Jamie Reid's instant reply means Stevenage take home all three points in Cambridgeshire...

Stevenage were met with a familiar foe in Cambridge United on a warm Tuesday evening as both sides looked to continue their unbeaten start to the 2023/24 League One campaign. Steve Evans made four changes from Saturday’s victory over Shrewsbury as Taye Ashby-Hammond, Alex MacDonald, Kane Smith and Ben Thompson returned to the starting eleven.

Both sets of supporters were up for this, with an immense amount of noise being made in the opening five minutes from all four sides of Abbey Stadium. It was the visitors, Stevenage, who had the first shot on target with Finley Burns aiming a header on goal from Alex MacDonald’s corner, but Cambridge’s Jack Stevens parried it away.

Stevenage looked comfortable in possession and getting out of tight spaces and even managed to get the ball in the back of the net before the linesman raised his flag for offside. It was Jordan Roberts who came close to opening the scoring with a neat finish into the bottom right corner before being denied by the yellow and orange flag.

Evans’ men looked to dominate the game soon after and found their deserved opener through the type of goal Stevenage pride themselves on. Taye Ashby-Hammond’s long free-kick was headed down by Carl Piergianni, allowing Jordan Roberts to burst through and tap it past the goalkeeper to give his side the lead.

The goal lit a small fire into the belly of the Cambridge players as they searched for an equaliser before half-time. Jack Lankester’s quick feet inside the area allowed him to get a shot off, but Carl Piergianni threw his body on the line to keep his side in front.

Four minutes were added on to the end of the first half as Stevenage held onto their one-goal advantage. They then watched a free kick go out of play as the referee blew for the interval.

Five minutes into the half it was Boro who looked as if they were going to double their lead. Aaron Pressley received the ball over the top and dropped the shoulder to lose his defender but fired his effort over the bar with his weaker left foot.

Cambridge did create some chances though, as they aimed to spoil Stevenage’s fun. James Brophy delivered a threatening ball into the area, but Kane Smith headed it out.

The U’s did not allow Boro to settle around the hour mark as they applied the pressure on the visitors. Stevenage did manage to calm the storm though and made two substitutions with Ben Thompson and Alex MacDonald making way for Jake Forster-Caskey and Jamie Reid.

Reid almost made an immediate impact just seconds after coming on as Jordan Roberts found him through on goal with a searching ball forward. Just one-on-one with the goalkeeper Reid looked to place it past him, but Jack Stevens got down quickly to deny.

The action then turned to the other end of the field as Cambridge had several shots on goal, but Boro defended superbly to keep their lead. It was becoming a real end-to-end encounter as centre back Nathan Thompson broke away soon after. He found Jordan Roberts who cut in on his left foot and searched for Jamie Reid in the area, but the trouble was cleared.

Steve Evans made a third change with twenty minutes remaining. Centre midfielder Nick Freeman replaced striker Aaron Pressley, with Jordan Roberts stepping up top alongside Jamie Reid.

Louis Thompson was next up to get a shot on target for Boro. A corner was punched out by Jack Stevens, but only as far as Thompson who tried his luck first-time, but his effort fell into the keeper’s arms.

Cambridge then found themselves on the front foot and grabbed an equaliser with ten minutes to go. Fejiri Okenabirhie played a dangerous ball across goal, allowing Elias Kachunga to tap in from close-range.

This goal did not affect Boro in the slightest as the inevitable Jamie Reid replied in an instance. The forward picked the ball up twenty yards from goal and fired low and hard into the bottom left corner to send the away end into raptures. Stevenage had regained their lead just one minute after losing it, which further shows the side’s ruthlessness.

A final change was made by Steve Evans as Josh March replaced Jordan Roberts in a like-for-like swap up front. The fourth official then indicated six minutes of additional time to be played as Boro crawled closer and closer to the finish line.

Stevenage worked incredibly hard in additional time and the referee eventually blew his final whistle to send Boro home with all three points against local rivals. The result means it's three wins in three for Evans' side in League One as their dream start continues. Attention turns to a trip to Reading on Saturday for a tough test on the road.

Attendance: 7521 with 1259 away supporters.