Bravery is a commodity often associated with goalkeepers but for a fleeting moment against Crawley Town it abandoned Stevenage's David Stockdale.

Leading 1-0, Boro conceded a penalty giving Tom Nichols the perfect opportunity to equalise for the hosts.

However, the 35-year-old keeper opted to stand his ground, and it paid off as he got his hands up to tip the spot-kick over the top and preserve the three points.

"I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Luke, the goalkeeping coach," he said. "He told me [Nichol's] last penalty, which he missed, went down the middle and with it being the last minute, I decided to stick with that plan.

"Sometimes you can look stupid but it paid off.

"I lost my bottle a little bit so I got a little bit lucky but whether it was good luck, good fortune or good information, when they all come together it makes for a better night.

"I’m just happy for the lads. They defended so well."

It was the former Brighton man's second clean sheet in the five games he has played since arriving from Wycombe Wanderers on an emergency loan.

And he is pleased to be playing his part in Stevenage's progress up the table.

He said: "It just shows how well we have been defending. We’ve got some good defenders who know what they are doing but when you have people like Jordan Maguire-Drew, I was with him at Brighton and I know his deliveries are quality, you are going to get a couple where you have to scrap and defend for each other.

"I felt sorry for Arthur Read [after conceding the penalty]. He has come on and he is just trying to do what he can to help the team and that happens.

"It was nice for me to help out in with that save."

And he says he is thoroughly enjoying his time at the Lamex, no matter if it is to be a short stay.

"I love it," he said. "The last game I played before coming was nearly a year ago so it has been great to be back involved.

"I can’t say there was a load of offers there because I have not played for such a long time.

"It was a brave decision from Alex but I think it was because he scored past me once and he wanted to being me here to remind me.

"I’ll let him have that if we keep picking up three points."