Swindon ended Northampton's nine-game unbeaten run with a 2-1 victory at Sixfields in Sky Bet League Two.
The Cobblers missed a number of good chances and they were ruthlessly punished by thumping finishes from Tyrese Shade and Marcel Lavinier either side of half-time.
Northampton squandered two clear-cut chances to take the lead early on as Louis Appere was denied by a smart save from Solomon Brynn, before Mitch Pinnock poked wide with only the Swindon goalkeeper to beat.
The hosts were punished for those misses seconds later when Swindon broke the deadlock when Shade thumped into the roof of the net following Lee Burge's save from Jonny Williams.
Brynn was a busy man in the first half as he also saved from Ben Fox and Jon Guthrie and his heroics were being rewarded at the other end as Lavinier unleashed a stunning strike to make it 2-0 shortly after half-time.
The hosts kept pushing and they did manage a consolation in stoppage-time when Hoskins curled in his 15th of the season from Appere's lay-off.