OMG SNOW! LOL!
Of course, it’s all but gone now – much like Woking’s Football League hopes. Still, what a fantastic distraction it was (for most of us) last weekend. If it wasn’t the joy of building all of the many snowpeople, it was the searing pain of trying to get to work on Monday morning. Still, it meant you weren’t dwelling on the goalless draw with Wycombe Wanderers. And, for that, maybe we should be grateful the weatherfolk got it spot on. From sticking five past Swindon to zero against the Chairboys; if it took place in Hawaii, you’d have yourself a cop show.
That’s a much-laboured Hawaii 5-0 reference, by the way.
Hawaii 5-0?
Oh never mind.
So, where are you thinking you’d like to go this weekend? It is, of course, a rhetorical question. Our fate is pre-ordained, our destiny (in the short-term, at least) decided. It’s the long trip south west for Boro’ this weekend; to Exeter for an all-singing, all-dancing beano at Sid James’ Park. Yeah, it’s not quite top of the list of places to go if you’re in search of some early festive cheer. It could be worse, though. You could spend it trudging round Roaring Meg instead; looking for the right scent of candle for your ma-in-law. That’s the theory at least…
Exeter City v Stevenage: The Lowdown
The Opposition:
Exeter are quietly moving up the list of sides we’ve met most often. With 20 encounters under our belt before we even start this weekend, it’s a select club of which they’re a member. If neither them (nor us, to be fair like) change division before the start of next term, they’ll be on a par with Grays Athletic (24) soon enough. Yet, our shared history isn’t much cause for optimism – not at their place, anyway. In 10 trips to Devon, we’ve won two. The last time this happened was March 2006, when Darryn Stamp and Jon Nurse scored in a 2-0 win.
Mind you, Ronnie Henry might remember both those wins. He played in them!
The Form:
No team has fared worse over the last 10 league outings than Boro’. Barnet are giving it a bash, but conceded four less than us. It’ll be ‘The Event’ at Luton rearing its ugly head again. If you shorten that period to the last, success! Boro’ have taken three points from a possible 18 – and with a better goal difference than the Bees or Crewe. On the road? Well, we’ve lost our last four and scored just once. For a team in fourth position, however, the Grecians’ recent form is better suited to a team in and around where we find ourselves. So, there’s that…
From the boys and girls at kickoff.co.uk, here’s how the form looks with some bright colours…
The Referee:
Trevor Kettle. If ever there were two words to send a shiver down your spine…
P11 W6 D2 L3 F15 A11; last result: Crewe Alexandra 1-0 Stevenage, 07/10/2017
The Head-to-Head:
P20 W5 D8 L7 F17 A26; last result: Exeter City 1-1 Stevenage, 18/02/2017
The FIFA 18 Verdict:
Ride us sideways and call us Mavis! The return of a little-missed and much-maligned feature, and in the nick of time. If you’d been asking just what has been missing from Boro’s performances lately, this is it. The computer-generated belief that, y’know, good things do happen to good people. You’ll have to make do with a still as the PS4’s ‘Share’ button is new to us, but an (almost) unchanged Boro’ ran out 2-1 winners thanks to Matt Godden (above, 18′) and Owen Goal (66′). Not even completely abject defending could stop us winning (Reid, 77′).
Happy now?
• BoroGuide’s Exeter City club profile – happy in the haze of a drunken hour…