Leon McKenzie continued his run of fine goalscoring form but his 16th minute strike was to no avail as Potter, Payne and Craddock netted for the home side.
Despite enjoying the majority of possession at the Kassam Satadium, Ian Sampson's men find themselves in the bottom two of League Two, level on points with 24th-place Hereford United.
The division remains tight but at present it is thoughts of a relegation scrap that will be dominating the discussions at Sixfields.
Sampson remained as upbeat as possible afterwards, telling the official club website: "If the lads keep sticking together and keep grafting then it will turn around for us."