MANY different words can be used to describe the events of Tuesday night. Thrilling. Brave. Heartbreaking. But the one I'm going to go with, and this is specific to the Cobblers, is robbed.
To go from being 2-1 up after 94 minutes against Premier League opposition to losing on penalties is misfortune of the highest order.
And while Town's luck deserted them, Sunderland had it in spades. They definitely did not deserve to win, and even their manager Roy Keane admitted as much.
Such platitudes mean nothing now though - the record books will show the home side won the game, and it is Sunderland who went into the draw for the next round.
What it did illustrate, however, is that this is a Cobblers team with limitless potential. Given the recent less-than-brilliant league performances the overwhelming feeling was that the win at Bolton was a complete blip.
Playing so well at the Stadium of Light was the equivalent of lightning striking twice in the same place, but there's more to it than that.
To outplay a Premier League side once might be luck. To do it twice suggests there is more to the side than just good fortune.
Translating their excellent Carling Cup displays - they were pretty good at Millwall, too, lest we forget - in the league represents a substantial challenge for manager Stuart Gray.
His coaching qualities will be tested now. How do you motivate players to do what they did against much better players than them to do the same against those theoretically in their own class?
For the club, it's the million-dollar question of the moment. Because if the team were to play like they did at the Reebok a month ago and in the north-east on Tuesday night against any side in league one, they would win.

Star performances at Sunderland were in abundance, but at the Chron we of course have to single one player out for the man of the match award.
Luke Guttridge was definitely up there, and he was the pick of the press room after the game. Mark Hughes, too, was superb and did not deserve have a penalty miss as his abiding memory of the match.
Leon Constantine, who also missed a spot kick, put in a shift that will have gone a long way to convince the doubting Thomases among the Sixfields support that he is a player worth sticking with.
But for me, the main man was Liam Davis. Yes, he was allowed time to play and did so with style, embarking on many driving runs from deep that saw him cover what must have been miles with the ball.
If Davis can play like this every week, then he can definitely be a contender for player of the season, and might find himself as the next Cobbler being linked with a big-money move away from the club.