York Preview

March 30, 2009 Leave a Comment

The games are coming thick and fast and next up for Boro is a trip up North to face York City in what is a warm up for the FA Trophy Final in May. Graham Westley’s side are 23 games unbeaten in all competitions and face another difficult away trip in their pursuit of a play-off place. York held 5th place Kidderminster to a 0-0 draw at the weekend at KitKat Crescent and Martin Foyle’s side are slowly improving after a difficult season. Their last 4 results in the league have been all draws, but with the club still not safe from the drop then some wins are needed in their 9 games remaining. Defensively, York have improved a lot since the start of the season. The problem now though is scoring goals and that hasn’t been helped by the departure of striker Craig Farrell in January. York are relying a lot on youngsters and former Ebbsfleet striker Onome Sodje to get them out of trouble.

The game earlier in the season between the two sides ended up in a 3-3 draw. Boro took a 2-0 lead early on before goals from Sodje and Farrell levelled things up before half-time. Another goal from Farrell gave York a 3-2 lead before Steve Morison headed home Boro’s equaliser. It was a game that Boro should of won comfortably, but at that stage of the season any team we played seemed to score for fun and York were no exception. Things are different this time around. Stevenage are far more solid at the back than they were in September. Mark Roberts and Jon Ashton seem to have gained a good understanding together and Ronnie Henry and Scott Laird are performing well at right-back and left-back respectively.

York have no new injuries for the game on Tuesday night although boss Martin Foyle may decide to hand Onome Sodje a start after impressing against Kidderminster on Saturday. Sodje could prove to be City’s key man as his pace his a valuable asset against the slower Mark Roberts. The ex Northwich defender is pretty sound in every department, but does lack pace, which could force Foyle’s hand. GW must decide who to replace David Bridges with after he was stretchered off against Oxford. Darren Murphy, Peter Vincenti and Gary Mills are all pushing for places. Andy Drury misses out again too with a hamstring strain so Lawrie Wilson or Junior Mendes will cover.

Boro’s previous three visits to KitKat Crescent have all been wins and the support travelling up from Hertfordshire will be hoping for a repeat result. At this stage of the season, results are all that count and I for one won’t be complaining if Stevenage play ugly tomorrow night and nick a 1-0. One of the main criteria for Westley when he arrived was to produce an attractive team to watch and although that hasn’t quite happened, Boro are well placed to make an assault on the play-offs and could well go up this season. I still would prefer not to watch the ball up in the air all evening, but if it brings home 3 points then so be it.

Prediction: York 0-1 Boro

Filed under General Tagged with , , ,

Play-off dream still alive as Oxford hold Boro

March 29, 2009 Leave a Comment

Stevenage gained another point in their pursuit of the play-offs against fellow chasers Oxford United at Broadhall Way. After earning a draw away at Histon in mid-week, Graham Westley’s side returned home to host the big game of the day in the Blue Square Premier. Oxford lived up to their promise by packing out the Buildbase Stand and also utilised some empty seats in the main stand. The two form teams in the league since Christmas commenced battle in front of a busy Broadhall Way crowd.

It was an entertaining game throughout. Both teams went out with the intention to win the three points available. Boro made a couple of changes from the team that drew 0-0 at the Glassworld Stadium in mid-week. Lee Boylan returned up front in place of Callum Willock, while new loan signing Junior Mendes made his debut from the start playing on the right wing, with Andy Drury injured. Ronnie Henry also returned at right back after serving his suspension. Oxford started with James Constable up front as their main target man, with Adam Murray playing just off him. Ex Boro right back Damien Batt also started after recently signing a 2 year contract with the U’s. His return to BHW didn’t last long though as he was sent off after 23 minutes for a foul on Mitchell Cole.

Boro though didn’t make the most of their 1 man advantage and were frustrated for much of the first half. It wasn’t until the second half when a Mendes through ball found Morison who played it back for David Bridges to fire home the opener. Bridges has proved to be an inspired signing by Graham Westley since his summer move from Kettering Town. I expected him to start the season out wide, where Drury is playing now, but he has found himself suited more to a central midfield role. He’s replaced John Martin in the box to box department and is grabbing some vital goals as Stevenage push for the play-offs.

After going in front, again Boro didn’t seem to push on. GW seemed happy with just the one goal lead and Boro sat back and allowed Oxford to come back into the game when I would of been tempted to attack the 10 men further! Bridges followed up a Bostwick effort, only for it to be disallowed for offside. Bridges also got injured in the process of scoring the disallowed goal and had to be replaced by Darren Murphy. Minutes later Oxford won a penalty. Henry was adjudged to have fouled Chapman. From where I was standing it looked a harsh decision. Constable thumped in the equaliser for his 19th goal of the season. He is just one goal away from Morison now in the race to be top scorer in the BSP.

Stevenage attacked again to try and force a winner, but opposition keeper Billy Turley was in good form. In the end the points were shared and with Kidderminster also drawing, the play-off dream is still alive. Mark Yates’ side drew 0-0 at York City, where Boro visit on Tuesday night. It means Kiddy are a point clear of us with a game in hand. The two games between ourselves and Harriers will prove to be huge. Oxford and Kettering are a point further back, but the U’s have played two more games than us, while Kettering, like Kidderminster also have a game in hand on us. I think with us holding Oxford and them still to play Histon, Wrexham and Burton in the next month, we can safely say they’re out of the race. I think it’s between Kiddy, Kettering and ourselves for 5th and we now have to go to York on Tuesday and win three points. Nothing else will do.

Filed under General Tagged with , , , ,

Oxford Preview

March 27, 2009 Leave a Comment

Enough for Oxford & Cambridge?

Enough for Oxford & Cambridge?

Up next for Stevenage in their push for the play-offs is Oxford United at Broadhall Way. Chris Wilder’s side, along with Boro are one of the form teams in the league and are making a late push for the last realistic play-off spot. The ex Halifax boss has transformed the fortunes of the U’s and what looked like being another season in mid-table obscurity could now turn into a promotion winning one?

Oxford have been in superb form recently with James Constable in particular standing out. His goals have lifted Oxford into the top ten and he is now challenging Steve Morison for the BSP top scorer award. They are beginning to pick some really impressive results with away wins at Rushden & Kettering in the last two games. If there is one team that can ruin Boro’s proud unbeaten record of 21 games then it’s Chris Wilder’s side and he would love nothing better.

“Chris Wilder has done very well over the years. He took Halifax to the play-offs and within minutes of the Football League. He knows the game in the league and plays the game a certain way and his side at Oxford are really doing him proud. It’s a credit to him that he has gone in there and turned things around and started posting some good results. You never underestimate a Chris Wilder side.” Westley on the job Wilder has done at the Kassam Stadium

It’s a massive game for both sides tomorrow. If Boro win then Oxford will have a lot of work to do to reach the play-offs, but if it’s an away win then Boro are facing an uphill task themselves. I think if Boro can win their home games then that will be enough to see them get into 5th. Games against Oxford, Kidderminster and Torquay are huge and Westley’s side need to be on top form to get anything from them. Missing tomorrow is Andy Drury who has picked up a hamstring injury. Drury’s absence is a big blow for Boro. He has been one of the players to make an impact in recent weeks and is likely to be replaced by Lawrie Wilson on the right wing.

I think GW will start with Boylan, if fit, and Morison up top, leaving new loan signing Junior Mendes on the bench. He will come on at some point though I think. Oxford have a few injury worries as well, but full back Kevin Sandwith is back after a 1 match ban. Oxford are our biggest test since Cambridge away and to be honest I think I would be content with a draw, knowing how well they are playing at the moment. We have to take care of Constable as he is the main threat. He’s always seemed to score goals against us, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he did again tomorrow. Clist in the midfield is also a very handy player and someone I would of liked us to sign in January. Overall, I think tomorrow will be a very tight affair, which is winnable, but more likely will end up being a draw like the last 2 visits that Oxford have made to Broadhall Way.

Prediction: Boro 2-2 Oxford 

Filed under General Tagged with , , ,

Histon Reaction plus views on the youth scheme news

March 26, 2009 1 Comment

I didn’t get to see the Histon game as I’ve been pretty busy this week, but by the sounds of it I didn’t miss much. A point is a good enough result for both sides as the play-off push moves up another gear. With Kidderminster winning the night before against Wrexham then a win at the Glassworld Stadium would of been nice, but it wasn’t to be. Kiddy are now are main threat in the race to get 5th. It looks like Cambridge, Histon and Torquay will take the top 3 places in the play-off picture, while ourselves, Kidderminster, Kettering and maybe Oxford are fighting it out for the last remaining place.

A lot of the views I’ve seen on the forum suggest that it was a poor Boro display and that a lot of the play was up in the air, which doesn’t surprise me. There was always going to be an affect after reaching the Trophy final on Saturday and for Boro to come away with a point against one of the top sides in the league isn’t a bad result. The style of play would of been due to the manager’s instructions and obviously Westley thought that playing long and direct may have forced a result against Steve Fallon’s well organised Histon side. We saw in November that Histon are dangerous going forward, so for us to keep a clean sheet shows how much we’ve progressed defensively.

Earlier in the week, Phil Wallace announced that Stevenage are to join forces with Protec to help the club produce stars for the future. This completes an overhaul of the youth schemes at Boro since the summer when they parted company with the EFCO scheme. Pete Edwards is the man that has been given the responsibility to manage the youth set up and he is very experienced in the game after spells at Nottingham Forest, Reading, Manchester City and Barnet. He has been with Barnet for the last 5 years, helping players such as Joe Devera, Ishmail Yakubu and Danny Hart progress to become professional players.

Since the EFCO began over a decade ago, very few players have progressed to become regulars in the first team. Players like James Dilnutt, Errol Tellemaque and Jack Bradshaw have made the odd appearance, but have never held down places. The only one that has ever really progressed is George Boyd and he was a trainee at Charlton before being released and moving to Stevenage. Hopefully with Protec now taking over, then more and more players from within will make the step up to first team level in the coming years. The early signs are good…..

Filed under General Tagged with , , ,

Mendes joins on loan deadline day

March 26, 2009 Leave a Comment

Graham Westley has bolstered his squad further with the loan signing of Aldershot striker Junior Mendes. The move was completed before the 5pm loan deadline today and will give Lee Boylan and Calum Willock competition in who will partner top scorer Steve Morison up front as the season comes to an end. I think it’s a good move for Boro to bring in an experienced striker for the run-in with Boylan not always fit and Willock seemingly out of form. Goals could be vital in the last few games and recently in the league, goals have been coming hard to come by with only 5 being scored in the last 5 games.

Mendes is a strong and quick striker who began his career as a trainee at Chelsea. After leaving Stamford Bridge, Mendes moved up north to Scotland and spent 4 seasons with St Mirren. After a brief stint at Dunfermline, Mendes moved back to St Mirren before coming back to England, joining Mansfield in 2003. He only spent 18 months at Field Mill before joining Huddersfield Town. He was never a regular at the Galpharm Stadium though and loan spells at the likes of Northampton, Notts County, Grimsby and Lincoln followed. He joined Aldershot in February 2008 after being released and was an important member of the squad that won promotion last season from the Blue Square Premier.

Mendes Stats

Chelsea – no appearances

St.Mirren – 57 (20) 16 goals

Carlisle United (loan) – 5 (1) 1 goal

Dunfermline Athletic – 9 (6)

St.Mirren – 20 (2) 6 goals

Mansfield Town – 62 (3) 14 goals

Huddersfield Town – 16 (19) 6 goals

Northampton Town (loan) – 13 (5) 3 goals

Grimsby Town (loan) – 11 (7)

Notts County – 26 (17) 5 goals

Lincoln City (loan) – 4 (6)

Aldershot Town 7 (10) 4 goals

As his stats show, he isn’t a prolific goal scorer, but could be a player that brings the best out of other players in the team. It could be interesting to see how he will link up with Morison. I think Morison plays his best football when he is alone up front and has an attacking midfielder playing in the hole behind him. His best form has been when he has played with George Boyd or Adam Miller. It could of been a good move for GW to bring in someone who could play in that position, especially as it could be more suitable for when playing away from Broadhall Way.

Filed under General Tagged with , ,

Histon Preview

March 23, 2009 Leave a Comment

If Boro haven’t been brought back down to earth already after the semi final victory over Ebbsfleet United, then they certainly will have by tomorrow night when they visit Histon in the Blue Square Premier. It’s back to the bread and butter for Westley’s men after reaching Wembley and another 10 cup finals await, this time in the league. First up is a trip to rural Cambridge and the village of Impington to face an in form Histon side. The part timers have had another great campaign both in the league and cup. Highlights include beating Leeds at home live on TV, plus big wins against Stevenage, Oxford and Burton. I said when they beat us in November, that they are the best side we have played so far this season and that still stands. We were awful that night, but Histon performed very well and fully deserved all 3 points.

There will be no resting of players. Every game from now on in is a huge game for the club. With the race for the play-offs being the tightest it has been for several seasons, every game and point counts and Boro will be looking for all 3 tomorrow night. Last season saw Peter Taylor’s side triumph 4-1 at the Glassworld Stadium. Boro didn’t play particularly well that night, but had a cutting edge and scored 3 second half goals to win the game. Scott Laird’s long range effort, the pick of the 4 goals.

“It’s a really important fixture for us and one that we need to go and get a win in. They are in decent nick themselves, they had a good win last week against Grays, so they are in good form. It’s going to be a real battle.” Westley on Histon

Histon are a good side. There’s no doubt about that. They are well organised and have a core set of players that have been vital in their success so far this season. Players such as Mathew Mitchell-King, Nat Knight-Percival, Josh Simpson and Jamie Barker are key players for Steve Fallon’s side and have surprised many that they haven’t been snapped up by bigger clubs. I was very impressed with Simpson in the game at Broadhall Way. He controlled the midfield very well and was the playmaker in the Histon side. Astute signings in January have strengthened the Stutes’ grip on a play-off place and it’s very possible that a Cambridge derby may decide who reaches League 2.

These are the types of game that will determine whether Boro reach the play-offs or not. Stevenage haven’t done that since 2005 when they were losing finalists to Carlisle United. Funnily enough, the two teams they faced in the play-offs that year are now both in League 1. Hereford were defeated over two legs by ourselves, but are now an established team in the football league. Teams like Dagenham, Morecambe and Aldershot have followed them into the football league and maybe this year is our turn. We are certainly the form team for the second half of the season and had we started the season running then the title may not of been out of the question.

Prediction: Histon 2-2 Boro

Filed under General Tagged with , , , , ,

← Older posts