A trip to Sussex brought an eighth win from 11 League Two games for Stevenage.

There was a much needed second goal of the campaign for Luke Norris too but Boro yet again spurned numerous changes before wrapping things up five minutes from time.

But how were the players at the Broadfield Stadium? How stood out? Here's how I rated the Boro squad.

Crawley Town 1 Stevenage 2 - Boro ratings

Taye Ashby-Hammond - 6

One good stop in the first half and a couple of routine saves in the second but was caught out close to his own line for the Crawley goal. Deflections would have played a part though.

Carl Piergianni - 7

Enjoyed himself at Crawley with some good blocks, headers and tackles. You always feel he is going to core from a set-piece too so brings a real threat at both ends.

Dan Sweeney - 7

Still prone to giving the ball away from time to time but this was a better performance from him. Defensively dominant and is definitely the more attacking of the usual three centre-halves.

Jordan Roberts - 8

He was part of the first changes but up until then, he was a constant menace. Scored a beauty, linked well with Jamie Reid and the great thing is his manager says he is only giving 70 per cent of what he is capable of at the minute. Bodes well.

Kane Smith - 6

Crossing wasn't his best but one or two still caused Crawley some panic. Defended fine too for the majority of his game-time.

Terence Vancooten - 7

Played in a defensive midfield position until the triple change on 62 minutes where he dropped back into a centre-back role. Was spot on in both, the former really impressive.

Arthur Read - 7

First half I thought he was excellent and having his best game of the season. Was getting forward, picking passes and making things tick. Lost his way as Crawley upped their game at the start of the second period but still a good outing.

Alex Gilbey - 6

Loved one moment as a ball was played forward in the air towards Danny Rose and Gilbey gambled on him winning the header by running beyond him. That shows his League One experience and the quickness of his footballing brain. Otherwise OK without running the show.

Jamie Reid - 7

I thought he did well for the most part, and he and Jordan Roberts linked up brilliantly, but he had two glorious chances, one more glorious than the other, and he had to score with at least one of them.

Danny Rose - 6

Was in the wars a bit and with his injury record I did wince every time he went down. Was alright, did the hold-up play in the absence of Luke Norris and won his headers as usual.

Saxon Earley - 6

Defensively he still has work to do but this was a lot better in that department. Got forward from time to time too but after his initial burst onto the scene, he seems to be treading water a bit and now getting stuck into the slog of a long season. All part of the learning curve for him.

Substitutes - 7

It was Jake Taylor's header that won the penalty and Luke Norris who converted it but it came at a time when Crawley were looking the more likely to score. Made in two goes, three in the first change and two in the second, the intention was positive and that is never a bad thing, especially away from home.

Opposition players who caught the eye

There were a couple of OK performances from the home side without anybody truly standing out. Nick Tsaroulla made a couple of good challenges and stuck in a couple of good crosses but they looked like a team struggling for confidence.

Summary

This was an OK performance overall. The first half was excellent but for all the positives, it really should by have been at least 2-0 at the break and maybe even double that.

But you can't argue too much because they keep getting the job done. They did it late on again too and at a time when I felt all the momentum was with Crawley.

They'll be asked tougher questions elsewhere throughout the season but the winning habit is alive and well. That's not a bad thing.