Tamworth 2 Stevenage Boro 0 DARREN ISTED reports A SHOCKING second half from Boro saw them crash to their second defeat at the hands of Conference strugglers in the space of seven days. And with just one point taken from a possible nine, Boro s title hope

Tamworth 2 Stevenage Boro 0

DARREN ISTED reports

A SHOCKING second half from Boro saw them crash to their second defeat at the hands of Conference strugglers in the space of seven days.

And with just one point taken from a possible nine, Boro's title hopes look long gone, while ambitions of even hitting the play-offs appear to be fading fast.

For Southport last Saturday, read Tamworth at the weekend as Boro struggled to match their opponents, and then fell foul of an inevitable sucker punch.

The side which took the field at The Lamb showed more changes. The 6ft 7in Luke Oliver made his debut while much was expected of Adam Miller, who had been so impressive on his debut against Woking.

And to be fair it was Boro who bossed the first half.

The visitors were clearly comfortable trying to play football on a difficult surface and carved out a few half chances with Jon Nurse driving across the face of goal on 29 minutes while George Boyd fired a free-kick just over before the break.

The chance of the half came in added time and it looked to be a certain goal as the impressive Justin Gregory powered down the left and sent in a cross which Jefferson Louis met powerfully just yards from the goal. But instead of guiding his effort home, the Boro striker lifted his header onto the bar.

It was a gilt-edged chance but Boro began the second half in a similarly dangerous mood and Louis again came close just five minutes after the restart.

Gregory was again the provider but his cross forced Louis too deep and his header went wide of the far post.

With Boro unable to make the breakthrough the turning point came in a bizarre fashion.

Both Barry Laker and Rob Quinn were forced to leave the field after a clash of heads and Boro were forced to play on with nine men before Laker was substituted, Darryn Stamp coming on and initially covering at centre-back.

The forced reshuffle clearly hit Boro and before they had a chance to recover they were a goal behind.

Nathan Jackson had forced a corner following a dangerous run and shot that was blocked. But from the resulting ball in, Boro failed to clear their lines and Carl Heggs pounced to drive in from close range.

The goal lifted the home side and they had a second clear chance just a minute later, Miller robbed in possession allowed Matthew Williams through on goal and only a diving stop from Julian kept Boro in the game.

Boro looked for a way back without success but few could have predicted Tamworth would hit a second, Williams firing home spectacularly with a 25 yard free-kick which left Julian with no chance.

The visitors attempted to pile on the pressure late in the game, Stamp and Nurse both coming close but Tamworth held out with ease and ended good value for their win.