McMahon’s injury worse than first feared

September 30, 2008 Leave a Comment

Daryl McMahon could be out for longer than was first feared as Phil Wallace said in his programme notes that X-Rays had confirmed that McMahon has broken his ankle. This all stems from the Altrincham game where Boro ran out 3-0 winners. Chris Lane, who else, made a tackle near the East Terrace and only got a booking. At first it looked possible that McMahon may be able to continue, but in the end he limped off to be replaced by Mitchell Cole. It’s a big blow for Boro as McMahon has continued his good form from last season and seems to have a good understanding with John Martin and Scott Laird on Boro’s left side. Let’s hope Mitchell Cole can remain injury free or there could be selection problems for GW.

Boro’s reserve side lost their second game of the season by 3 goals to 2 at Roots Hall this afternoon. Stevenage named 3 players that featured against York on Sunday with Callum Willock, Anthony Thomas and Eddie Anaclet all starting. Ashley Bayes also returned in goal, while Liam McDevitt who was on the bench at the weekend partnered Matt Lee at the back. The Shrimps named a young side, but were able to call upon key players such as Charles Ademeno and Alan McCormack as they aimed to win their 4th game in a row. 

Southend won the game comfortably with their goals coming Francis Laurent and a brace from midfielder Alan McCormack. After an hour, Boro got back into the game when Anthony Thomas scored a fine solo goal. Hopefully this will now give him confidence and he can begin to show some form for the first team. Callum Willock added another Boro goal minutes later, but they couldn’t quite push an equaliser and in the end lost the game. Southend remain top of the table after their fourth straight win, while Boro remain on just 4 points after consecutive away defeats.

Lastly, Rushden were held to a draw last night at home to Altrincham and were lucky to get that! Altrincham took the lead when Lee Elam worked his way into the area before crossing back for Colin Little to finish well. The Diamonds looked poor all game and could of easily lost the game. Rushden though finally found a way through with Leon Knight scoring a typical poachers goal after a good knock down by Phil Gulliver. That point leaves Hill’s side just a point above us in 9th position, while Altrincham are now in 19th, 1 point above Oxford!

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Lack of depth at the back?

September 29, 2008 Leave a Comment

Yesterday’s team selection against York underlined Boro’s lack of depth at the back. With Luke Oliver missing after picking up a knock against Grays, Graham Westley opted to play Michael Bostwick alongside Ronnie Henry in defence. Instead of moving Albrighton to centre half and bringing in Anaclet, Westley unsettled both the midfield and defence and paid for it as Boro conceded 3 sloppy goals and came away with just a point after having a 2-0 lead. To me it looks like Westley has no confidence in either Albrighton at CB or Anaclet at right back. This creates a problem as Oliver and Henry are heavily relied on to stay fit and on form.

I think GW should of added a centre half before the transfer window shut. Someone in the mould of Mark Arber would of been a great signing as I still think Oliver is too mistake prone to be relied on regularly. I would like to see someone come in to partner Henry and have Oliver as back-up. I thought this was going to be the case when Albrighton signed, but GW obviously doesn’t think he is the answer so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go in January or continue at right back.

Well done to Scott Laird who was voted Stevenage’s Player of the Month for August. I don’t think it was a difficult decision to give Laird the award as most of other players had a shocker in the first month of the season. Boro only got 5 points out of a possible 18 in the opening month of the season and conceded a whopping 15 goals in them 6 games. Laird, so far this season has been one of our most consistent performers and has now made the left back spot his own.

Boro’s youth side are again in action tonight when they entertain Boreham Wood at Broadhall Way in the Southern Counties Floodlight League. Colin Read’s side last game was against Bishop’s Stortford in the FA Youth Cup where they won comfortably 7-2, although Read wasn’t particularly happy with the performance.

“I wouldn’t say it was a good performance, I would say it was a good result. Performance wise I’ve just said to the players, it’s a long way off what we would expect.”

It looks like the standards are quite high for the youth team and that can only be a good thing. Prices have been reduced to get in and watch the team tonight to £3 for Adults and £1 for concessions.

UPDATE: The Stevenage Borough Youth side beat Boreham Wood 4-3 in tonight’s game at Broadhall Way.

Boro’s reserve side are also playing this week when they travel to Southend on Tuesday. With the first team not having a midweek game then some familiar names may be making the trip to Roots Hall. Southend are currently top of the Totesport Combination East Division with 3 wins out of 3, while Boro are down in 7th after gaining 4 points in their opening 3 games, including the 2-1 win over Watford last time out. Southend beat Peterborough 6-2 in their last game with former Brighton striker Alex Revell scoring twice.

One player that could feature for the reserves tomorrow is Scott Balderson who has been picked to represent the Australia U20 side. Balderson is part of a 20 man squad that will compete in the ASEAN under 19 championships in Thailand in October. He is one of 5 players in the squad that play their football overseas. They will face China PR in their first match on the 5th October.

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Winning run halted as York hold Boro

September 28, 2008 1 Comment

Stevenage’s winning streak of four games is over as York City held them to a 3-3 draw this afternoon at Broadhall Way. Graham Westley made two changes from the side that beat Grays on Thursday night. Anthony Thomas replaced Lee Boylan, who was seen on crutches near the tunnel before the game. Luke Oliver also missed out so Peter Vincenti came into the midfield as Michael Bostwick dropped back to partner Ronnie Henry in defence.

Boro again got off to a quick start with Steve Morison setting up Anthony Thomas who had his shot blocked, but then the ball was hit into the top of his own net by Mark Robinson. Quite a funny goal for York to concede, especially after doing quite well to block the initial effort which was going goal bound. Once the first goal had been scored I thought Boro would really push on, but this didn’t really happen. Both teams didn’t really threaten to score until Morison broke through the York defence and finished well past Ingham, who maybe should have done better. Boro were 2-0 up and looking comfortable, but a lack of concentration just 5 minutes later allowed the visitors back into the game and Onome Sodje beat Chris Day on his near post after a mistake by Scott Laird.

York gained confidence from that goal and began to play more offensive football. Craig Farrell was causing the Boro defence problems as he was coming deep to receive the ball before looking to release Sodje or Holmes. With quite a few injuries in the first half, 4 minutes was put on the board and York scored their second within that. It was a well worked goal, but the Boro defence should have done better. John Martin lost possession in midfield and York attacked on the counter. Sodje found Farrell who drew both Albrighton and Bostwick to the ball before laying it to the unmarked Peter Holmes who fired home the equaliser. Boro would go in level at half-time after cruising at one stage.

York began the second half the stronger and within 5 minutes had completed their comeback, going 3-2 up after the impressive Farrell finished after a good run by Sodje. Laird was no where to be seen as Sodje ran through, but Albrighton again had drafted inside leaving Farrell unmarked to score. Today was the first time this season that York had scored more than 2 in a game. Boro needed a response and they got it. Vincenti, who worked hard all afternoon crossed the ball in which found Morison who headed past Ingham, just, to put Boro back on level terms.

Boro pushed for a winner, bringing on Willock for the disappointing Thomas, but couldn’t find a way past. The ball just didn’t seem to bounce right for Willock or Morison in the latter stages. York had a chance on the counter, but Sodje pulled up with a suspected pulled hamstring and couldn’t complete his run. If that hadn’t of happened then maybe the Yorkshire side would have possibly won the game. At the end though both teams had to settle for a point, which in the end was probably a fair result.

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York Preview

September 27, 2008 Leave a Comment

After a tough win against Grays on Thursday night, Boro are back in action tomorrow afternoon when York visit Broadhall Way. York began the season well and were unbeaten in their first 8 games, although they did draw 5 of those, winning the other 3. Since then they have been beaten twice against Kettering and Kidderminster respectively and drew again at home to Salisbury thanks to a late strike from Daniel McBreen. Boro meanwhile are on a good run of form, winning their last 4 games.

Boro are likely to be without Lee Boylan who limped off against Grays with a foot injury. Daryl McMahon could come back into the side with Mitchell Cole staying up front. Another option for Graham Westley could be to recall Callum Willock and play Cole again on the left. Gary Mills will also be pushing for a place in midfield after recovering from the facial injury he suffered at Kettering, but I think that GW should leave the centre midfield alone as that has been one of the main reasons for the recent upturn in form. York will be without Peter Bore who has returned to Grimsby after a loan spell at Bootham Crescent. Captain Mark Greaves could also return after missing the 2-0 defeat at Kidderminster.

York haven’t won an away game since they beat now leaders Crawley on the opening day of the season. Although they have only lost twice this season, they have only won 3 and don’t seem to score many goals. They have scored just 13 goals in 11 games and if Boro continue their recent form at the back then York could find it difficult to break us down. Even though it looks like Boylan will miss out, Boro will still have a big threat going forward with Steve Morison and either Mitchell Cole or Callum Willock looking to add to their accounts for the season. I think Boro will continue their good run and beat York tomorrow. It will be a fairly tight game, but with York lacking a cutting edge then we could just edge it.

Prediction: Boro 2-1 York

Another reminder that The Broadhall Way is out for today’s game. Issue 21 includes interviews with Phil Wallace, ex player Micky Warner and Graham Westley’s column. All this plus a lot more for only a £1! It will be on sale outside the ground before kick-off.

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Chris saves the day as Boro beat Grays

September 25, 2008 Leave a Comment

Goalkeeper Chris Day put in a man of the match performance as Stevenage held on to beat Grays 2-1 at the New Rec. Grays dominated for most of the game with Day making several saves to keep a flat Boro in the game. Two goals against the run of play from Mitchell Cole were enough to give the Hertfordshire side the win and the 3 points which move them up to 11th place in the Blue Square Premier table, 2 points off the play-offs.

Graham Westley stuck with the same side that beat Forest Green at the weekend, but Gary Mills and Ashley Bayes were drafted onto the bench in place of Peter Vincenti and Steve Smith. Former Boro duo Neil Smith and Gary Phillips were in charge of Grays, who had new manager Wayne Burnett watching on from the bench. New loan signing Jonny Dixon was left on the bench as Kieron St Aimie and Sean Rigg kept their places after good performances at the weekend in the 2-1 victory over Wrexham.

Grays started much the stronger with ex Boro midfielder Mark Molesley running the show from midfield. Molesley had about 3 good opportunities to open the scoring within the first 20 minutes, but Chris Day did well to save one, with the other 2 going wide. Boro couldn’t seem to get outside their own half, although they did make a couple of chances in the latter stages of the first half with Michael Bostwick and Steve Morison both going close.

After a poor first period, both sides upped the tempo in the second half and Boro opened the scoring within 3 minutes of the restart. Stuart Thug Thurgood gave away possession in the Grays half to Mitchell Cole who ran through on goal before lifting the ball into the net. A fantastic finish from a player that has been slowly improving in front of goal recently. The lead didn’t last long though and within a minute Grays had equalised with Jamie Stuart finishing. Mark Albrighton had given away a sloppy corner which was put across and Day did superbly to parry the initial effort, but was powerless to stop the rebound from Stuart. A poor goal to give away.

Boro though again showed their character and 3 minutes later thanks to more poor defending from the hosts they were back in front. Stuart who had scored the equaliser gave away the ball which Cole ran onto before rounding the keeper and finishing for his second of the night. Grays tried their best to force another equaliser, but Day was in superb form, keeping everything that went on target out. Westley brought on Thomas for the tired Cole late on and he had a chance to make it 3-1, but curled his effort wide when put through by Steve Morison. Here is what Graham Westley said when he spoke to Setanta after the game.

“It was a very ugly win tonight, but you can’t complain when you win ugly. We got off to a bad start but now we’re grinding out results. I feel like a thief walking out of here – a goalkeeper at one end and a little bit of brilliance from Mitchell at the other”

A good win considering the performance. Had this come at the start of the season the result may have been different. We played far better against Wrexham than we did tonight and got beat 5-0. I think this result also proves just how important having a quality goalkeeper is. Day could give us them extra 10-15 points that are maybe needed for us to get into the play-offs this season. Cole took his goals very well and if he can improve his fitness then he can be a big player for us. Next up, York at BHW on Sunday and we now go into the game above our opponents in the table, looking to sneak into the play-off positions. Bring it on!

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Grays Preview

September 24, 2008 1 Comment

Boro travel to Essex tomorrow night to face Grays in the visitors first televised game of the season. Boro have hit some form of late and a win at the Recreation Ground would be their fourth in a row and could put them as high as 11th in the Blue Square Premier, just 2 points away from a play-off spot. Grays are currently 21st in the table, but did beat Wrexham at home last time out, beating the Welsh side 2-1. The main reason Grays are in the position they are is because of their poor away record. In the 5 away games they have played so far they have lost all 5. However, their home form is a lot better, having only lost once in 5 games, winning 3 and drawing 1.

Grays are currently managed by former Farnborough player Tim O’Shea, although this will be one of his last games in charge as he is about to be replaced by former Fisher boss Wayne Burnett. O’Shea played for Graham Westley in his time at Cherrywood Road. Since O’Shea took over, he has brought in 3 players (St Aimie, Rigg, Button) on loan and beat Wrexham in his first game. Kieron St Aimie who has joined from Barnet scored a brace on his debut and could be a tricky customer for Boro on Thursday. Stuart Thurgood is also currently back at Grays after a short spell with Gillingham and will be someone Boro will have to deal with. Thurgood and Bostwick could be quite a battle in the middle of the park.

Graham Westley again has no new injury concerns and should name the same side that comfortably beat Forest Green at the weekend. Mitchell Cole, John Martin and Lee Boylan are all in line to face their former club, while Steve Morison will want to keep his current goalscoring record going. Boro’s last visit to the Recreation Ground saw them run out 2-0 winners in what was one of Mark Stimson last games in charge. A goal from Steve Morison and a penalty from Mark Arber were enough to take all 3 points back to Hertfordshire. We have played Grays 6 times in the league since their promotion in 2005, winning 3, drawing 2 and losing 1. We are unbeaten at the Recreation Ground going into Thursday’s game.

I think if we continue to play the way we have done in recent weeks then another victory is possible tomorrow night. St Aimie and Rigg will be dangerous up front and Henry and co will have to keep focussed throughout if they are to keep another clean sheet. Grays are quite vulnerable at the back, especially with Jon Ashton ruled out through injury and although they could also punish us going forward I think we will have enough to beat Grays. I wonder what the odds are for a Boro win with Thurgood getting sent off?

Prediction: Grays 1-2 Boro

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