Steve Evans was full of praise for striker Luke Norris after two goals in the win over Sutton United.

The second-half brace were the first he has scored from open play and added to Dan Sweeney's headed opener, they gave Boro a 3-0 win that lifted them level on points with leaders Leyton Orient.

If wasn't all pleasure for the 29-year-old who departed early bloodied and battered, his nose broken by a high foot.

That, according to the boss, just gives him battle scars that all good players earn.

"He’s got a broken nose but he’s been looking to improve his looks," said a smiling Evans.

"No, it’s good to see Luke get two goals and two good finishes too.

"We’re all buzzing for him as he is a great kid.

"He’s had a tough time in front of goal but we’ve never doubted him.

"It was good he got a goal in open play and it was good when he can step up and score a penalty.

"The goals are a sign of a boy that was working hard for his hometown club.

"He wears that shirt with pride and I’m sure the fans loved every minute of it, as he did."

The result was overshadowed by a suspected broken leg for Sutton's Jon Barden which lead to a near 10-minute delay in the closing stages as he was attended by the medical staff of both clubs.

"It was a very good victory," said Evans. "We knew what we were going to get from Sutton.

"They are big and strong and physical and they overpower a lot of teams.

"We had to earn the right to win and we did that over by the 90.

"But the game gets overshadowed by the kid who has broke his leg."

The victory was also born from a different mould to the one used by Stevenage in recent weeks.

Evans said: "That’s the least amount of shots we’ve had but it was ultra-competitive. We both concentrated on winning the battle rather than playing and that’s what disappointed us.

"Paul Raynor was particularly aggressive and high-volumed with the players at half-time because although we were 1-0 up, we forgot to play.

"We played a lot of good stuff in the second half and if we’d had a little more care, we would have won even more comfortably."