On Saturday, 23 March, Northampton Town played Derby County at Sixfields Stadium in a crunch match in League One. The home side recorded an unlikely victory thanks to a first half strike from Sam Hoskins but the main man on the day was none other than Clarence the Dragon.
Clarence is Northampton Town's mascot and he caused quite a stir on Saturday afternoon when he turned comedian for a couple of minutes.
Towards the end of the first half, Derby County won a corner and the ball made its way over to Clarence who was stood on the sidelines. The mascot picked up the ball and threw it away from Derby man, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, who was in a rush to take the set piece.
In reaction to the incident, Mendez-Laing threw his arms out to remonstrate with the dragon, causing the dragon to fall down in a heap in a moment that the crowd and everyone on social media found hilarious. Clarence proceeded to roll around on the floor before getting up and walking away with a limp.
Tim Sherwood, who was covering the match for Sky Sports, found the incident particularly amusing, telling the mascot to “take a bow” in response to his antics.
Northampton mascot having a bit of fun against Derby is exactly what you need to see right now 🤣
— FanHub (@FanHub) March 23, 2024
Mascot mischief: Fans react
The clip has gone down well on social media platform, X, with several fans lapping up the playfulness of the mascot. One fan posted “This Genuinely might be the best thing I've ever seen on Sky Sports News” while another said “Clarence is a legend.”
A third fan added “Now we know what Bruno Fernandes does on his days off” while a Derby County fan admitted that the mascot had him “rattled” with his antics on the day.
Some fans didn't necessarily see the funny side. One person said: “What on earth is that Northampton mascot doing? Can't be allowed that, surely” in reference to the dragon following up his dive by taunting Mendez-Laing as he prepared to take the corner.