Stevenage swept Carlisle United aside on Saturday as Kurtis Guthrie (2) and Arthur Iontton scored in a 3-0 win...
Boro put in arguably the performance of the season, as they dominated the opposition from the first minute until the last to make it back-to-back wins in Sky Bet League Two.
Dino Maamria named two changes to the side that beat Grimsby the previous weekend, bringing in Emmanuel Sonupe for the injured Moses Makasi and Arthur Iontton for Joel Byrom.
Right from the off, Stevenage looked like a side rejuvenated. Playing with pace, flair and purpose, Maamria’s men thrilled the Lamex Stadium crowd in the first half.
Cuthbert, Sonupe and Chair both had half-chances inside the opening 10 minutes as Stevenage loaded the box with crosses at every available opportunity. Boro opened the scoring on the 16th minute and it was Arthur Iontton, arriving in the box late to finish past Collin for his first Senior goal. A brilliant way to cap off the 18 year old’s week, after picking up the League Two Apprentice of the Year award at last Sunday’s EFL Awards.
Aside from a long-distance strike by Simpson that flew narrowly past Farman’s goal, Carlisle were barely able to muster an attack throughout the opening 45 minutes. Boro kept on coming though and Guthrie could have made the lead a more comfortable one heading into the break, when some nice link-up play between the striker and Sonupe resulted in a one-on-one with the keeper from a narrow angle. After receiving the ball back from Sonupe’s back-heel, Guthrie could only fire into the side netting.
If Stevenage fans thought the first half was good, the second half was to be even better. After a big penalty appeal for the Cumbrians was turned down just a few minutes in, Stevenage took advantage to put their foot down and blast past the Play-Off chasing opponents inside a 10 minute period. Kurtis Guthrie made it 2-0 with a bullet header from a Chair corner before the in-form striker was felled in the box and awarded a penalty, which he duly converted.
Boro continued to look for more and after Danny Newton, Mark McKee and Joel Byrom replaced Ilias Chair, Emmanuel Sonupe and Arthur Iontton, the crowd showed their appreciation for three potential Man of the Match candidates.
Joe Martin came the width of the post away from adding the cherry to the icing, with a well-struck free-kick in added time that flew just over the bar.
The result makes it back-to-back victories for Stevenage and 60 points for the season, as the chase for a Play-Off spot continues with just four games to go.
---
