Stevenage captain pleased with second half display

BORO captain Mark Roberts said he thought his side deserved the point they got at Aldershot.

Chris Beardsley put Stevenage ahead early in the second half at the EBB Stadium only for Boro to concede what is best described as a route one goal when Shots ‘keeper Jamie Young hoofed a long ball upfield which bounced between defender Jon Ashton and goalkeeper Chris Day for Damian Spencer to nip in to score.

Aldershot were also awarded a late penalty after Ashton fouled Anthony Straker in the box and Roberts said his heart was in his mouth when Shots striker Marvin Morgan struck his spot kick towards Chris Day and the Boro goal.

“You’re heart’s in your mouth, especially when Daisy saved it and the rebound came back to him (Morgan),” Roberts said.

“Fortunately he was able to make the double save, we all patted him on the back and I thought we were good value for the point.

“I think it was a well earned point. With the penalty miss we were quite happy to get the point in the end because with five minutes from time, when it looked like they might win 2-1, you would have probably taken the point.”

Aldershot had the better of the first half but they were sometimes thwarted by some terrific last minute defending from Roberts and his teammates.

Boro then began the second half on the front foot and took the lead but conceded a poor goal to allow the hosts a share of the spoils.

“There was quite a bit of defending to do first half,” Roberts said. “You just hope to get your body in the way. It’s not just me, all the defenders and the rest of the team put their body on the line and if you can block that shot you’re very happy.

“We changed a few things at half time, we always like to come out and start the second half well. I think we did start the game well and they came into it, but the second half we performed strong.”

Roberts praised the hard work of goalscorer Beardsey after the striker netter for the first time this season.

“Everyone knows at the club and the fans appreciate (goalscorer Chris Beardsley’s) hard work. He’s one of the first names on the teamsheet. He worked his socks off all day long and it was nice to see him rewarded with his goal which he took really well.

“It’s very disappointing the goal we conceded. We’ll have a look on the video and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”