GRIMSBY Town battled to a scoreless draw against Northampton Town, in a game where both sides were reduced to 10 men.

The Mariners had chances to snatch all three points on a windy day at Sixfields, with Danny North going closest deep into added time.

The home side had edged the first half, with striker Adebayo Akinfenwa guilty of missing numerous chances to send the Cobblers in at the break with the advantage.

The game could have turned 10 minutes into the second half, when home defender Peter Gilbert was dismissed for bringing North down when he was the last man.

But Grimsby could not capitalise on having the extra man and they went down to 10 themselves when Rob Atkinson was sent off 11 minutes from time.

That proved to be the cue for a frantic end to the game, where both teams went all-out for the win but ultimately, failed to make that crucial breakthrough.

A vastly improved performance in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy defeat at Leeds United meant there was no need for Neil Woods to make any changes to his Town side for the trip to Northamptonshire.

That meant strike duo Barry Conlon and Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro had to be content with places on the substitutes' bench as Adrian Forbes and North were again given the nod up front.

Nick Colgan began in goal, with Peter Bore remaining in the right-back slot and Olly Lancashire, Atkinson and Damien McCrory completing the defence.

Jamie Clarke started on the right side of midfield, with Michael Leary partnering Peter Sweeney in the centre of the park and Jammal Shahin continuing down the left wing.

Forbes and North were the strikers, with Leigh Overton, Joe Widdowson, Bradley Wood, Paul Linwood and Danny Boshell joining Conlon and Akpa Akpro on the bench.

Northampton were looking to pull further away from the bottom end of the league table after two wins from their previous three games took them clear of the drop zone.

The likes of big frontman Adebayo Akinfenwa and his strike partner, Steve Guinan would be out to cause problems in front of Colgan's goal and do the damage for the hosts.

Guinan was a name familiar to Mariners fans after his goal for Cheltenham in the 2006 Play-Off final denied Town promotion to League One.

The first attempt of the afternoon came on three minutes and saw Guinan go close for Northampton.Luckily for Grimsby, the forward shot wide from close range.

Leary was the first to be shown the yellow card for a foul on John Curtis on the halfway line after eight minutes and from the free kick, McCrory was forced to concede a corner.

That led to a second flag-kick after taking a deflection off Forbes but referee Keith Stroud spotted an infringement after the delivery and blew for a free kick to Town.

Neither side had made much of an attacking impact in the opening 20 minutes as both teams battled against the harsh conditions.

Akinfenwa had an opportunity for the home side but his header from Ryan Gilligan's cross was off-target, before Town missed a good chance at the other end.

Both Forbes and Shahin failed to make contact with the ball following a Clarke cross after good work by North.

Grimsby's first corner came on 26 minutes after a cross was blocked by Andy Holt.Sweeney's kick failed to find a blue shirt and was comfortably caught by keeper Chris Dunn.

Clarke then tried his luck with a free kick from the left after a foul on Forbes but it only produced the same result as Dunn gathered.

Another set-piece opportunity came when Guinan fouled McCrory but when Atkinson flicked on after Sweeney's delivery, the whistle blew for a foul by Lancashire.

Then, shortly after the half-hour mark, the home side could have taken the lead when Akinfenwa was put through on goal but Colgan ran off his line to put the big man off his shot.

Sweeney conceded a corner six minutes before the break but Patrick Kanyuka could not get any direction on his header and the ball was cleared away for a throw-in.

Akinfenwa was in the thick of the action again when he rose above the Town defence to head a cross towards goal but Colgan managed to get a hand to the effort before the ball was cleared from danger.

Two added minutes were played at the end of a first half that had produced few chances for either side.Northampton had shaded the goalmouth action but Grimsby had stood up to the limited Cobblers threat.

Luke Guttridge tried to send the home side into the dressing rooms with the lead when he had a shot blocked on the line after appeals for handball were turned down by Mr Stroud.

The resulting corner was cleared by Forbes and as the whistle blew for half-time, the Mariners were still level.

No changes were made at the interval and Town began brightly after the restart, with some good play by Shahin contributing to a spell of Grimsby pressure in the opening few minutes of the half.

Curtis was booked for a foul on Leary before the first major talking point of the half, when defender Peter Gilbert was adjudged to have brought North down, 25 yards from goal.

As Gilbert was the last man, referee Stroud brandished the red card, despite pleas from the Northampton man that he had won the ball.Sweeney's free kick was comfortably saved by Dunn.

The hosts replaced Akinfenwa with Paul Rodgers and sent on Liam Davis for Curtis soon after the sending-off, as they reverted to a 4-4-1 formation.

Despite being at a disadvantage numerically, the Cobblers were still looking to attack whenever possible, with Gilligan firing a shot narrowly wide from the edge of the penalty area on 55 minutes.

At the other end, Clarke won the ball on the right and sent over a cross but Shahin was beaten to it by Dunn as the Mariners also looked to make the crucial breakthrough.

A Clarke corner from the left was taken short to McCrory but his looping cross was too strong for Lancashire inside the box.

Chances were now starting to come with more regularity and Northampton were almost in when an attempted Bore clearance ricocheted off Sweeney.Substitute Davis picked the ball up but could only find the side netting with a fierce left-footed drive.

Woods made his first substitution on 66 minutes, with Barry Conlon chosen as the man to come off the bench and replace Forbes.

Leary then had a chance to put the Mariners ahead after a good attacking move but his shot was deflected through to Dunn in the home goal.

Down the other end of the pitch, Colgan was forced into making a good save when Guinan headed towards goal.The stopper turned the effort away for a corner, which was cleared from the danger zone by Sweeney.

Billy McKay replaced Guinan for the last quarter of an hour of the game, while Joe Widdowson came on in place of Shahin for the Mariners.

Both teams were still pushing hard for what was looking increasingly as if it would be a winning goal but Grimsby's task was made harder when their numerical advantage was wiped out.

Atkinson was the man to be shown the red card after he stretched for the ball but caught Davis, bringing him down.

Paul Linwood was sent on to fill the gap in the centre of the Town defence that was left by Atkinson's dismissal, with Clarke the man to make way.

Grimsby could have opened the scoring when McCrory was played in by North but his shot was kept out by Dunn, before Linwood shot inches wide from 12 yards following the resulting corner.

A challenge by Lancashire denied Davis at the other end as Northampton began another spell of attacking pressure around the 85-minute mark.

Linwood's challenge then kept out Davis after a cross from Rodgers in what was becoming a frantic finale.The home supporters appealed for a penalty but the referee ruled the centre-back's challenge to be a fair one and play continued.

Town were also looking to snatch the victory, with Sweeney and then North having crosses cut out.

Gilligan fed Guttridge for the hosts but Lancashire snuffed out the danger as he got across to clear.

Four additional minutes were signalled at the end of the 90, giving both sides extra time to snatch a goal.

And the pattern of the previous 10 minutes continued, with first Northampton, then Grimsby, both wasting good chances to win the game.

The home side's opportunity came when a goalmouth scramble followed a long throw, before right-back John Johnson headed narrowly wide.

The Mariners then broke on the counter-attack, with Sweeney and McCrory linking up before the Plymouth loanee played in North.With just seconds remaining, the striker was through on goal but he could not keep his shot down and instead, watched it go inches over the bar.

That proved to be the last opportunity of the game, meaning Town had a point to show for their battling efforts, which may prove to be vital later in the season.

It also gave the team something to build on after being knocked out of two cup competitions in the previous week, ahead of the trip to Lincoln City next Saturday.

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