Playing Northampton is hard enough without gifting them set piece goals, says Stevenage’s caretaker boss

Darren Sarll says playing against Northampton is ‘hard enough’ without conceding from set pieces along the way.

Sarll said it was ‘heart-breaking’ that his side, having gone into a 2-0 lead through two set pieces of their own, then conceded from a quickly taken free-kick headed in by James Collins shortly before the break before conceding an equaliser when John-Joe O’Toole converted from a corner just after it.

Stevenage were then dealt a killer blow deep into injury-time when Ricky Holmes fired in a sensational winner to send Town back home with all three points and leaving Boro without a point from their last five games

“I thought the boys fought and showed heart the whole game,” Sarll said.

“We are patching sides together at the moment and utilising the players as best we can and in a manner that can be as effective as we can on Saturday.

“At half-time, performance-wise I was pleased but I was very disappointed with the goal.

“But you have to move on very quickly to stabilise your side. To concede another set piece…whenever you play against Northampton it’s tough enough as it is but when you get a chance to organise yourself, get set and ready, to concede goals from [set pieces] they’re heart-breaking.”

Asked if his side deserved more from the game, Boro’s caretaker boss said: “You always get what you deserve.

“If you don’t defend set pieces properly you don’t win games. The game at this level is restart, restart, restart. You have to defend them properly.

“The first one, the absolute killer of the game at the time it was. I’m sure Chris [Wilder, Northampton’s boss] will be thinking ‘I wonder how different my team talk would have been at half-time had I not got that one’.

“My team talk would have been different. The manner of it in terms of us switching off and getting caught. I’ve said that inexperienced players make inexperienced errors.”