It has been an eventful few days for Bristol Rovers defender Craig Hinton.

After the birth of his first child – a baby boy called Ted – just before Christmas, he found himself left on the bench for the disappointing Boxing Day home defeat by MK Dons.

Restored to the side at a bitterly cold Sixfields, he was part of an improved Pirates performance as the visitors withstood early Northampton pressure before carving out more than enough chances to have won the game in the second half.

Hinton even came close to claiming the winner himself on at least two occasions, only to be thwarted by some desperate Cobblers defending.

"I think I'm destined never to score again given the way things went for me in front of goal," said Hinton.

"One attempt hit Jo Kuffour and another was cleared off the line. There were a lot of scrambles in their goalmouth and one of their players made a great block when Rickie Lambert looked like scoring.

"The lads were really disappointed by the performance they put in against MK Dons and in the huddle before this game we talked about standing up to be counted and playing for each other. I think that showed in the performance.

"We had a bit of luck early on, but in the end we were disappointed not to take all three points."

Both sides will be wondering how they failed to emerge with three points after a game that saw some amazing escapes at both ends. Northampton, who rattled the woodwork in the first minute when Adebayo Akinfenwa smacked the inside of the post from 18 yards, had by far the better of the early exchanges.

The Cobblers' big front man also found the back of the net with a header from a corner but saw his attempt controversially ruled out for a push – a decision that bemused Northampton boss Stuart Gray – although there was little doubt the officials were right when Scott McGleish's later attempt was ruled out for offside.

Bristol Rovers rode their luck but started to get a foothold as the first-half wore on, Craig Disley making the wrong decision when shooting from an angle and finding only the side-netting when team-mates were waiting for a cross, while Chris Lines curled a 20-yarder over the top just before the interval.

The second half was a much more open affair with Northampton benefiting from a refereeing decision early on when Rickie Lambert's cross appeared to strike a Northampton hand as Disley moved in to try and capitalise.

Lambert, coming more and more into the game, unleashed a stinging 30-yarder which keeper Chris Dunn fingertipped over the top, while at the other end there was a scare for Rovers when Simon Jackman's shot struck Akinfenwa's leg and flew over the bar.

But in the ensuing 20 minutes, the home side's goal led a charmed life with Stuart Campbell's set-piece deliveries often the cause of alarm.

Dunn was grateful for three or four goal-line clearances with Hinton, Lambert and Jeff Hughes among the thwarted, while Lines and Campbell saw shots fly just the wrong side of the woodwork.

Dunn did well to scramble a Lambert header away himself, while substitute Leon Constantine wastefully put a free header wide for the home side.

After their poor showing two days earlier, Rovers at least restored some pride and could take plenty of positives from their display – not least from the way their fitness allowed them to continue to take the game to their opponents over the final stages.

Northampton may have felt hard done by before the break, but they would have been the happier of the two sides to hear the final whistle as Rovers continued to press for the winner their second-half performance probably deserved.

"I was just a bit disappointed we couldn't get our noses in front when we were on top in the first half," reflected Cobblers boss Gray.

"I couldn't see why Adebayo's goal was ruled out. He's a big lad and he gets penalised a lot, but it looked a good goal to me.

"The ball was bouncing about in our 18-yard box and six-yard box quite a bit during a spell of the second half. Some of the referee's decisions allowed Bristol Rovers to come onto us, but we defended well and kept a clean sheet. That gives us something to build on."

It was Rovers' final outing of an eventful 2008 and now they have an enforced nine-day break before returning to action at Crewe on January 6.

But for new dad Hinton, you suspect the real hard work is just about to begin.

"My partner Nicki has been dealing with all the feeding and crying since the baby arrived – now I'll probably have to do my share," he said.

"I have asked about some paternity leave, but I can't see it happening!"