Easter Round Up

Sorry for the lack of updates over the Easter period, but I’ve been very busy. I hope you all had a great easter. In football terms, it couldn’t of got much better on the pitch. After bouncing back last Tuesday with a win over rivals Cambridge, Graham Westley’s side have gone back to where they were before the defeat at Kidderminster. Two wins against tricky opponents have strengthened Boro’s bid for a play-off position and the Hertfordshire club now lies in 5th place, a point away from Kidderminster and 2 clear of Histon, although the latter have a game in hand.

Saturday saw Ebbsfleet United visit Broadhall Way for the second time this season. A solitary goal from Mitchell Cole was enough to give Boro victory in what was a professional performance. Ebbsfleet never really threatened Chris Day’s goal and although Boro missed plenty of chances it was a fair result. Willock and Morison both had off days in front of goal and in the end Dino Maamria came on to try and finish the game off! The difference between now and the start of the season is that we can score just the one goal and defend it. At the beginning of the campaign we were conceding goals for fun and usually had to come from behind. Now we have a much more settled backline and are a lot more organised. The signings of Ashton and Roberts have been superb and even Mark Albrighton, when called upon is putting some good performances in.

Results mostly went for Boro during the Easter period. Kidderminster came from behind to salvage a 2-2 draw away at Altrincham on Saturday. Another 2 points dropped for Mark Yates’s side who are limping towards 5th place. However, they then beat Burton, live on Setanta, on Easter Monday thanks to a late goal from Brian Smikle. Histon are also struggling a bit at the moment. After being held at Wrexham, they were comfortably beat by Champions elect Burton at the Pirelli Stadium. Another draw at home to Rushden hasn’t helped things at the Glassworld either. It’s possible that it could be Histon that fall out of the play-off places altogether, like we did last season. Torquay are also having a bad run. Since beating Burton, they have been beaten at home by Crawley and today were held away at Salisbury.

Stevenage visited Crawley today knowing that nothing less than 3 points would be good enough to stay intact. Steve Evans’ side are always tough to beat and the Broadfield Stadium isn’t the happiest of hunting grounds for Boro. Crawley went into the game after seeing off Torquay at Plainmoor at the weekend. However, it was another professional performance from Westley’s side and goals from Michael Bostwick and Calum Willock secured victory for Boro. Stevenage have got into the habit of winning away from home in the second half of the season and are gaining vital points on the road in the play-off run in. Big players came back for Boro as Ronnie Henry, Mark Roberts, Michael Bostwick and Lee Boylan all returned after missing the Ebbsfleet game.

Disappointingly John Martin was left out the entire squad after 2 solid performances since returning from a loan spell at Ebbsfleet. Martin has been the ultimate professional this season and the way he has been treated by Westley looks to me like a disgrace. He come back on short notice from a successful loan period and was arguably Man of the Match against Cambridge. Another good performance against his former club on Saturday should of at least meant a place on the bench if Bostwick was the preferred choice in midfield. I just can’t believe that Gary Mills is still the favoured choice in midfield. I think Martin offers a lot more and links better with Bostwick. Westley has done a good job in turning Boro’s season around, but it just annoys me that his man management skills haven’t moved on since his first spell in charge here.

With other teams falling around Boro, then the race for the play-offs isn’t just limited to 5th place. A few weeks ago it looked as if Torquay and Histon were certs for the play-offs, but recent results have brought them all back in reach for Boro and/or Kidderminster to take advantage.  I would say Oxford still have a chance, but they only have 2 games left, 1 being against Burton, so I can’t imagine them overtaking us or any of the others. Boro are only a point behind both Kidderminster and Torquay and they are our next two opponents at Broadhall Way. I think if we win both then we may even go into the Mansfield game not having to worry about winning?