Stevenage’s manager says Boro had control of the first half, but the hosts were worth their injury-time equaliser

Graham Westley said Crawley Town deserved a point and could have got all three, such was the way they played in the second half of tonight’s League 1 match.

Boro took the lead in the first half through Bira Dembele’s header, but after missing a couple of chances of their own then saw their hosts make a fight of it in the second period before Matt Tubbs’ late winner earned the home side a point.

Afterwards Westley said that he expected a burst of pressure from the home side after they had gone into the break a goal down, and that playing two hard away games in a matter of days may have taken its toll on his side.

“They got on the front foot, they got a grip on the game and we couldn’t ease the pressure and it looked as though our goal was going to lead a charmed life and we were going to get away with it, but in the end you’d have to say they deserved the point and probably could have got more,” Westley said.

“It was a game where we took control in the first half, really got on the front foot, played some intelligent football in the conditions which were very difficult and got ourselves ahead through a well-worked set play which was nice.

“At half-time it looked like there would only be one winner, but you always knew that a home side that hadn’t travelled at the weekend, that hadn’t travelled tonight might have a little burst of energy at some stage and sure enough we looked like a travelled side in that second half.

“Legs were weary, a lot of lads who hadn’t had a lot of football who started to buckle probably under the work that was required.

“You think about lads like Bira, like Darius [Charles] and Mous [John Mousinho] – all lads who haven’t had a lot of football – and the demands I think of the game took their toll.”