Stevenage boss Dino Maamria described both James Ball and new signing Moses Makasi as “terrific” after they played starring roles in Boro’s 2-1 win over Crawley Town at The Lamex Stadium.
Ball scored both goals after coming on as an early substitute for the injured Alex Revell to earn Stevenage all three points in the Sky Bet League Two clash.
Signed from Stockport in the summer, the 23-year-old has found game time hard to come by in recent months after starting the season brightly with a goal on the opening day against Tranmere Rovers and a superb free-kick against Norwich City in the Carabao Cup.
Naturally a midfielder, Ball played as a striker alongside Danny Newton, and Maamria was delighted with his impact.
“He is a versatile player who can play many positions,” he said.
“I’ve seen him play centre forward before for Stockport. He looks a natural there.
“I thought he took his goals pretty well, could have scored in the second-half for a hat-trick, but apart from his goals I thought he worked really hard for the team. He showed a lot of maturity in that position was terrific.”
Makasi signed on-loan for the rest of the season from West Ham United yesterday and went straight into the starting XI.
He had a hand in both goals, finding an overlapping Luther James-Wildin who crossed for the first goal, and running almost the length of the pitch in the build-up the second.
“He was fantastic and just what we needed,” said Mammria.
“I think our team has been crying out for creativity there and he showed just what he can give us.
“First-half he was a threat throughout. He struggled a bit for fitness in the second-half, I nearly took him off but he gave us 96, 97 minutes.
“First-half was about his quality and second-half was about his work ethic. Moses is a terrific player and hopefully he’s a promising signing for us.”
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