Scott Cuthbert has heaped praise on his central defensive partner Terence Vancooten after the pair gave an almost flawless performance in the 3-1 win over Scunthorpe United.
Having recovered from the loss of an early goal, they faced a barrage of balls into the box during the second period.
However, the pair held firm before a late third and the 33-year-old admitted he thoroughly enjoyed the way the game went as well as admiring the performance of the 23-year-old Vancooten.
He said: "The boy up front [Ryan Loft] was a handful, a big strong boy and when you play in this league you know you’ll come up against these players who will throw you about if you’re not on your guard.
"TVC has come into the team and been outstanding. They played a lot of balls down his side and targeted him but he stood up like a man and won his headers. He was superb.
"From the moment I came in through the door you could tell he had ability.
"He was unfortunate last year. He came back at the start of the season and was unbelievably fit and unbelievable in games.
"Then me and him clashed in a game against Leyton Orient and he was out for nine weeks. That sets you back and it is hard for a young lad to find their stride and find their form, especially when they are in and out of the team.
"But now he is getting a run of games and showing how good a player he is."
For Cuthbert the passion and desire of the youngsters around him is half the reason for Stevenage's upturn in fortunes since Christmas.
He said: "I’m playing with young lads and it is great. Yes, they are going to make mistakes but I’ve been there and I’ve made mistakes.
"I learned from it and so will they and they will become better players for it.
"I keep harping on about it but it’s not been nice over the last 18 months. Nobody wants to be losing games but we’ve got lads who care about the club and it hurts when we don’t get results.
"Now we’re getting our just rewards for believing in ourselves. We’re better than what the league position shows and we have good enough players to be higher up the league."
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