Manager confirms striker netted Boro equaliser

GRAHAM Westley confirmed Byron Harrison got the equaliser against Aldershot on Saturday, adding that he was backing a fellow member of the strikers club.

Westley, himself a front man during his playing days, says he was backing his striker’s claim that he managed to get the final touch to deflect midfielder Luke Foster’s strike across the line in the 2-2 draw.

“It was a sickener for Foz as it was a tremendous strike,” Westley said, “but in my mind, and I’m obviously going to support my strikers having played up there myself, Byron got a very clear touch on it.

“As upset as Luke is, it was Byron’s goal.”

Darius Charles put Boro ahead on Saturday, but goals either side of half-time from Alex Rodman saw Aldershot take the lead.

It was only then, Westley said, with his team behind did his players came out of their collective shell.

However, once Harrison had grabbed the equaliser the Stevenage manager believed the fear of making a mistake and losing the game stopped his players from making the most of their momentum.

“It was a disappointing performance in the first half from our point of view,” Westley said.

“I think we played with a little bit of fear in there. We were scared to retain the ball, we were focused in trying to hang on to them.

“We came out (in the second half, with the score at 1-1) and conceded a sloppy second goal. We then got ourselves on the front foot and played our best football.

“When the fear of failure left us and when we had nothing to lose we played our best football and the lads will learn that to be at our best we really have got to be prepared to show responsibility, show that forward momentum.

“We had a lot of good chances at set (pieces) and could easily have gone on to win the game. Perhaps getting that point back, there was that little bit of fear that we’d let it slip.

“We know how important every point you win at this stage of the season is. That importance factor is something we’ve taken too seriously and too much to heart today.

“We want to do so well, every one of us. There are lads in there who haven’t won medals yet in their career and they are desperate to win those medals, and there was a little bit of panic in our play which wasn’t necessary.”