Dan Kemp and Jamie Reid grabbed late, late goals to end 10-man Northampton’s dogged resistance at the Lamex Stadium and hand Stevenage a much-needed 2-0 victory.
Both teams began the evening nursing five-match winless streaks in League One, scoring just five times between them during their miserable runs.
And Northampton’s chances of getting anything diminished in the 28th minute when Tom Eaves was sent off by referee Scott Jackson for a second booking following a clumsy foul on Elliott List.
A fractious game had been delayed just seconds after kick-off when Boro skipper Carl Piergianni and striker Eaves clashed near the touchline, sparking a melee.
Once referee Jackson had restored order by booking both players, Sam Hoskins went close for the visitors when he drove a fierce free-kick just the wrong side of Murphy Cooper’s post.
Yet the ultimately decisive flashpoint occurred when Eaves was shown a second yellow card for a needless challenge on List in the middle of the park. It was an unfortunate incident for the 32-year-old, who has struggled for game time since signing for Jon Brady’s men last summer.
Nathan Thompson worked Town goalkeeper Nik Tzanev in the 45th minute with a fierce shot from 25 yards which was parried to safety. Then Tzanev denied him again by smothering his point-blank header from Harvey White’s corner deep into first-half stoppage time.
Boro manager Alex Revell was also sent-off at the break for venting his frustration towards referee Jackson.
The hosts spent most of the second period camped in Northampton’s half, but struggled to create clear-cut chances against the Cobblers’ well-drilled defence.
But with one minute of normal time left on the clock, Kemp fired substitute Eli King’s cutback past Tzanev, then fellow sub Nick Freeman teed-up Boro forward Reid to smash another effort into the net to seal the points.
