Danforth “You must understand, sir, that a person is either with the Boro’ or he must be counted against it, there be no road between. This is a sharp time, now, a precise time – we live no longer in the tinpot non-league when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world. Now, by god’s grace, our prospects look up and them that feared for Boro’ will surely praise them.” Anyone familiar with Arthur Miller’s work might well feel appalled at such a grotesque reworking of his seminal play – OH WELL! We never promised to be cultured.
We are feeling bullish, you see. It matters not that we were unable to see Boro’s equaliser at Crewe due to being sat down while others stood, miffed at having fallen behind during the first half. But we fully accept that we should have shown more faith in our merry men and believed right until the end. Three points, back on track, smiles on faces – what more could you ask for in early January?
Two new strikers were brought in before the game; Haber and Akins started the fixture – both scored. Is there some form of link we could draw from these facts, or is it just one of those mere coinkydinks? Hmmmm. It’s only something that has come to us, but whatever you believe, Stevenage looked rejuvenated in a 4-4-2 formation after the disappointment of losing late onto Walsall. We could be onto something here.
Away Day Wine: Not only did Crewe herald a return to winning ways, but the return of away day wines. Makulu was its name, Chenin Blanc was its type and South Africa was its country of birth. It was the only South African to be found in our local off licence and was fruitier than we had anticipated. Having been used to crisp SA tipples, this wasn’t quite a triumph but better than average – 7.
Ratings To Ignore The FA Cup By…:
ARNOLD – 7 – Might have done better with Crewe’s opener, but only if he’d seen it…
GRAY – 6 – If you take him on, you’ll find all the traffic lights changing green to red!
CHARLES – 7 – Formed a solid defensive partnership alongside the skipper.
ROBERTS – 7 – We ran out of superlatives for which to describe Robbo in May 2011.
COMMINGES – 7 – Starting to look more and more assured on the left of defence.
GRANT – 7 – An efficient, determined showing and had great presence in the centre.
DUNNE – 6 – Quiet, but effective in creating a barrier between himself and the goal.
TANSEY – 6 – Less effective on the flanks, but came devilishly close with a free kick.
MORAIS – 6 – He’s a bullish lad and we like him very much for that…
AKINS – 7 – A decent foil for Marcus Haber up front; richly rewarded with first goal.
HABER – 7 – He hasn’t stopped running all season and was fully deserving of his goal.
BELEK – 6 – Not afraid to put himself about; the cat among Crewe’s defensive pigeons.
N’GALA – 5 – A late replacement; not called upon to do much as Boro’ saw out the win.
FREEMAN – 5 – The greatest 40 seconds you’ll ever see from a player; that’s all he got.
SMITH – 7 – A welcome new shape and kept faith in Haber/Akins – faith duly rewarded.
