The Grecians followed in the footsteps of their Devon rivals Torquay United by coming from a goal behind to win at Sixfields and left the Cobblers just above the relegation zone in League Two.
Town are not a side who tend to either suffer heavy defeats or blow sides away and at the moment the fine margins of the game are going against them.
Boothroyd is steadfast in his belief that, by continuing to do the right things, those margins will turn in due course.
"I'm pleased with a lot of things," he said after the Exeter game.
"The players did what I wanted them to do tactically, I asked for crosses and shots and I got all those.
"But football is like that sometimes. You can be rubbish and win and be brilliant and lose. It doesn't matter what we're doing at the moment, we're just not getting our rewards."
For all that, form on the road will not improve unless the Cobblers break their duck in away games this season, starting at Mansfield on Saturday.