Kurtis Guthrie was delighted to help Stevenage finally pick up three points on a Saturday as his goal and leading of the front-line played a big part in Boro’s 2-1 win over Grimsby…
The striker also played a big part in the team’s second goal, as some sublime skill by the corner flag released James-Wildin, whose pass picked out goalscorer Carter.
Having waited so long to taste victory, Guthrie says the club’s supporters deserved to go home happy.
“The three points have been coming, the fans deserve it, the management deserve it and it is nice to come away from a Saturday with a win in the bag.”
Guthrie’s goal was a moment of magic, flicking the ball home with his backheel to put Stevenage into the lead.
“I will take it; I will take it. I think sometimes you got to be brave and try things and fortunate for me it came off and for the team. I saw it coming, it was a little bit behind me, and it was a ‘why not’. You do them every now and then in training and every now and then they go in and match days its obviously nice to see it come off, it is a time to smile.”
After looking like the team were cruising to victory, 2-0 up with just over 10 minutes to goal, a stunning strike from Grimsby’s Ahkeem Rose halved the lead and set up a nerve-wracking end to the match for supporters.
Having survived the scare, Guthrie says it made the victory even sweeter.
“We needed to prove to ourselves that we can battle - starting on Tuesday and you have seen it today again. We probably dominated most parts of the first half, being very attacking. We should have had three at least. It wasn’t to be, we took two and we have come out in the second half and weathered the storm.
“The defence weathered it well and again it shows that we are resilient and there is character there to fight back and do what we need to do. I think it is important for the fans to know. You can see coming towards the end there that they are backing us all the way there and supporting us and it was key.
“Sometimes it is better to have a win under these circumstances rather than just coasting through 3-0 because you don’t find to much about yourselves. Here, you learn a lot, you go home and look at yourself and know you have worked for your money this week and gave the fans what they wanted.”
The result moves Boro off the basement of Sky Bet League Two and feeling optimistic about the future. Guthrie says that he is in no doubt that the team need to continue working hard to ensure that they keep moving forward.
“It is never nice to be down there; it is not nice at all. To get off the bottom is obviously massive. It gives everyone a peace of mind. First and for most, it proves today that we can do it. What we showed on Tuesday and today is the bare minimum and we need keep replicating that week in, week out.
“We can’t afford to get complacent or anything like that. The boys know what position we are in, and we know what we are capable of. You see the performances from the boys today, especially in that first half where you are thinking wow, these boys can play and they are strong enough to weather the storm and the management as well, making all the right decisions.
“It is important for us to keep building, to take the momentum from the last two games and roll into next week all guns blazing and get another result.”
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