Stevenage captain hoping his side can do a Sheffield double

A 1-0 victory courtesy of the scruffiest of goals would satisfy Mark Roberts when his side take on Sheffield United this Saturday at the Lamex Stadium.

The last time a side from the Steel City travelled down to Boro they returned home tender and bruised after Stevenage’s devastating 5-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in September.

Yet this weekend a single goal and a clean sheet would more than satisfy the Stevenage skipper who has seen his side win three and draw one of their previous four matches, including back-to-back away victories at Brentford and Bury, heading into this weekend’s clash.

“It’s another great challenge for us, another good test,” said Roberts, who scored a header against Bury last Saturday.

“We’ve been playing well at home, and we now seem to have adapted the way we play away from home and to get back-to-back wins away from home in a week is great news.

“They’ve obviously got some talented players, but they’ve also got some youth and I think we’re learning all the time at this level and that can only be a good thing and hopefully we can extend this unbeaten run we’re on.

“I’m sure it’s one of those fixtures that the fans will look forward to. They’ve been fantastic so far.

“You know as long as we win the game we won’t be bothered how it comes.

“That was a fantastic first half performance [Boro went 4-0 up against Sheffield Wednesday before half time].

“I’m sure if we did likewise again we’d been delighted, but 1-0 we’d take that as well. It’s just important to keep this winning run going and to push up the table.”

Roberts is one of just two Stevenage players, Scott Laird being the other, who has played in every league fixture this season and the centre-half was rewarded for his outstanding performance at Gigg Lane with a place in the Football League team of the week.

Darius Charles could return to the Boro squad this weekend after missing the last four games with a knee injury, while Don Cowan, who made the bench last week following knee ligament trouble, will be hoping to push for a squad place again.