Strikes from Ryan Gilligan and Courtney Herbert as well as an own goal from Ian Sharps earned Northampton victory.
Gilligan gave Northampton an early lead when he fired into the net through a group of players from outside the box.
Their lead was extended when Herbert found the net from the edge of the area via the underside of the crossbar.
Sharps then headed Luke Guttridge's fierce drive into his own net before Adam Le Fondre grabbed a late consolation from the penalty spot.
Northampton Town caretaker manager Ian Sampson told BBC Radio Northampton:
"It's a relief for everyone. Fans, players, caretaker managers, chairmen. Thoroughly deserved, I thought.
"It was a gamble [starting with Courtney Herbert] but I said before I took over, what's the point of keeping the same side as Stuart [Gray]? I was determined to make changes, and it worked tonight, so it's paid off.
"It was important that we started brightly, because we need the fans on our side. I was pleased for them."
Rotherham manager Ronnie Moore told BBC Radio Sheffield:
"When you consider how well we've played this season to concede the goals we did was disappointing.
"Defensively, we've been a bit all over the place.
"But you could see the passing and movement was there - the difference was in the two boxes."
Live text and stats
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
League Two
Home Team
Score
Away Team
Time
Northampton
3-1
Rotherham
FT
(HT 1-0)
Gilligan 10
Herbert 46
Sharps (og) 58
Le Fondre (pen) 79
Northampton
01 Dunn
03 Johnson yellow card
05 Hinton
06 Beckwith (McCready 75)
19 Curtis
04 Guttridge yellow card
11 Holt yellow card
12 Gilligan
07 Marshall
09 Guinan (Akinfenwa 82)
22 Herbert (Mckay 51)
Substitutes
26 Brown,
20 McCready,
08 Osman,
15 Dyer,
10 Akinfenwa,
17 Mckay,
24 Harris
Rotherham
01 Warrington
03 Green
05 Sharps
06 Fenton
25 Mills (Cummins 67)
02 Tonge
04 Harrison
10 Law
15 Ellison
09 Pope (Taylor 43 yellow card)
39 Le Fondre
Substitutes
30 Annerson,
12 Joseph,
14 Lynch,
07 Cummins,
16 Warne,
29 Liddell,
20 Taylor
Ref: LangfordAtt: 4,017
NORTHAMPTON
ROTHERHAM
Possession
Northampton51%
Rotherham49%
Attempts on target
Northampton2
Rotherham4
Attempts off target
Northampton1
Rotherham3
Corners
Northampton0
Rotherham6
Fouls
Northampton15
Rotherham14
Final Result
Full Time
90:00+4:12 The referee ends the match.
90:00+1:35 Shot by Ryan Taylor. Blocked by Craig Hinton.
90:00+1:28 The ball is crossed by Kevin Ellison.
90:00+0:26 Foul by Nicky Law on Luke Guttridge, free kick awarded. Chris Dunn takes the indirect free kick.
90:00+0:18 Jamie Green delivers the ball, Chris McCready makes a clearance.
86:36 The offside flag is raised against Billy Mckay. Nick Fenton takes the indirect free kick.
85:12 Danny Harrison challenges Adebayo Akinfenwa unfairly and gives away a free kick. Chris Dunn restarts play with the free kick.
84:13 Kevin Ellison delivers the ball, clearance by Chris McCready.
83:09 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Ryan Gilligan by Adam Le Fondre. Chris Dunn takes the indirect free kick.
82:17 The ball is swung over by Ben Marshall, clearance by Nick Fenton.
81:20 Substitution Steve Guinan leaves the field to be replaced by Adebayo Akinfenwa.
80:14 Chris Dunn restarts play with the free kick.
80:14 Booking Ryan Taylor is shown a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.
79:50 Ryan Taylor challenges Craig Hinton unfairly and gives away a free kick.
79:24 Steve Guinan is adjudged to have handled the ball. Andy Warrington takes the free kick.
78:38 Free kick awarded for a foul by Ryan Taylor on Craig Hinton. Free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
78:22 Unfair challenge on Jamie Green by Billy Mckay results in a free kick. Indirect free kick taken by Nick Fenton.
78:04 GOAL - Adam Le Fondre:Northampton 3 - 1 Rotherham Penalty taken right-footed by Adam Le Fondre and scored. Northampton 3-1 Rotherham.
77:35 Booking The referee shows Luke Guttridge a yellow card.
77:07 Booking The referee cautions Andrew Holt for unsporting behaviour.
76:21 Penalty awarded for an unfair challenge on Adam Le Fondre by Andrew Holt.
75:15 Foul by Dale Tonge on Andrew Holt, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
74:44 Billy Mckay gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Dale Tonge. Indirect free kick taken by Dale Tonge.
73:57 Andrew Holt takes the free kick.
73:57 Substitution (Northampton) makes a substitution, with Chris McCready coming on for Dean Beckwith.
73:57 Foul by Ryan Taylor on Andrew Holt, free kick awarded.
72:43 Nicky Law takes the outswinging corner, clearance by Andrew Holt.
72:36 The ball is swung over by Nicky Law, Dean Beckwith manages to make a clearance.
71:50 Unfair challenge on Ian Sharps by Billy Mckay results in a free kick. Dale Tonge restarts play with the free kick.
70:01 The official flags Adam Le Fondre offside. Free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
69:16 Corner taken right-footed by Nicky Law, Ian Sharps produces a right-footed shot from deep inside the six-yard box which goes wide of the right-hand post.
68:29 Foul by Ryan Gilligan on Nicky Law, free kick awarded. The free kick is swung in right-footed by Nicky Law, John Curtis manages to make a clearance.
66:09 Substitution Pablo Mills leaves the field to be replaced by Michael Cummins.
65:31 Corner taken right-footed by Nicky Law, free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Ryan Gilligan by Nick Fenton. Indirect free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
65:10 Adam Le Fondre takes a shot. Chris Dunn makes a save.
63:48 Shot from 12 yards by Nicky Law. Save by Chris Dunn.
62:14 Foul by Billy Mckay on Ian Sharps, free kick awarded. Andy Warrington takes the indirect free kick.
59:30 Shot from just outside the box by Ben Marshall misses to the left of the target.
57:51 GOAL - Ian Sharps:Northampton 3 - 0 Rotherham An own goal is conceded by Ian Sharps. Northampton 3-0 Rotherham.
52:32 Foul by Luke Guttridge on Nicky Law, free kick awarded. Free kick crossed by Nicky Law, Chris Dunn makes a clearance.
52:22 Kevin Ellison delivers the ball, clearance by Luke Guttridge.
51:23 John Johnson crosses the ball, Ian Sharps makes a clearance.
50:45 Substitution Billy Mckay joins the action as a substitute, replacing Courtney Herbert.
49:06 Dale Tonge fouled by Ryan Gilligan, the ref awards a free kick. Andy Warrington takes the free kick.
47:06 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Kevin Ellison by John Johnson. Free kick crossed right-footed by Nicky Law from left wing, Foul by Ian Sharps on Craig Hinton, free kick awarded. Chris Dunn takes the indirect free kick.
45:41 GOAL - Courtney Herbert:Northampton 2 - 0 Rotherham Courtney Herbert grabs a goal from the edge of the area high into the middle of the goal. Northampton 2-0 Rotherham.
45:01 The referee gets the second half started.
Half Time
45:00+3:16 The referee calls an end to the first half.
45:00+2:27 Ryan Taylor gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Dean Beckwith. Chris Dunn takes the free kick.
45:00+0:49 Nicky Law crosses the ball from the free kick right-footed from left channel, Luke Guttridge makes a clearance.
45:00+0:49 Booking Booking for John Johnson.
45:00+0:40 Kevin Ellison fouled by John Johnson, the ref awards a free kick.
42:37 Substitution Ryan Taylor is brought on as a substitute for Tom Pope.
38:24 The ball is swung over by Andrew Holt, Kevin Ellison manages to make a clearance.
37:02 Shot by Tom Pope. Save by Chris Dunn.
36:34 Inswinging corner taken by Nicky Law from the left by-line.
33:47 Craig Hinton concedes a free kick for a foul on Adam Le Fondre. Nick Fenton restarts play with the free kick.
32:42 The official flags Steve Guinan offside. Ian Sharps takes the indirect free kick.
30:23 The assistant referee flags for offside against Courtney Herbert. Free kick taken by Andy Warrington.
29:21 Unfair challenge on Luke Guttridge by Nicky Law results in a free kick. Luke Guttridge takes the free kick.
22:27 The official flags Courtney Herbert offside. Andy Warrington takes the free kick.
21:50 Foul by Tom Pope on Craig Hinton, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
20:48 Foul by Nicky Law on Andrew Holt, free kick awarded. Indirect free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
19:34 The assistant referee signals for offside against Steve Guinan. Indirect free kick taken by Andy Warrington.
18:18 Corner taken by Nicky Law from the right by-line.
18:11 The ball is delivered by Nicky Law, Dean Beckwith makes a clearance.
15:19 Unfair challenge on Danny Harrison by Ryan Gilligan results in a free kick. Indirect free kick taken by Nick Fenton.
14:02 Shot by Nick Fenton. Blocked by Ryan Gilligan.
13:39 Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Nicky Law from the left by-line.
13:05 Ben Marshall is penalised for handball and concedes a free kick. Nick Fenton takes the free kick.
12:10 Foul by Steve Guinan on Dale Tonge, free kick awarded. Indirect free kick taken by Dale Tonge.
11:23 The official flags Courtney Herbert offside. Indirect free kick taken by Nick Fenton.
10:47 Foul by Courtney Herbert on Jamie Green, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Andy Warrington.
9:34 GOAL - Ryan Gilligan:Northampton 1 - 0 Rotherham Ryan Gilligan fires in a goal from just outside the area to the bottom left corner of the goal. Northampton 1-0 Rotherham.
9:06 Ben Marshall sends in a cross, clearance by Ian Sharps.
5:33 Centre by Dale Tonge, Headed effort from inside the area by Kevin Ellison misses to the right of the goal.
4:07 The ball is swung over by Jamie Green, clearance made by Luke Guttridge.
2:30 Luke Guttridge fouled by Pablo Mills, the ref awards a free kick. Free kick taken by Dean Beckwith.
0:56 Ian Sharps fouled by Dean Beckwith, the ref awards a free kick. Indirect free kick taken by Andy Warrington.
0:00 The game kicks-off.
Live text and data provided by The Press Association.
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