Northampton Town suffered a late 2-0 defeat at Stevenage after a game where they played a majority of proceedings with ten players.

Tom Eaves had been sent off for two yellows but Northampton initially held out until the final minutes of the 90, only for Dan Kemp to give Stevenage a late lead.

Jamie Reid added to Northampton’s misery with a second in stoppage time, in a result that means the Cobblers are now winless in six League One games and have slipped into the relegation zone.

The Cobblers had created an early opportunity when Sam Hoskins rippled the side-netting with a free-kick.

Stevenage saw a goal disallowed but the game then had a big shift when the Cobblers were reduced to ten men.

Eaves had already been booked for an early incident with home captain Carl Piergianni, when in the 28th minute, a foul on Elliot List earned him a second booking and his dismissal.

Against ten men, Stevenage initially struggled to create opportunities but a few popped up in the final stages of the first half when Cobblers keeper Nik Tzanev made stops to keep out Louis Thompson’s strike from range and then a save to deny the same player at a corner in stoppage time.

While the game was level at the break, a red card was shown the way of Stevenage boss and former Cobblers player Alex Revell during the half time break.

The game remained 11 v 10 on the pitch, and while Northampton’s Tyler Roberts did see a shot lofted just over, most of the game was played in the Cobblers’ half.

Chances were however at a premium, as Stevenage found a stubborn Northampton rearguard difficult to break down.

With 89 minutes on the clock, however, Northampton’s defence would be breached. Eli King picked up space and his ball from the byline fell the way of Kemp, who lashed a thump past Tzanev.

Defeat was confirmed in stoppage time when Nick Freeman played in Reid to score and make it 2-0.

Northampton duly drop into the bottom four on goal difference and will face a test in their attempts to climb back out when they welcome Nene Valley Derby rivals Peterborough to Sixfields on Monday.