For an hour, Stevenage held a slender single-goal advantage against Northampton who were at times under siege.
Stevenage had the home fans roaring when they took a fifth minute lead through George Boyd, a player whose certainly added a few thousand pounds to his transfer value with another outstanding performance.
Watched again by Leeds, Ipswich, Luton and Crystal Palace, Boyd's goal was carved from nothing but finished with a touch of brilliance.
Receiving the ball from Dannie Bulman at the corner of the penalty area, Boyd ghosted past two Northampton players before unleashing a fierce left-foot shot into the corner of the net leaving keeper Lee Harper helpless.
For the remainder of the first half the game was constantly fought in midfield but Northampton always threatened to snatch an equaliser.
Scott McGleish went close on three occasions and Josh Low should have equalised on 37 minutes when he was unmarked in the area but shot tamely at Stevenage keeper Alan Julian.
Pedj Bojic came closest to hauling Northampton level on the stroke of half time but his thundering header from David Hunt's cross was clawed from under the bar by Julian.
Northampton stepped up a gear in the second half and began to dictate proceedings as Stevenage were forced on the defensive for long periods.
The equaliser for Northampton finally came on 67 minutes when Bojic found space and time in the area to send a low shot into the far corner of the net past an unsighted Julian.
The game was cast into controversy on 81 minutes when Northampton were awarded a penalty after Barry Laker had brought down Low.
This time McGleish made no mistake with the spot kick, sending Julian the wrong way.
But eight minutes from time, Elding, who has been out of favour at the club following a series of disputes with manager Graham Westley, fired Stevenage's equaliser.
Northampton's defence failed to cut out the danger on the right and Bulman fired the ball forward into the path of Elding who flicked it past the advancing Harper.
The game was then on a knife-edge and tempers boiled over between the two dugouts and the police were forced to separate a number of players.
In the dying seconds Stevenage goal-hero Boyd almost snatched a dramatic winner with a dipping 30-yard shot that was only inches wide.