Stevenage may have notched an impressive 2-0 win at Carlisle – the longest journey they can make in League Two – but for the 34 hardy Boro fans who made the trip to the Cumbrian outpost the game will stick long in the memory through a generous and spontaneous gesture from the club.
During the long drive up to Brunton Park, boss Darren Sarll – who is keenly attuned to the sacrifices loyal fans make in supporting their team – decided, after talking to his captain Ronnie Henry, that the team would make a financial contribution to fund the fans’ half-time food and drink.
Sarll decided to have a whip-round among all the players on the coach to make sure the supporters who made the 540 mile round-trip would at least have a free pie and a pint, courtesy of the North Herts club.
Speaking to CometSport kind-hearted Sarll said: “Ronnie and I were talking and tried to explain to the players what it is to be a supporter, what it means financially and what means emotionally.
“Ronnie said ‘normally teams always give the supporters a token gesture in the event of a negative performance or result’ and we carried on talking and I said to him let’s flip it.
“Let’s show them our appreciation for them actually getting there. He agreed and we held a whip-round with everyone from the youngest to the oldest contributing.
“You can’t underestimate how much we appreciate the fans efforts – we found it hard travelling, but we get paid to do that – that’s within our working week.
“For the fans to get up to Carlisle – well that’s on top of their working week. So they’d have got in at five o’clock in the morning, they wouldn’t have had the day off they would have been rolling back into work and their jobs straight away at nine o’clock.”
While the impressive 2-0 victory would have cheered supporters spirits no end after one point from nine prior to their 2-1 victory over Morecambe the Saturday before their visit to Cumbria, Sarll and his men’s generosity did not go unappreciated – far from it.
Loyal fan Matt Farley, who was one of the loyal 34 to make the trip posted on his Twitter account: “What a fantastic win! The players were superb, thank you so much Stevenage FC for the free drink!”
Sarll added in admiration: “The ten seconds I get to celebrate a win with our supporters after a game after a good result is the most special thing about being manager for me – and to be able to enjoy that with them after the game is something I’ll always remember.”
Stevenage play Port Vale at the Lamex on Saturday hoping to continue their recent good form.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here