Steve Evans’ men go on their travels for the third consecutive fixture tomorrow for a 3pm kick off in Sky Bet League Two against Crewe Alexandra…
Despite picking up their first loss of the campaign last Saturday in Salford, Boro bounced-back on Tuesday with a 2-1 Papa John’s trophy victory over Sky Bet League One opposition, Peterborough United.
On Thursday, Steve Evans captured the signature of Charlton midfielder Alex Gilbey, who joins the tight-knit group on loan until the end of the season. Gilbey will no doubt boost the midfield options and is likely to make his first appearance in a Boro shirt this weekend.
After relegation from Sky Bet League One at the end of last season, Crewe Alexandra returned to Sky Bet League Two in hopes of going straight back up. So far, Alex Morris’ side have had a satisfactory return to the fourth tier, picking up three wins, two draws and a loss in their first six league games. The Railwaymen are unbeaten at home with their only loss in the league coming away to Salford, as they fell to a 3-0 defeat in Greater Manchester.
Crewe’s top scorer so far is Courtney Baker-Richardson with four to his name after seven games. Baker-Richardson is a new name at The Mornflake Stadium, having signed this summer from fellow League Two side Newport County. He recently scored a first-half brace against promotion hopefuls Northampton Town.
The Crewe gaffer, Alex Morris, was appointed as interim manager in April after the departure of former manager David Artell. Morris was then handed the permanent job just over two weeks later and now has aims to guide them back to Sky Bet League One. Morris is very familiar with his club, having represented the Railwaymen in his youth playing days before injury forced his early retirement.
Boro and The Alex have met on fourteen occasions in the past, in both Sky Bet League One and Two. Stevenage have won five contests, with Crewe winning six and the sides drawing three times. The first meeting between the sides was in September 2010 where one goal each was scored at The Lamex with Yemi Odubade getting on the scoresheet for Boro.
Stevenage’s highest-scoring victory over Crewe came in the 2013/14 season as a brace from Filipe Morais as well as a goal for Luke Freeman contributed to a 3-0 away victory in Sky Bet League One.
Boro have failed to get one over tomorrow’s opponents in the last six meetings with the most recent victory for Stevenage coming in February 2017 thanks to goals from Fraser Franks and Matt Godden.
The Mornflake stadium is home to Crewe Alexandra and has been since the club moved into the original stadium in 1897. The ground has since been demolished and refurbished but remains in the same spot, adjacent to the railway, hence the club’s nickname of ‘The Railwaymen’. The stadium holds a capacity of 10,153 with a record attendance of 20,000 being set in 1960.
Tom Nield has been appointed Match Referee for tomorrow’s fixture with Chris Isherwood and Blake Antrobus alongside Ross Joyce as Fourth Official. Nield’s most recent fixture was Tuesday’s Papa John’s Trophy fixture between Oxford United and Leyton Orient as the former came away with a 5-0 victory.
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