Sadly reality says that we blew our chance big time last Saturday and we've left ourselves a bloody big mountain to climb.
We just didn't know what hit us in the 1st leg and we, both fans and players, thought that we would win the game and at the worst drawn or lost narrowly and then go to finish the job off at Broadhall Way. How wrong we were?
Stevenage came to Aggborough looking twice as fit as us, twice the passion, twice the skill and twice the size too. Up front they had a couple of big men and a shorter speedy striker ready to poach a goal and that's just what Odubade did with their second. We had a lone striker from a Championship side, Adam Boyes, leading the line for us and he looked well out of his depth.
At least on Tuesday evening at Luton we rang the changes slightly by using two strikers and we looked all the better for it. Even though the scoreline wasn't as bad this time, we lost 3-1, at least we looked more potent up front.
For the Luton game we had enforced changes that saw Tom Sharpe replace the injured Gavin Caines, Jack Byrne in for Marcus Bignot, James Lawrie replaced Boyes and scored with Robbie Matthews alongside him and Marc Goodfellow return out wide in place of Darryl Knights. For tomorrows game we're going to have to drop both Byrne and Goodfellow again because they're both cup tied but Sharpe could retain his place. Hopefully Lawrie and Matthews will continue playing together because I think that's our best option.
The only changes that Stevenage are expected to make to their team is to play a number of fringe players. With nothing to lose and also having a more important, in their eyes, game at Grays on Tuesday evening they'll rest a handful of players to keep them ready for the Championship run in. Michael Bostwick will miss the game anyway due to the yellow card he picked up in the final minutes last Saturday.
Stevenage Borough's home record is daunting, they have lost just once in thirty nine games in all competitions, and that was a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in the FA Cup. Do I think we have a chance of making it a second loss? Maybe we might win one or two nil but I don't see us doing to them what they did to us.
I just hope that come five o'clock I've been proved wrong.
Teams:
Harriers from:
Singh, Atkins, Baker, Riley, Bignot, Courtney, Sharpe, Finnigan, Knights, Hadley, McPhee, Bennett, Hayward, Caines, Smikle, Lawrie, Boyes, Matthews.
Stevenage from:
Bayes, Day, Rayner, Wilson, Laird, Odhiambo, Ashton, Albrighton, Murphy, Long, Griffin, Boylan, Odubade, Ryan, Byrom, Roberts, Sills, Bridges, Beardsley, Cole, Drury, Henry, Anderson, Vincenti.
Links to Stevenage Borough websites here
Directions to Stevenage
here
Find Pubs around Kidderminster here
Find Hotels around Stevenage here
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