The talk before the game had been of the importance of a performance rather than a result, and despite an excellent win that saw Cobblers inflict a surprise defeat on visitors Port Vale it was still not the scoreline that was the main talking point.
A horror injury to Cobblers striker Alex Nicholls, sustained in scoring the opening goal, saw the rare sight of an ambulance entering the field of play, the striker sustaining a suspected broken leg and receiving treatment for a full 12 minutes.
Such injuries are thankfully rare in modern football and the shock among the crowd, in the home sections at least, was palpable. Nicholls was taken straight to hospital and is likely to be out of action for some considerable time.
His team mates gave the best possible ‘get well soon’ present with a thoroughly deserved victory over their high-flying visitors.
Boothroyd had sprung a major surprise before kick-off by dropping experienced frontman Clive Platt to the bench and switching to a 5-3-2 formation, Tozer dropping back to the centre of defence and Widdowson and East deployed as roving wing backs.
This left a midfield three of Lewis Wilson, the on-loan Emyr Huws and Lewis Hornby – the trio having just four career league starts between them.
Talisman Akinfenwa was partnered up front by summer signing Alex Nicholls.
Cobblers started brightly, with skipper Kelvin Langmead heading over from six yards in the fourth minute after the ball was lobbed back in box when a corner was only half cleared.
But, after weathering the initial storm, Vale surrendered the lead in the 20th minute when Alex Nicholls latched onto an underhit back pass and slotted into an empty net under a heavy challenge from Valiants skipper John McCombe.
However, with Cobblers fans celebrating the breakthrough, it quickly became apparent that Nicholls was seriously injured, laying prostrate in the six yard box.
Referee Richard Clark immediately showed McCombe the red card, sparking a melee on the touch line.
With Nicholls receiving treatment and the Cobblers players visibly shocked at the nature of his injury, concern spread around the ground. Stretchers were brought on and soon after the gates were unlocked and an ambulance arrived on the pitch.
A section of Vale fans did little to endear themselves to home supporters by repeatedly chanting at Nicholls as he received treatment, the ill-feeling tangible as the atmosphere grew ever more concerned as the minutes ticked by.
At least 12 minutes passed between Nicholls scoring and departing in the back of an ambulance, the two sets of players, to their credit, allowing the paramedics to do their job while keeping warm at the other end of the pitch.
Having been reduced to 10 men, Vale brought on centre back Joe Davis for striker Ben Williamson and switched to a 4-4-1 formation.
But Cobblers grew in stature, Hornby and Huws dominating possession in midfield.
The home side thought they had gone 2-0 up in the 42nd minute when Anthony Charles nodded in from a Ben Tozer throw but the linesman inexplicably flagged.
But the frustration was shortlived, a minute later the impressive Akinfenwa slipped the ball through to Louis Moult, who had replaced Nicholls, and the youngster coolly slotted home, much to the delight of the home crowd.
With 14 minutes of added time as a result of Nicholls injury, Cobblers continued to dominate. Moult almost made it three with a curling effort that hit the side netting and Akinfenwa was a constant menace.
However, Cobblers had a lucky escape when Widdowson appeared to bring down Ashley Vincent in the box but ref Clark gave no penalty, with the home fans insisting there had been no contact.
An ugly exchange as the half time whistle blew threatened to boil over as tempers rose between the two teams and, in truth, the interval came at about the right time.
With Cobblers seemingly comfortable, the second half offered them the opportunity to seal the game and a heavy challenge on Akinfenwa in the 50th minute left the home crowd screaming for a penalty but to no avail.
The home side were comfortable in possession and, although perhaps not testing Vale as much as they would like, still had much the better of it at the start of the second half.
Goalkeeper Lee Nicholls had get down smartly at his near post however in the 65th minute to deny Ashley Vincent, his first real action of the afternoon.
The Cobblers midfield pair of Huws and Hornby belied their years with a composed and assured display and were at the heart of all the home side did well in the second half, showing tenacity when it was needed and had time on the ball.
Goalmouth action was minimal and, while it would have been nice to see the home side stretch their lead more, three points was an excellent return.
The thoughts of all Cobblers fans will tonight however be with Alex Nicholls as he faces up to a long spell on the sidelines.
The result was magnificent but the well-being of Nicholls will be the club’s main concern.
Northampton Town 2-0 Port Vale
Northampton Town: L Nicholls, East, Langmead, Charles, Widdowson, Hornby, Tozer, Huws, Wilson (Demontagnac), A Nicholls (Moult), Akinfenwa
Subs not used: Higgs, Platt, Mukendi, Dias, Moyo
Goalscorers: Nicholls (20) Moult (43)
Port Vale: Neal, Yates, Taylor, McCombe, Owen (James), Myrie-Williams, Vincent, Pope, Morsy (Lloyd), Williamson (Davis), Burge
Subs not used: Murphy, Dodds, Johnson, Shuker,
Attendance: 5,061
Away fans: 994
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