Boro too strong for Histon

August 31, 2009 3 Comments

Boro returned to action at Histon just 2 days after the victory over Rushden on Saturday. Graham Westley named a strange side and formation to try and counter the strong, physical Histon threat. Mark Albrighton started alongside Mark Roberts and Jon Ashton while Laird and Henry were given freedom as wing backs. Peter Vincenti also started in midfield alongside Michael Bostwick and Joel Byrom while Lee Boylan was partnered up front with Mitchell Cole. Histon, who aren’t the same side as in previous years started familiar names in Mat Knight-Percival and Josh Simpson while former Gillingham defender Adam Bygrave started in defence.

Things didn’t get off to a good start for the visitors when Vincenti, who was given a rare start, was sent off for a challenge on Craig Pope. Vincenti got the ball, but did catch the defender as well. I think the red card was a harsh decision and that a yellow would have been appropriate. Going down to 10 men didn’t seem to affect Boro though and the partnership on the left of Laird and Cole were giving Bygrave a few things to think about. 6 minutes after the sending off, Boro took the lead when Scott Laird made his way into the box before shooting past Naisbitt. The goalkeeper should have done better with the shot, but Laird did well to find his way into the box.

Histon reacted well to the Stevenage goal. They began to get into the game a lot more and created some good chances as they pushed forward looking for an equaliser. Danny Wright had a shot which was well blocked by Ashton, while a shot from Matt Langston went over the bar. Stevenage didn’t really create much after the goal, but were comfortable, going in at half time 1-0 up.

Boro made a change at half-time with Mitchell Cole being replaced by forgotten man Eddie Odhiambo (formerly Anaclet). Odhiambo started on the left in the place of Cole, but impressed in his first performance of the season and popped up all over the pitch. Westley’s change made an immediate impact and it was he that scored Boro’s second prodding home from a Boylan cross.

Histon again reacted well to the goal and won themselves a penalty when Ronnie Henry was adjudged to have fouled Jamie Barker in the area. Danny Wright stepped up, but put his penalty horribly wide. It just about summed up Histon’s day. Minutes later another Danny Wright effort looked destined to find the net, but Day did superbly to keep the effort out. Boro saw out the remainder of the match out to secure the 3 points and return to Hertfordshire in 4th place and above neighbours Luton Town.

It was a good, professional performance from Westley’s men. Histon is never an easy place to go to, but Boro with 10 men did that. It’s worth noting that we are in 4th place and we haven’t even hit top form yet. If we can improve and begin to play some of the football that we played in the second half of last season then it may just start to get interesting.

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“Horrible performance” – Westley

August 30, 2009 Leave a Comment

Boylan scoring penalty against RushdenIt wasn’t pretty, but Stevenage got back to winning ways beating Rushden & Diamonds 2-1 at Broadhall Way. Unfortunately though the game won’t be remembered for the football, but for the horror tackle by Michael Corcoran on Lawrie Wilson which will probably see the in form right midfielder miss the rest of the season. Corcoran was sent off for the challenge and will miss 3 games because it was a straight red, while Wilson will miss the remainder of the campaign and may never reach his best again.

Back to the football and Boro boss Graham Westley made a few changes to his team due to injuries. Stacy Long came into the midfield in place of an unfit Mitchell Cole, while Chris Day returned in goal. Both Darren Murphy and Ashley Bayes picked up injuries in midweek and missed out. They’re also doubtful for Histon tomorrow.

Stevenage started brightly and were in front within 7 minutes. Chris Beardsley had a chance on 5 minutes when he went through, but he hit the post. Boro won possession back and got Beardsley in a good position again before he dived and unbelieveably won a penalty. It was a clear dive from the former Rushden striker that should not of resulted in a spot kick. However, Lee Boylan did step up and made no mistake from 12 yards. Boro were in front and looked comfortable.

Boro didn’t build on their lead though and allowed a physical Rushden side get back into the game. Then there was the challenge that changed the game. Lawrie Wilson was tackled from behind very late by Corcoran which resulted in the winger dislocating his ankle and breaking his leg in 3 places. You could tell straight away from the East Terrace that it was a terrible injury. Boylan’s reaction said a lot. Corcoran was rightly sent off and Boro brought on Mitchell Cole as Wilson’s replacement. It’s a big blow for Boro as Wilson has easily been the best player at Broadhall Way so far this season.

Cole never looked up for it yesterday and looked very unfit. Within 5-10 minutes of coming on he was struggling to get back and cover for Laird. Stevenage saw out the rest of the half, but Rushden were coming back into the game. Aaron O’Connor was a threat all afternoon and his runs in behind Ashton were creating chances for the visitors.

Stevenage resumed the second half, but it was the same story. The play was disjointed and not pleasant to watch. Byrom had a shocker in midfield. His passing found a Rushden player 99% of the time, while Long didn’t impose himself on the wing. I don’t think it is his best position, but even still some of his play yesterday was not what we used to see when he was an Ebbsfleet player. Most of the play bypassed the midfield with Roberts and Ashton hitting the ball long at every opportunity. It didn’t take long for Rushden to level and when Pattison made his way through the Boro defence it was blocked initially by Day before finding Tomlin who set up Akurang to make it 1-1. A poor goal for us to concede, but it had been coming.

The Diamonds continued to attack to try and push a winner, but with 10 men found it difficult to get the players forward. Westley made some changes late on which changed the game. Vincenti gave Boro a target man and put himself about a bit, while Yemi Odubade injected some pace into the team and game. It made a difference as Boro pushed forward and finally set up Bostwick who shot home from outside the box. The Rushden keeper should of really done better with the shot. It wasn’t what Boro deserved, but it proved that Westley’s side can win ugly and them 3 point may be important come the end of April.

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Rushden Preview

August 28, 2009 Leave a Comment

Rushden & Diamonds are next up for Boro as they look to bounce back from their defeat last weekend to Oxford United. The 2-1 loss at the Kassam Stadium was Boro’s only defeat of the season so far although the Hertfordshire club have also only won 1 match out of the 5 played. Rushden have faired slightly better recording 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat in their opening 5 games. The Diamonds started poorly when they were beaten 2-0 at home against Salisbury before coming back to win 8 points from the next 12 available.

Boro are still without Charlie Griffin who is struggling with a groin injury. Chris Beardsley is expected to continue up front alongside either Lee Boylan or Yemi Odubade. Beardsley will be facing one of his former clubs and will be hoping to continue his scoring form at Broadhall Way. Chris Day is also expected to miss out again with a thumb injury so Ashley Bayes will again deputise. Other than that Boro are more or less at full strength and the only decision GW will have to make is whether to continue with Jon Ashton or bring back Michael Bostwick to the defence and go with a different midfield. 

Rushden have a bit of an injury crisis ahead of their trip down to Broadhall Way. Midfielders Rob Wolleaston and Kurt Robinson are doubtful while striker Sam Smith is also struggling with a dead leg. There are also concerns over the fitness of former Barnet player Max Porter.

“I think Stevenage are going to be tough, they’re a very physical, well organised side. I’m always one to relish the challenge put in front of you, I hope and I’m pretty certain will do that going into the game looking to get another positive result to bring us back here on Monday to collect three points” Edinburgh on the Stevenage game

Stevenage’s record against Rushden recently has been good. Boro won the home fixture last season before drawing 1-1 at Nene Park on New Year’s Day. It could be argued that the victory on Boxing Day began Boro’s superb form in the second half of last season. The next game at Nene Park was one that Boro should of won comfortably after a ‘wonder’ goal from Steve Morison. A Sam Smith strike late on denied Westley’s side all 3 points.

“We’re back in our stadium, back in our home patch. We want to pick up from where we left off last time out – a good performance against Ebbsfleet. Every side is going to prepare themselves for the next game they are playing. Any opposition you play will do what it can to be at its best on the day. We have worked this week to make sure we are at our best on the day. We don’t expect any points to be easy. We know they are above us in the table. We are playing to go above them and are looking forward to the challenge.” Westley on facing Rushden

I think Stevenage can win this game, but it won’t be easy. Rushden are a much better side than last season and have some experienced Conference players mixed with some good youth players. Edinburgh has got them organised and has players who can score goals within the squad. Craig Farrell is a proven goalscorer at this level and Cliff Akurang excelled for Histon before earning a move to Barnet. I think Boro will just nick it with either and early or late goal settling it.

The Rushden perspective

Personally I think if we can start this match well we can go on and get a morale boosting win. So I’m going for a 2 -v- 1 victory with Farrell and Tomlin scoring, in front of 1984 fans (221 away). 2ofdiamonds

Stevenage Squad

Ashley Bayes, Chris Day, Lawrie Wilson, Scott Laird, Ronnie Henry, Jon Ashton, Mark Roberts, Mark Albrighton, Eddie Odhiambo, Michael Bostwick, Stacy Long, Peter Vincenti, David Bridges, Darren Murphy, Andy Drury, Joel Byrom, Mitchell Cole, Yemi Odubade, Lee Boylan, Charlie Griffin, Chris Beardsley

Prediction: Boro 1-0 Rushden

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The Long debate

August 27, 2009 Leave a Comment

Stacy LongOne of the more puzzling tactical decisions from Graham Westley so far this season has been his reluctance to give new midfielder Stacy Long a run in the team, especially as the creative side of Boro’s game is not quite where it should be. It’s been more long ball than Long. 

Stacy moved to Broadhall Way in the summer after a successful spell at Ebbsfleet United. In his time at Stonebridge Road, Long won the FA Trophy at Wembley and was the star player in Liam Daish’s side. A lot of teams in the Blue Square Premier were after the former England youth international  in the summer when it became apparent that he was on his way out with the club in financial difficulties. Boro beat them all to his signature, with Long stating that GW ‘sold’ him the club when the pair spoke about the transfer.

However, things haven’t turned out like many thought they would. When Boro announced they had signed Long I thought that it was a signing that would add a creative quality to the Boro midfield and add to competition for places which could also mean GW moving Bostwick to centre back when he wanted to knowing that he had the midfielders available to come in. Instead, Westley has opted to play either Joel Byrom or Lawrie Wilson with Darren Murphy in the midfield which wouldn’t of been first choice to many. Long started the season on the left wing, but I’m not sure he would of even played then if Mitchell Cole hadn’t got injured in pre-season.

I think Long can add a lot to the Boro midfield. He is an attack minded player who I think would form a good partnership with Michael Bostwick who is more defensive minded. He could also slot well into a 4-5-1 formation away from home being the ‘support’ player for either Griffin or Boylan. His versatiltity is a very handy thing to have available in the squad, but it’s not being used for reasons unknown. Whether GW is preferring to go with the more ‘tried and tested’ players I don’t know, but why sign a player, who must also be on quite high wages and then not use him.

I would personally put Long in against Rushden alongside Bostwick and see how it gets on with Cole and Drury on the flanks. Although Long is more attack minded, he can play a ‘box to box’ role as we have seen down the years when we’ve played Ebbsfleet United. I remember him doing this very well when the Kent side hammered us last August 4-0 at their place.

“Stacy Long was also impressing in the Ebbsfleet midfield. He was involved in most of their good attacking play.” Taken from last season’s report

It will be interesting to see how Long’s role within the team develops over the next few months, but I think again he will be another good footballer that doesn’t get on with the manager. We’ve seen in the past that similar players like John Martin and Daryl McMahon haven’t been favourites with the boss and it looks like the same is apparent here. I hope I’m proved wrong as I think he can offer a lot to this team, but I think we could see Long move on sooner rather than later.

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The Broadhall Way – Issue 25

August 27, 2009 Leave a Comment

The Broadhall Way - Issue 25Issue 25 of The Broadhall Way is released this Saturday when Rushden & Diamonds are the visitors to Stevenage.

It promises to be another packed issue with all your usual favourites including; The Worrier, Kenfish, Away Amazed, Two Hats, The Last Goalscorer Society and the Thinker…

Plus also in this issue…

  •  An exclusive interview with former Boro favourite Ryan Kirby
  • The results of our end of season survey
  • The final results from the Boro Fantasy Fives & Prediction Competitions plus your chance to enter this years competition.

Plus much much more and all for still only a £1.

You can get hold of your copy from WJ Rowe – the fish shop on Bedwell Crescent, Bedwell, who will have them available for purchase on Friday evening or alternatively from one of our sellers outside the ground or in the Broadhall Suite on matchday from around 2pm. We will also have sellers outside the ground after the final whistle and in the Broadhall Suite after the game too.

If you can’t make the game on Saturday, but still want to reserve the latest issue of the fanzine then you can by ordering a copy or taking out a subscription via PayPal. All you need to do is access your PayPal account and then click ‘Send Money’ and put the amount and our email address which is thebroadhallway@hotmail.com.

The ordering costs are as follows;

UK – £1.60
Ireland & Europe – £2.10
Rest of the World – £2.60

All orders received by 10am on Saturday will guarantee to have a copy of Issue 25 sent out to them.

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Lopo’s View

August 24, 2009 Leave a Comment

It’s been an interesting several months, a mixture of high, low and unbelievable moments which seem to be a regular occurrence as a Boro fan! 

We finished last season well with a long unbeaten run and another Trophy win. However the 4th May 2009 will not be a day to remember as we surrendered a 3-1 lead at The Abbey. I went into that game feeling confident that we would go there and get to Wembley however tactically we got it wrong and paid the price for missed chances, poor refereeing decisions and generally just poor tactics. 

My wounds were healed slightly by winning the FA Trophy again against York but it was a comfortable game for us and we deserved to win. The victory also saw Steve Morison play his last game for us and he went out in style scoring the opening goal and being given the man of the match. It wasn’t my personal choice as I felt Ronnie Henry was brilliant at right back and Andy Drury played very well in the whole just behind Moro and Boylan. 

With Morison’s departure a replacement was never going to be easy to find, however Graham Westley swooped to sign Charlie Griffin from Salisbury who scored 21 league goals last season. When he first arrived I was unsure, but I kept being reminded of 21 league goals he scored in a team worse than our own! So far Griffin hasn’t quite lived up to our expectations however I’m sure there is more to come. 

Joel Byrom’s arrival for £15k was seemingly a good deal as he was very highly rated by Northwich fans and I think, potentially, he could be a good player for us. He was brought in along with Stacy Long as a replacement for the outgoing Gary Mills who decided Mansfield was a bigger club for him to move to! Byrom’s red card against Tamworth was a bit stupid but he is still young and I am confident he will find his feet soon. Yemi Odubade is without doubt an impact player with electric pace. It’s enough to give defenders at any level nightmares, but hasn’t been given much of a chance so far with just a couple of substitute appearances and a tap in at Oxford on Saturday to his name. 

Stacy Long was, in my opinion the best signing of the summer, however so far Westley hasn’t quite found him a place in the side with Mitchell Cole continuing on the left. It’s a real shame as I feel Long is a very good player and hopefully he will be given an opportunity to find his feet and kick on. Chris Beardsley was the final signing of the summer and one that I was slightly unsure of initially, but after seeing him against albeit a poor Ebbsfleet team I felt he offered a bit more than Griffin and deserved his goal too. 

This season so far has shown players in a different light such as Lawrie Wilson picking up some good form and looking twice the player he was last term. The start of the season has also highlighted a few worries about a couple of our other players. Darren Murphy in my opinion has not improved enough and seems to lack pace and technical ability to cut it at this level. He is strong and gets stuck in, but sometimes that does lead to his downfall especially with poor officials blowing their whistle every 2 minutes! Some people have criticised John Ashton and in some ways I would agree, but I definitely prefer him at the back and Bostwick playing in midfield. I think the team is far more balanced when Bostwick is in the middle. 

The squad is generally in good shape, however it seems that “so near but yet so far” is our motto, especially after last season’s defeat in the play-offs. After Woking’s relegation to the Blue Square South last season, we are now officially the longest serving team in the Conference! That is something that will hopefully be changed soon by winning promotion to the football league. It’s going to be another long hard season ahead with inevitably more drama, but hopefully more success.

If you want to write your own column for Stevenage Borough then contact sgmboro@hotmail.co.uk for more details.

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