Boro boss pleased to see striker off the mark

STEVENAGE boss Graham Westley said he was delighted to see striker Chris Beardsley get off the mark with his first goal of the season against Aldershot on Saturday.

The Boro striker had been in good form before Saturday’s match without hitting the back of the net, but finished coolly to put his side ahead before Damian Spencer’s equaliser 12 minutes from time.

The front man went off with an arm injury on Tuesday evening during the 1-0 defeat to Brentford in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy First Round match, but speaking after Saturday’s game manager Graham Westley said everyone at the club will be delighted he was rewarded for his work rate with his first strike of the season.

“He’s a player who everybody at the football club – the fans, the management, the players alike – will all be delighted for every time he hits the net,” Westley said.

“He’s not a natural goalscorer but he leads the line so honestly and gives so much for the team.

“Whenever Beardo gets a little bit of the limelight everyone’s delighted and he took his goal really well today.”

The Boro boss was pleased with his side’s second half display on Saturday and said they showed great character to come back against a side that was pushing for promotion last season.

“I was thinking that we’d struggled in the first half, I was thinking that the pitch, being as big as it was, was something that we probably hadn’t planned for in as well a way as we could have done and the game was different as what we anticipated it would be.

“They had the shape we expected them to have but we weren’t at it. The game was going on around us.

“I was really pleased with the commitment of the players in terms of sticking with their jobs, in terms of hanging on there and giving ourselves the chance to sort something out at half time as a way of playing in the second half.

“They knew the game was getting away from them and they just stuck at their jobs and showed real character.

“I thought in the second half we set about the game in a much more positive way. I thought we looked organised in our attacking play, we looked organised defensively and I thought we were the better side in the second half.”

The club is still assessing the extent of Beardsley’s arm injury meaning the striker is a doubt for the visit of Crewe Alexandra this weekend while Charlie Griffin, who was taken to hospital with concussion after Saturday’s match and missed Tuesday evening’s match, is also a doubt.

Boro were unable to bolster their attacking ranks this week when on trial striker Njazi Kuqi decided on a move to France, but despite the injuries to Beardsley and Grffin still have plenty of options up front with Yemi Odubade, Tim Sills - who came on as a substitute against Brentford - Peter Vincenti and Lee Boylan vying for a starting berth.