Teenager Kennedy plays without fear, says Stevenage team-mate

Andy Bond (Image: Archant)

Andy Bond says teenage star Ben Kennedy is playing without fear.

The 18-year-old scored the only goal of the game as Stevenage won at Cheltenham Town on Monday.

After being fouled by Jack Deaman for a penalty, the striker picked up the ball himself and struck home from the spot to score his fourth goal for the club since he broke into the first-team fold at the end of January.

The front man has already been linked with Premier League clubs Arsenal and Manchester City, and after the win over Cheltenham Bond praised his team-mate.

“He shows it every day in training. He’s 18, he’s a great player,” Bond said.

“To come on and win the penalty and to step up in front of their fans and stick it away like that I don’t think he fears anything at the minute.

“He’s confident, everything is going his way. [We’ve] just got to play him and let him do what he does.”

The three points from the win over the Robins takes Boro into the League 2 play-offs, and Graham Westley’s men host Northampton Town on Saturday before welcoming Portsmouth to the Lamex on Tuesday evening.

“It’s going to be tough, but we’re at home which will help us a little bit,” Bond said.

“We’ve got to go into it thinking that we’re going to win it. We need to continue winning to cement our place in the play-offs.

“It’s not going to be easy, Northampton. If we can start like we did [against Cheltenham] and hopefully put some of those chances away, we’ll be good.”