SCENE SETTER
Tomorrow afternoon the Reds will travel for their final away trip of the season as we face Stevenage in our penultimate Sky Bet League Two fixture of the campaign.
FORM GUIDE
Stevenage have had a fantastic rise up the table since the beginning of the season when they looked likely to be involved in a relegation scrap. Alex Revell’s side have excelled in the second half of the season as form seemed to rocket even further after their 0-1 win against the Reds at The People’s Pension Stadium in mid-February.
Despite achieving some fantastic results, which included wins against the likes of Forest Green and Carlisle, The Boro hit a slump earlier in April when they lost consecutive games to Salford, Mansfield and Cheltenham Town. However, Revell’s men fought back and managed to pick up three points at high-flyers, Cambridge United.
The game finished 0-1 last Saturday as Luke Norris’ second-half strike was enough to achieve a deserved victory, as Stevenage recorded more efforts on goal than the home side, who needed a victory to confirm promotion to League One.
Following a disappointing 2-0 loss in South Wales to play-off hopefuls, Newport County, we achieved a point at home last Saturday when we hosted Forest Green Rovers, another side who are fighting for the top 7. The Greens started strong and looked to cause problems in the first-half, but after the break the Reds started to play some fantastic football and were unlucky not to score as the game finished goalless.
THE HISTORY
Last season, goals from Bez Lubala and Ashley Nadesan saw the Reds defeat Stevenage 2-0 at The People’s Pension Stadium, after John Yems oversaw a goalless draw at the Lamex Stadium in the reverse fixture earlier in the season.
In February, the Boro travelled down to West Sussex as slight underdogs after picking up some form after the turn of the year. In a scrappy affair it was Elliot Osborne’s wonderstrike that proved the difference as Stevenage picked up three points in a very tightly contested game.
THE OPPOSITION
Luke Norris is a name that many Reds fans will recognise after impressing against us for Colchester United on numerous occasions. The striker is now with the Boro and will likely be joined by the pacey Elliott List in attack. List is regarded as one of the fastest players in the league and the Reds were made aware of this in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. However, the forward has only scored eight league goals in 42 league appearances so far.
Another Ex-Colchester man who has proved important for Stevenage this season is centre-half Luke Prosser. The tall defender has been crucial within the side that have picked up an impressive number of clean sheets this season, sitting fourth in the clean sheets league table with 15 kept since August.
TEAM NEWS
Reece Grego-Cox and Tom Dallison remain unavailable. Sam Matthews is a doubt.
HOW THEY BET*
Stevenage 5/4
Draw 11/5
Crawley Town 21/10
*Odds correct with EFL partners Sky Bet at the time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.
COVERAGE
You can watch the match live on iFollow from 2:55 with commentary from Gary Smith and Ken Blackmore.
You can purchase a match pass for £10 by clicking here.
