Northampton Town trio lavish praise on 'serious team' Wigan Athletic - 'It's no joke!'

That's the view of three members of the Cobblers camp who were impressed by what they saw from Shaun Maloney's men in the 1-1 draw at Sixfields.

Right-back Aaron McGowan said: "They came on really strong in the second half, and you have to give them credit for that.

"For me, they are a very, very under-rated team at this level. We've watched clips throughout this week, and they should be much higher in the table.

"They've missed a lot of chances, they should have put a lot of teams to bed this year, they're full of quality.

"It's hard when you're playing against them, they're a joy to watch sometimes...(Thelo) Aasgaard gets into those pockets, he's some player.

"But you look right through the squad, and they've got serious, serious talent, a lot of Championship players.

"You only have to look at the substitutes that came off the bench...Callum McManaman, Matt Smith, Jonny Smith, Charlie Wyke...they're serious substitutes for League One level, it's no joke.

"There were times we could have made better decisions, but I'll take the 1-1 all day long.

"To keep them to very limited chances, honestly, these are a serious team at this level and it shows how far we've come."

McGowan had added reason to be on his game, coming directly up against a familiar face in Jordan Jones.

"He's a player I know really well to be honest, I've played against him seven or eight times," said McGowan.

"When I was at Kilmarnock, he was bought by Rangers from Kilmarnock, and you don't get bought by Rangers if you're not a good player.

"I knew I was up against it, I knew I had to stand up, my job today was more defensive than attacking, but I put a shift in as best I could.

Manager Jon Brady added: “Wigan are a good side, they move the ball well and cause you all sorts of problems.

“The boys worked extremely hard to nullify them and we dug in and showed huge desire and heart.

“The goal we conceded was a bit sloppy but apart from that we did manage to restrict them to minimal efforts and that’s what was really pleasing.

“We can be better in the final third but we have to be happy with our current run of form.

And goalkeeper Lee Burge said: "In the first half we went toe-to-toe with them, but they came out really well in the second half.

"They upped the tempo a bit and I think we battled really well, and it's good to go toe-to-toe with them because they're a big club."

Northampton took the lead on 16 minutes through a Sam Hoskins penalty, but skipper Josh Magennis levelled for deservedly Latics from close range just after the hour mark.