Stevenage bowed out of the Herts Senior Cup this evening with a 1-0 quarter-final defeat at Hitchin Town.
A Boro team comprising largely squad and youth team players created several chances during the 90 minutes but were made to pay for missed opportunities thanks to Matt Lench’s 47th minute winner.
Both Jordan Burrow and Michael Doughty forced home ‘keeper Tahj Bell into first-half saves with Burrow also seeing a header and a close-range effort go wide.
Whilst Hitchin hit the woodwork in the second half it was Stevenage who largely controlled the game, but without finding an equaliser.
Burrow and Bruno Andrade both had a couple of efforts off-target, with Bell also saving a close-range Darius Charles effort after the big man switched from centre-half to centre-forward for the second 45 minutes.
Whilst defeat means Boro are out of the competition, the game did provide the opportunity for Darius Charles to get a full 90 minutes under his belt for the first time in months and for others to get further match practice.
Next up it's Everton in this weekend's eagerly-anticipated FA Cup with Budweiser Fourth Round tie and tickets are still available!
Boro: Smith, Carey-Morrell, Joseph, Charles, Johnson, Andrade, Wedgbury, Doughty (Towner 60), Deacon, Tounkara, Burrow
Subs not used: Patel, Gordon, Okenabirhie, Gorman