Gillingham slumped to defeat at Northampton as the home side ended their run of five straight defeats.
The Cobblers had to come from behind after Chris Palmer finished off a clever free-kick routine.
Dean Beckwith, facing his old club and returning from a three-match ban, powered in a header at the back post to restore parity.
Matt Lawrence later dragged Beckwith down in the area, leaving Leon McKenzie to grab the points from the spot.
The defeat means the Gills have now gone 34 games without an away win.
Northampton Town manager Ian Sampson told BBC Radio Northampton: "To get the three points after a bad run of results, I'm relieved and happy.
"I've said to the players, let's make this a platform to build on. You could see the performance was poor today, but the result was good.
"We set up to go a bit more direct, to make it a bit more ugly. It's not the way I want to play, but maybe there's a lesson in there for me."
Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler told BBC Radio Kent: "We are not good enough. If we can't come here and win games then we are not a good enough side and that's maybe why our away form continues.
"If I have to, I will speak to the chairman and we will have to go and get a couple in.
"We started the right way, we wanted to make them nervous early on and we did that and then, typical us, we shot ourselves in the foot."
Live text and stats
Saturday, 30 October 2010
Npower League Two
Home Team
Score
Away Team
Time
Northampton
2-1
Gillingham
FT
(HT 2-1)
Beckwith 21
McKenzie (pen) 40
Palmer 7
Northampton
01 Dunn
03 Hall
06 Beckwith
14 Johnson
07 Gilligan (Rodgers 79)
08 Osman
11 Holt
12 Wedderburn
23 Davis
16 McKay (Jacobs 64)
18 McKenzie (Guinan 78)
Substitutes
13 Walker,
02 Rodgers,
05 Hinton,
04 Thornton,
17 Jacobs,
09 Guinan,
19 Konstantinou
Gillingham
01 Julian
03 Nutter
15 Lawrence yellow card
29 Sinclair
02 Fuller
07 Maher (Spiller 67)
08 Bentley (Oli 66)
12 Palmer (Payne 81)
28 Payne
10 McDonald
27 Akinfenwa
Substitutes
31 Hawkes,
20 Southall,
17 Spiller,
19 Inkango,
21 Oli,
23 Payne,
30 Miller
Ref: ShoebridgeAtt: 4,573
NORTHAMPTON
GILLINGHAM
Possession
Northampton45%
Gillingham55%
Attempts on target
Northampton6
Gillingham9
Attempts off target
Northampton4
Gillingham4
Corners
Northampton7
Gillingham3
Fouls
Northampton11
Gillingham12
Final Result
94:34 The final whistle goes and the game is over.
Full Time
90:00+3:41 Foul by Steve Guinan on Danny Spiller, free kick awarded. Alan Julian takes the free kick.
90:00+2:39 Inswinging corner taken from the right by-line by Danny Spiller.
90:00+2:16 Cody McDonald takes a shot. Liam Davis gets a block in.
90:00+2:00 The ball is sent over by John Nutter, Andrew Holt manages to make a clearance.
90:00+0:28 Inswinging corner taken by Michael Jacobs.
89:44 Matthew Lawrence challenges Andrew Holt unfairly and gives away a free kick. Andrew Holt takes the direct free kick.
89:44 Booking Matthew Lawrence is shown a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.
89:26 The ball is swung over by Barry Fuller, Dean Beckwith manages to make a clearance.
88:55 Adebayo Akinfenwa takes a shot. Save by Chris Dunn.
88:30 The assistant referee flags for offside against Paul Rodgers. Indirect free kick taken by Alan Julian.
87:39 The ball is crossed by Barry Fuller, John Johnson manages to make a clearance.
84:49 Adebayo Akinfenwa takes a shot. Save by Chris Dunn.
82:44 The ball is swung over by Dennis Oli, Marcus Hall manages to make a clearance.
82:17 A cross is delivered by Dennis Oli, blocked by Liam Davis.
81:42 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Nathaniel Wedderburn by Danny Spiller. Free kick taken by Marcus Hall.
81:14 Dennis Oli takes a shot. Clearance made by Dean Beckwith.
80:25 Substitution (Gillingham) makes a substitution, with Stefan Payne coming on for Chris Palmer.
78:00 The assistant referee signals for offside against Leon McKenzie. Alan Julian takes the direct free kick.
78:00 Substitution Paul Rodgers joins the action as a substitute, replacing Ryan Gilligan.
78:00 Substitution Steve Guinan replaces Leon McKenzie.
76:40 The ball is delivered by Adebayo Akinfenwa, Cody McDonald takes a shot. Comfortable save by Chris Dunn.
76:29 The ball is swung over by Chris Palmer, clearance by Dean Beckwith.
74:16 Foul by Abdul Osman on Jack Payne, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Danny Spiller.
73:32 Michael Jacobs concedes a free kick for a foul on Matthew Lawrence. Tony Sinclair restarts play with the free kick.
69:48 Michael Jacobs takes a shot. Comfortable save by Alan Julian.
66:28 Andrew Holt gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Barry Fuller. Matthew Lawrence takes the free kick.
66:03 Substitution Danny Spiller comes on in place of Kevin Maher.
65:40 Substitution Dennis Oli joins the action as a substitute, replacing Mark Bentley.
65:20 Effort from the edge of the area by Kevin Maher goes wide of the left-hand upright.
64:51 Kevin Maher takes a shot. Blocked by Marcus Hall.
63:18 Substitution Billy Mckay goes off and Michael Jacobs comes on.
62:41 Header from deep inside the penalty area by Adebayo Akinfenwa goes harmlessly over the crossbar.
62:07 The ball is sent over by Jack Payne.
61:10 Inswinging corner taken by Chris Palmer from the left by-line.
61:05 The ball is sent over by Barry Fuller, Dean Beckwith makes a clearance.
60:34 Centre by Ryan Gilligan, clearance made by Tony Sinclair.
Correction - 60:25 Leon McKenzie crosses the ball.
60:25 Leon McKenzie sends in a cross,
59:46 Centre by Chris Palmer, save made by Chris Dunn.
58:28 Free kick awarded for a foul by Jack Payne on Nathaniel Wedderburn. Liam Davis takes the direct free kick.
55:55 Kevin Maher produces a cross.
53:55 Foul by Adebayo Akinfenwa on Dean Beckwith, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
52:42 A cross is delivered by Barry Fuller, Dean Beckwith manages to make a clearance.
52:18 Jack Payne takes a shot. Marcus Hall gets a block in.
49:39 Leon McKenzie takes a shot. Alan Julian makes a comfortable save.
49:09 The ball is sent over by Barry Fuller, clearance made by Dean Beckwith.
48:47 The ball is swung over by Liam Davis.
45:49 Unfair challenge on Jack Payne by Abdul Osman results in a free kick. Jack Payne takes the free kick.
45:01 The game restarts for the second half.
Half Time
45:00+2:49 The whistle is blown to end the first half.
45:00+1:50 Free kick awarded for a foul by John Johnson on Cody McDonald. The ball is delivered by John Nutter, Mark Bentley takes a shot. Blocked by Marcus Hall.
45:00+1:20 Leon McKenzie takes a shot. Blocked by Matthew Lawrence.
45:00+1:09 The ball is delivered by Andrew Holt, Matthew Lawrence gets a block in.
43:48 Mark Bentley challenges Liam Davis unfairly and gives away a free kick. Chris Dunn restarts play with the free kick.
42:56 A cross is delivered by Ryan Gilligan, save by Alan Julian.
39:37 Unfair challenge on Dean Beckwith by Matthew Lawrence results in a Penalty.
39:37 GOAL - Leon McKenzie:Northampton 2 - 1 Gillingham Penalty scored by Leon McKenzie. Northampton 2-1 Gillingham.
37:40 Corner taken left-footed by Nathaniel Wedderburn.
36:38 Ryan Gilligan takes the inswinging corner, Andrew Holt takes a shot. Save by Alan Julian.
35:33 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Liam Davis by Mark Bentley. Chris Dunn takes the free kick.
34:57 Kevin Maher fouled by Abdul Osman, the ref awards a free kick. Matthew Lawrence restarts play with the free kick.
32:56 Cody McDonald takes a shot from just inside the penalty box which clears the crossbar. Foul by Cody McDonald on Dean Beckwith, free kick awarded. Chris Dunn takes the free kick.
32:10 Barry Fuller produces a cross, Marcus Hall makes a clearance.
29:44 Chris Palmer delivers the ball.
28:12 Mark Bentley challenges Andrew Holt unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick taken by Ryan Gilligan, The ball is crossed by Kevin Maher.
27:36 Liam Davis fouled by Cody McDonald, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
24:45 Shot from inside the area by Billy Mckay clears the bar.
24:24 Kevin Maher challenges Abdul Osman unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
22:09 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Ryan Gilligan by Jack Payne. Free kick taken by Marcus Hall.
20:51 The assist for the goal came from Ryan Gilligan.
20:51 GOAL - Dean Beckwith:Northampton 1 - 1 Gillingham Dean Beckwith grabs a headed goal from inside the penalty area. Northampton 1-1 Gillingham.
Correction - 19:27 Corner taken by Ryan Gilligan from the left by-line,
19:27 Corner taken by Ryan Gilligan from the left by-line.
19:18 Centre by Dean Beckwith.
16:49 Kevin Maher delivers the ball, John Johnson makes a clearance.
16:04 Nathaniel Wedderburn has an effort at goal from the edge of the area that misses to the right of the target.
14:50 Foul by Leon McKenzie on Matthew Lawrence, free kick awarded. Tony Sinclair takes the free kick.
13:26 Dean Beckwith challenges Cody McDonald unfairly and gives away a free kick. Mark Bentley restarts play with the free kick.
11:58 Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Ryan Gilligan from the left by-line, Dean Beckwith takes a shot. Corner taken by Nathaniel Wedderburn from the right by-line. Save by Alan Julian.
11:21 Leon McKenzie takes a shot. Save by Alan Julian.
10:45 Corner taken by Nathaniel Wedderburn from the right by-line, clearance made by Mark Bentley.
10:32 Centre by Ryan Gilligan, Matthew Lawrence manages to make a clearance.
9:20 Billy Mckay concedes a free kick for a foul on Barry Fuller. The free kick is delivered left-footed by Chris Palmer from right channel, Ryan Gilligan manages to make a clearance.
7:49 Inswinging corner taken by Kevin Maher, Chris Palmer produces a left-footed shot from just outside the area that goes harmlessly over the bar.
7:37 The ball is delivered by Kevin Maher, clearance made by Dean Beckwith.
Correction - 6:10 Cody McDonald fouled by Dean Beckwith, the ref awards a free kick. The assist for the goal came from John Nutter.
6:10 Foul by Dean Beckwith on Cody McDonald, free kick awarded. John Nutter provided the assist for the goal.
6:10 GOAL - Chris Palmer:Northampton 0 - 1 Gillingham Goal scored by Chris Palmer from just outside the penalty area to the bottom right corner of the goal. Northampton 0-1 Gillingham.
4:25 Effort on goal by Nathaniel Wedderburn from just inside the area clears the crossbar.
4:13 The ball is delivered by Nathaniel Wedderburn, Tony Sinclair manages to make a clearance.
3:15 The ball is crossed by Chris Palmer, Marcus Hall manages to make a clearance.
0:00 The match begins.
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