A five-game winning run was ended at Hartlepool on Tuesday night and, although manager Chris Wilder had been expecting a tough game despite the hosts' being adrift at the bottom of League Two, it was the manner of the goal that Town gave away in a tight contest that frustrated their manager.
Play-off hopes remain alive however and the Cobblers face another struggling outfit in the shape of Mansfield this weekend.
The hosts will be without former Northampton man Ricky Ravenhill due to a hamstring injury while ex-Cobblers loanee Matty Blair is another absentee.
The Stags were beaten at Morecambe in midweek to leave them 21st in the table, nine points behind Town.
Update: Wilder is set to name an unchanged side for the game while Mansfield are waiting on the fitness of central defender Michael Raynes.