The Cobblers beat Paul Simpson`s side 2-0 to move away from the foot of the League Two table but only after the referee had passed a 1pm pitch inspection at a frozen Sixfields.
Cardoza said: "We were fighting the elements all week.
"We hoped the game would get the go ahead at 9.30am on the Saturday morning, but the referee had a few concerns about the South Stand goalmouth.
"He asked to have another look at noon, and after what turned out to be a lengthy inspection there remained a few concerns and reservations about a small area in the goalmouth. The referee asked the groundstaff to do more work on that particular area of concern which they did, and by 1pm they had got all of the pitch into a playable condition.
"We appreciate it was a late decision and apologise to anyone who missed the game because of that but as a club we could not do anything other than do as much as we could as quickly as we could and communicate that as well as we could. The only other option would have been to give up, to call a referee in to look at the pitch on the Friday but then there would only have been one outcome, and our supporters would have missed out on watching a game. In that situation you are damned if you do, and damned if you don't."
Source: PA
Source: PA