Ryan Jarvis scored the only goal of a game which Boothroyd felt was a typical first of the season encounter as players on both sides found their feet.
He did, however, reserve come criticism for the referee after a red card for summer signing Darren Carter and no caution for veteran striker Richard Cresswell after the York man went down in the penalty area.
Home boss Nigel Worthington felt his side deserved all three points, saying: "We stuck to what we do well," while also confirming his belief that the Cobblers will once again be in among the promotion contenders come May.
For Town, the defeat brings back unhappy memories of their poor away form last season and also throws up some questions marks over how they will fare in front of goal in the new campaign with Boothroyd keen to add to add new faces to his squad before the League Cup tie against MK Dons.
That game takes place at Sixfields on Tuesday night with a 7:45pm kick-off.