Advantage Stevenage

April 30, 2009 Leave a Comment

Cambridge (H)Stevenage will have a two goal lead to defend at the Abbey Stadium on Bank Holiday Monday. Graham Westley’s side dug deep and pulled out a fantastic second half performance to give them the edge going into the second leg in 4 days time. Even after the sending off of Darren Murphy, goals from Mark Roberts and a brace from Steve Morison sent Broadhall Way crazy in a thrilling second half. It’s advantage Stevenage, but there’s still a lot of work to do before we can start planning for two trips to Wembley.

Westley made two changes to the team that faced Mansfield on Sunday with Jon Ashton returning to partner Mark Roberts and Junior Mendes coming in for Mitchell Cole, who was suspended. Darren Murphy was preferred to Gary Mills in midfield. Cambridge manager Gary Brabin decided to play a 3-5-2 formation. Bolland, Coulson and Hatswell marshalled the back line with Tonkin and Gleeson playing as wing backs. It was a fairly narrow midfield with Phillips and Crow in attack. I was surprised that Rendell was left on the bench and even more surprised when he wasn’t thrown on when the U’s were losing 2-1?

The first half was mostly Cambridge. They had the better chances and looked more at home. Lee Phillips went close with a looping header, while Danny Crow should of done better with the chance he had late on in the half. Stevenage chased the ball a lot in the opening period and when in possession, didn’t keep the ball enough to ever really threaten Cambridge. The main talking point of the half was the sending off of Darren Murphy. From where I was standing, a better view than the linesman on the East Terrace side, I saw him challenge Challinor for the ball in the air and then loads of Cambridge players surround him immediately after. Challinor went down like a sack of spuds and didn’t have a scratch on him. Replays showed that there was miminal contact, nowhere near his face. The sending off was a joke and if Boro appeal then they should be confident of getting it resinded.

The sending off changed the game. Boro were now pumped up and straight from the restart looked to attack Cambridge. Within 2 minutes, Boro took the lead with Mark Roberts bundling the ball in after Morison had headed the ball back across. Broadhall Way erupted. Cambridge though responded well and within a minute had equalised thanks to a superb finish from Lee Phillips. He wound up the East Terrace a lot during the game, but his strike was quality. He turned at the edge of the box and fired a right footed volley past Day. He had no chance in keeping it out.

Away Stand against CambridgeThe game calmed down after the first 5 minutes of the second half, but Stevenage, with 10 men were looking the more dangerous side going forward. With an hour played a long diagonal ball by Drury found Morison who headed past a stranded Potter. Why he was out that far off his line I don’t know. Boro reject. It was Morison 29th goal of the season and a much deserved one after tonight’s performance. He worked his bollocks off all night and showed great composure in front of goal with two fine finishes. He’s had his critics, but he turned up tonight when it mattered most.

This time Boro didn’t let their goal affect them and they kept calm. I thought Ashton’s defending was good tonight, even though he needs to improve his distribution. Too many pointless long balls. However, his experience was first class tonight and along with Roberts they kept Cambridge quiet, even when Pitt and Holroyd came on. Just to rub it in, Boro added a third when Drury broke through before nodding the ball to Morison who volleyed in the third. Drury was superb tonight. He worked hard and was Boro’s main creative threat.

A great night, again, at Broadhall Way and two Wembley finals are now in touching distance. All we have to do is another 90 minutes at the Abbey Stadium like the second 45 tonight. Cambridge will go all out attack on Monday looking for the two goals. It’s not going to be easy, but as long as we keep our heads I’m sure we’ll be ok. Come on BORO!

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Cambridge Preview: 1st leg

April 29, 2009 Leave a Comment

Tomorrow night’s game is the next biggest game of Stevenage Borough’s history. It seems like every game at the moment just keeps getting that bit more important and the visit of Cambridge United to Broadhall Way for the second time in the month promises to be another end to end affair. Boro ran out 2-1 winners a few weeks ago with goals coming from Junior Mendes and Lee Boylan. In fact, the Hertfordshire club are unbeaten against their rivals from up the A10 this season. The two sides drew 1-1 at the Abbey back in December before the return game at Broadhall Way in April. Lets hope the results in the play-offs echo what was achieved in the league this season!

Graham Westley has another suspension to deal with after Mitchell Cole was dismissed at Mansfield on Sunday. I expect Junior Mendes will come into the side on the left with Andy Drury on the right. Jon Ashton may be fit enough to come back into defence and partner Mark Roberts. Westley also has to decide whether to recall Gary Mills, who played well against Cambridge last time out or stick with the midfield duo of Darren Murphy and Michael Bostwick. Cambridge will check on the fitness of Courtney Pitt and Andy Parkinson ahead of the short trip. Other than that they are at pretty much full strength.

I think we have to go for it tomorrow and try and get at Cambridge early. An early goal dictated the way the game went at Broadhall Way a few weeks ago and a repeat of that tomorrow night would be an ideal start. Phil Bolland should partner Wayne Hatswell at the back instead of youngster Josh Coulson so Morison and co may find it more difficult to break down the visitors defence. I think Cambridge will set up to be hard to break down and look to counter with the pace of Robbie Wilmott and Scott Rendell. I expect Paul Carden to marshall the midfield again with the flair of Ipswich loanee Jai Reason partnering him in midfield. Daryl McMahon may have to settle for just a place on the bench.

I’m really looking forward to the game tomorrow. The atmosphere at every Boro game recently has been fantastic and the buzz is truly back at Broadhall Way at the minute. Cambridge will bring a full 1,600 in the away end which will just add to the atmosphere and the noise inside the ground should be electric. The game will be another end to end affair and if we play like we have done for the majority of the last 30 games or so then we will have a great chance of taking a good advantage to the Abbey on Bank Holiday Monday.

Prediction: Boro 2-1 Cambridge

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Boro make play-offs…just!

April 28, 2009 Leave a Comment

Boro SupportStevenage will face Cambridge over two legs as they aim to make the Blue Square Premier Play-off Final for the second time in 4 years. Although Boro were beaten at Field Mill by Mansfield, Kidderminster’s 1-0 defeat at home to Kettering confirmed that Graham Westley’s side finished in 5th place with 81 points. It is quite an achievement considering the poor start we had and the fact that it is still a relatively newly assembled team. Stevenage have only been beaten twice since November and it is that record that has propelled them up the league. Coupled with a Trophy run that will see Boro play York City at Wembley on the 9th May, it has been a fantastic 2009 so far for the club.

Thanks to Kettering’s victory at Aggborough, Stevenage secured 5th even though they were beaten late on at Mansfield. Things were going well until Scott Garner put the Stags ahead with 20 minutes to play. At this stage Boro were still heading for the play-offs with 81 points as Kiddy were being held at home by Kettering. This meant that Kiddy could only accumulate 80 points. 5 minutes from time, Scott Laird equalised to send the 750+ Boro fans wild. Boro were now back 2 points clear of Kidderminster, who were still drawing with the Poppies. However if Kidderminster scored then a point would not of been enough for the Hertfordshire side. Torquay secured their place, beating Champions Burton 2-1 at Plainmoor. Disaster then struck as Aaron O’Connor hit an 88th minute winner that meant Boro would have to pray that Kettering could keep Kidderminster quiet at Aggborough. They did better than that, going up the other end and scoring, giving them a 1-0 win. That result secured Stevenage’s 5th position, 2 points clear of 6th place Kidderminster.

Them last few minutes were agony as we were waiting for a result from Kidderminster. They must be gutted knowing that if they had done their job, then it would of been them facing Cambridge on Thursday in the Blue Square Play-offs. In the end though it is another season in this poxy league for Mark Yates’ side. If they can keep the nucleus of their squad together, then I wouldn’t be surprised to see them challenging again next season. Boro now have a possible four cup finals remaining this season.

Mansfield Main StandIt’s amazing to think that if we win our next four games, then we will be promoted to the football league as FA Trophy winners. However, it could also end just like Torquay’s season did last season. The Gulls made the FA Trophy final last season, but were beaten by Ebbsfleet. They were then knocked out the Play-off semi-finals by rivals Exeter City, who went on to be promoted, beating Cambridge United at Wembley. I think we can do it, but it will be extremely difficult. It’s not been made any easier, with Mitchell Cole now suspended for the next 3 games after being stupidly sent off at Mansfield. I expect to see Junior Mendes come in on the left for the next 3 games. If he performs well, then there maybe a contract for him come the end of the season?

Getting in the play-offs is a massive achievement for the team. It’s a huge opportunity for them to progress into the football league. All they have to do is win their next 3 league games. We can do that!

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Mansfield Preview

April 26, 2009 1 Comment

Mansfield (H)It’s a great time to be a Boro supporter at the moment. The team are playing well and are winning games consistently. Graham Westley has turned what looked like being an average mid-table team in November into arguably the best team in the league by April and they have nearly secured their place in the BSP play-offs. The win over Kidderminster on Tuesday night has put Boro in the driving seat as they travel north to Mansfield for the last game of the season. A win will definitely put Stevenage into the top 5, while a point or even defeat, assuming other results go our way will also be enough.

Mansfield are a good side. If they hadn’t been deducted points earlier in the season, then they may have made an outside bid for the play-offs themselves. New manager David Holdsworth has made a good start to his managerial career at Field Mill and is picking up some valuable points. By the looks of it Holdsworth is already planning for next season, when I expect the Stags will be a threat in the promotion race. He has made some astute signings and slowly, but surely they have began climbing the table.

“We must recognise that we are playing a team that are in the play-offs. They are a big strong organised team but I don’t think you can take your foot off the gas and field a weakened side, that would be disrespectful. We’re professional and I must make sure we do things correctly because that’s out of respect for other managers who think ‘will they roll over?’, well we won’t.” Holdsworth on the prospect of facing Stevenage

The hosts have nothing left to play for this season, but as Holdsworth says they will be professional and be looking to end their season on a high so they can go into next season full of optimism. Graham Westley will make sure his players are totally switched on for what will be a tough game. Luckily for Boro, it seems the Stags are in the middle of an injury crisis. Players such as Rob Duffy, Gary Silk and Curtis Woodhouse look doubtful. Boro only have the two injury doubts, with Jon Ashton unlikely to make Sunday and David Bridges still a long term absentee.

We’ve done incredibly well to get this far. 2009 has been a fantastic year so for Stevenage and we have to make sure we complete the job on Sunday. The support will be amazing and I’m sure the team won’t throw it all away at the last minute. We can win this game and if we do that it will give us a great edge going into the play-offs and FA Trophy Final. Come on BORO!!!

Prediction: Mansfield 1-2 Boro

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Win over Kidderminster sets up exciting last day

April 21, 2009 Leave a Comment

Boro v KidderminsterA big game tonight and another big win for Graham Westley’s side. If only we had hit the ground running back in August!

Stevenage have been superb since December. If the season had begun at the beginning of that month, then Boro would be comfortable winners of the Blue Square Premier. It would be us and not Burton that would be topping the BSP table at the moment. Without sounding too big headed, I do genuinely think we are the best side in the division at the moment and that is a big compliment with ex league teams like Cambridge, Oxford and Torquay in the division.

Burton have fallen off the pace a bit in recent weeks, but remain a solid side and I expect them to win the league on Sunday. Burton going up just shows that if we had been more consistent at the beginning of the campaign, then the league could of been ours by now. The Brewers are not a great side, but have been the most consistent over the season and that’s what will probably win them promotion. They are solid at the back and have enough going forward to give them a cutting edge. I think we are better now in all areas than the current leaders, but that hasn’t been true over the course of the season. We lacked a decent, settled defence until Mark Roberts and Jon Ashton arrived in mid-season. They have helped organise the backline and along with the signing of Chris Day just after the season began have helped Boro get to where they are now.

An early goal by Steve Morison, who I thought yesterday would deliver the goods, gave Boro the initative. From then on Stevenage were the dominant force. Kidderminster were mostly played off the park by an impressive Stevenage side who looked up for the task in hand. The visitors did have the odd opportunity and with a strike force of Richards and Barnes-Homer were always dangerous going forward. For all the chances, Boro had they didn’t take advantage of them and were punished just before half time when Richards found himself with space to fire a shot past Day. Kiddy were level.

Boro needed another quick start to the half, much like the first and it came as the home side came out for the second period all guns blazing. Within four minutes of the restart, Lee Boylan had smashed in a long range effort that gave Boro the lead again. A fantastic strike from a player that has popped up with vital goals at important times during the season. To think there was a period at the beginning of the season, that he was behind the likes of Iyseden Christie and Anthony Thomas in the strikers pecking order. Boro couldn’t just settle for the one goal advantage and just after the hour we got another goal, again from Boylan. The ball was well worked down the left to Cole, who’s cross found the former Canvey striker who finished to give Boro a 2 goal lead. That goal seemed to finish off any resistance Kidderminster had.

Overall a fantastic night to be a Stevenage Borough supporter. The atmosphere was electric at Broadhall Way tonight and the performance was superb. Morison is back scoring, which can only be a good thing going into the Mansfield game on Sunday and the possible play-off date ahead? Bostwick and Murphy did well again in midfield, while Andy Drury played as if he had never been away. Defensively again we were solid and with a goalkeeper like Chris Day, we always have a chance. I had a good feeling before tonight and I’m confident again now that we will be in the play-offs. Bring on Mansfield on Sunday!

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News round-up on D-Day

April 21, 2009 Leave a Comment

Tonight is a huge night for Stevenage Borough Football Club. Tonight is the night that will more or less determine whether the club will have the chance to play for football league status in the play-offs. Basically what a win will do tonight is make Sunday the next ‘Biggest game of the club’s history’ and so on. I’m confident we can do it and beat Kidderminster. They haven’t been in great form recently and although they beat us just over two weeks ago, I think a lot of that was down to the dismissal of Darren Murphy. As long as nothing like that is repeated tonight, then I think we will win the game. We do that and I think we can start to think of at least another 2 games being extended to our fixture list.

Yesterday saw the announcement on the official site that Mitchell Cole has penned a new two year contract extension. Cole’s current deal was set to expire at the end of June. I think it’s good news that the club has secured the signature of Cole for at least another two seasons. He’s had form and injury problems since moving from Southend in January 2007, but he is a matchwinner. He is a player that is still developing and improving and if he can stay injury free, then he can be a big player for us in the next two seasons. This season has seen Cole at his most consistent. He’s stayed relatively injury free, although his general fitness is still a concern. He’s got 14 goals in 39 appearances so far this campaign and has proved to be a vital member of the Boro set-up.

Elsewhere, current Boro loanee Junior Mendes has been told by Aldershot boss Gary Waddock that he will be released in the summer. Mendes’ contract is up at the end of June and he along with Rhys Day and Rob Elvins are not in the Shots’ plans for next season. I’ve been happy with the contribution Mendes has made so far since joining Boro last month. His goal against Cambridge obviously is the one thing that stands out, but I think he has been a solid performer on the right hand side of midfield, even though that isn’t his natural position. However, I doubt that Mr Westley will be giving the 32 year old a permanent deal come the summer.

Boro legend George Boyd has told SkySports.com that he would be open to extending his Peterborough contract beyond 2011. Boyd has been a huge hit at London Road since joining in 2007 and has no plans of moving on any time soon. Stevenage reportedly have a 40% sell on clause agreed with Posh if Boyd is sold, so any big money transfer that occurs in the future will have dividends for Phil Wallace and co. Boyd, along with Craig Mackail-Smith and Aaron McLean have been big factors behind their promotion winning season last year and what looks like will be another promotion this year. Barry Fry is also quoted as saying that he would ask for up to £15m for the trio after apparent interest from Scottish champions Celtic.

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