaves, who duly scored.

The best chance for an equaliser saw Conor McCarthy have a strike blocked on the line by Collins, with another later goalmouth scramble also just thwarted by Peterborough defenders.

But there was no way back for Northampton as they slid to defeat in Cambridgeshire. Nolan’s side will be seeking a return to winning ways when they welcome AFC Wimbledon to Sixfields on Friday.