Match Report
League Two
Cheltenham Town F.C
Liam Sercombe 28
Stevenage F.C
Jack Aitchison 80
Stevenage clear the hurdles at Cheltenham to pick up a solid point
Jack Aitchison scored his first Stevenage goal away to Cheltenham Town on Boxing Day. - Credit: DAVID LOVEDAY/TGS PHOTO
Stevenage returned from their 10-day self-isolation to claim a "solid" away point in a 1-1 draw at Cheltenham Town - and boss Alex Revell felt their performance could have brought even more.
They needed an equaliser with 10 minutes to go from Jack Aitchison, the on-loan Barnsley forward drilling a shot from the edge of the area low to the left of Cheltenham keeper Joshua Griffiths to cancel out Liam Sercombe's thunderous first-half effort into the top corner.
But Boro held their own throughout against the promotion-chasing Robins as they showed no ill-effects from their second brush with coronavirus.
Revell said: "We were the better side in the game. Their goal came out of nothing really, giving the ball away and punished with an absolutely fantastic strike.
"They then had a spell of play which is to be expected but didn’t really threaten us.
"I felt like it was a matter of time in that second half and a point away from home after the week and half we’ve had, you can look back and say it was a solid away performance.
"We created a lot of chances and had a couple of breakaways where it was three against two in our favour and we chose the wrong option.
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"These are the things we have to try and improve. Players are so desperate to score and change the result but in those situations you have to be calm and ice-cold and choose the right option."
The introduction of Aitchison on 58 minutes helped changed that and Revell was pleased with his contribution after a couple of months out with injury.
He said: "His goal was real class and showed what a top talent he is. You give him the ball and anything can happen.
"He deserves it. He came down and spent [Christmas Day] in the hotel on his but he’s worked extremely hard to get back.
"He’s really committed to doing well here and he’s shown that [if you work hard], you get your rewards."
There was also praise for another of the club's youngsters, Luis Fernandez, who was recalled to the first-team squad after a loan spell with National League South Oxford City.
Luis Fernandez of Stevenage in a pre-season friendly at St Albans City in 2019. - Credit: DANNY LOO/TGS PHOTO
"He never lets you down does he," said a smiling boss. "I’m delighted for him.
"It was a tough one to let him go as he’s such a top kid but we recalled him because of the situation.
"He was excited to come back in but Scott Cuthbert led really well as captain too.
"He took everyone under his wing and led the way."
