"I thought we at least deserved a point out of the game, but when we went down to 10 men it was always going to be really difficult," admitted Stevenage boss Graham Westley after Darius Charles's red card hampered the home sides hopes of cancelling out Northampton's lead.
"We had chances, though, and their keeper made some good saves. But it's frustrating because we've played well in patches and then shot ourselves in the foot.
"We conceded an early goal and then when you've got 10 men you're always going to be chasing the game and it's always going to be difficult."
Ian Sampson was more than happy to see the final whistle blown as the Cobblers came under late pressure.
"We had to defend really well at the end, but I thought we defended well all afternoon," he said.
"It's a good three points for us because it's a tough place to come here and obviously Stevenage are full of confidence having got promoted.
"Overall it was a decent performance but I'd have liked that second goal to have killed off the tie. When it's 1-0 you're always in danger of conceding a sucker punch. But credit to the lads because we stuck at our task and I thought we deserved the points."