Sampson tastes first defeat as lacklustre Cobblers are well beaten by Rotherham United

The three points were only heading in one direction from the moment Jonson Clarke-Harris headed in the opener after just three minutes as Town laboured all afternoon and slipped back towards the League One relegation zone.

Clarke-Harris looked suspiciously offside when he made the early breakthrough but Cobblers did not respond well to that setback and the striker’s second on 34 minutes eased the hosts into a two-goal lead at half-time.

Andre Green’s messy goal ensured it was game over before the 50-minute mark and condemned Northampton to their first defeat since the departure of Jon Brady.

Sampson picked the same team that started his first game in charge against Peterborough on Monday but there were a couple of changes on the bench as Tom Eaves and Jordan Willis returned, replacing Matt Dibley-Dias and the injured Tariqe Fosu.

Cobblers needed to start well in South Yorkshire but instead they fell behind with only three minutes on the clock. The ball had barely left Town’s half for the entirety of those three minutes before Sam Nombe delivered a simple cross that Clarke-Harris nodded beyond Nik Tzanev, with Cobblers appealing for a flag that never came.

Rotherham were comfortable and untroubled as the visitors struggled for cohesion on the ball, and it could have been two for Clarke-Harris when a similar chance fell his way on 20 minutes but this time Tzanev used his legs well to make the save.

Although Town did conjure a shot on target when Jon Guthrie’s header was held by Dillon Phillips, the pattern of the game remained the same and Clarke-Harris duly doubled his tally on 34 minutes. Town failed to deal with a ball down the side and Green squared for the former Posh striker to side-foot home.

Having barely mustered any attacking threat for 35 minutes, Cobblers did at least end the half positively and they might have halved the deficit with more composure in the final third. Samy Chouchane’s cross narrowly evaded two men in the middle before Cameron McGeehan fired straight at Phillips and then Mitch Pinnock drilled wide.

But two down at the break, it was a long way back and Sampson knew as much so he sent for Eaves and TJ Eyoma, who replaced Samy Chouchane and Aaron McGowan.

Joe Powell whizzed a shot just over and any hope Town had of staging a second half fightback was extinguished within four minutes of the restart thanks to Green, who profited on poor set-piece defending.

The remaining 40 minutes were all about damage limitation and Rotherham helped out Cobblers by easing off, although Powell almost scored a world-class fourth when his stunning volley crashed against the crossbar.

That was about it in terms of goalmouth action, bar a late header that flew just over for the hosts, as the game drifted towards an inevitable conclusion.

Rotherham: Phillips, Rafferty, Jules, James (McCart 90), Powell (MacDonald 90), Odoffin, Tiehi (Kelly 45), Green (McWilliams 71), Wilks, Nombe (Hungbo 90), Clarke-Harris ©

Subs not used: Dawson, Hugill

Cobblers: Tzanev, McGowan (Eyoma 45), Guthrie ©, Guinness-Walker, Odimayo, Pinnock (McCarron 68), Chouchane (Eaves 45), Hondermarck (Fox 68), McGeehan, Hoskins (Waghorn 68), Roberts

Subs not used: Dadge, Willis

Referee: Elliot Bell

Attendance: 8,745

Cobblers fans: 659