Stevenage emerged victorious against Harry Kewell’s Oldham Athletic in the first home league fixture of the 2020/21 season, winning 3-0 with Elliot Osborne, Luther Wildin and Luke Prosser grabbing the goals for Boro...
It was Stevenage's first league win at the Lamex Stadium in 329 days and manager Alex Revell always believed that the fixture was going to be an important one.
"It is a fantastic start for us at home, we knew this was going to be a huge game for us in terms of setting our stall out for the rest of the season. Barrow away was always going to be tough with a lot of players making their debuts but coming into today, I told the people and players that we wanted to win, that’s what we had to do."
Revell gave an honest assessment of his team’s performance during the game, explaining, "The first 15 minutes we were very good, but didn’t score that goal that we needed and all of a sudden, we dropped off which we need to work on. We can’t be like that because if you allow teams to come onto you in this league, it makes things very difficult but in the second half, we were outstanding as the players were committed to what we want and it was great to watch.
"Everything we talk about with our DNA and culture came out in the second half and it was a joy to watch. We saw Elliott List, Elliot Osborne, Danny Newton all working relentlessly and I could go on about all of them but it is a great way to begin at home and it is just the start we wanted and it showed today."
Although no supporters were at the stadium to watch the performance, a Test Event is scheduled for three weeks time and Revell says he can't wait for their return.
"I am sure they would’ve loved it here today. I have said this all along about how important it is for the people watching at home, or listening on the radio to know that this team are together. They bond, they show that work ethic and hopefully by the time the fans are back, we are churning more and more good performances out. We look forward to having them back and we missed the drum beating at 2-0, 3-0 which would’ve been great and this is a fantastic step in order to right the wrongs."
It is a quick turnaround for the team as they face Southampton U21s on Tuesday in the EFL Trophy and the Manager says that some new faces will be involved for the match. "There will obviously be changes because we want players to play in that and showcase what they have got.
"Everyone is really working hard and they deserve the opportunity to play so the lads that have been on the fringes will come in as well as the players that haven’t played today so it is a real good opportunity for us against a Premier League side. What happens how is we have to build and we want to win again. We want it to become a habit and keep going."
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