Things didn’t really change in the second half; chances were at a premium, and the only real talking points were changes and the two penalty incidents. Stevenage felt they should have had a penalty for an Adam Jackson challenge. Jackson wins the ball, but I’m not sure if, maybe, there’s a shout for a foul from Tendayi coming in from the other angle. Maybe. The BBC called the game a ‘tale of two penalties’ which really does add a little more drama to their appeal than is warranted. It wasn’t stonewall turned down, and their report said the ‘unsighted’ referee didn’t get good advice from his assistant. I strongly suspect a Stevenage fan has written the report for the Bebb.
We made a couple of changes, and one sparked a little spark in us. Tom Bayliss had struggled to get into the game, and JJ McKiernan came on for him, looking really lively. I like the dynamic, being able to bring on good subs, and along with Fred, they made our goal. You know what a honking game it must have been when my second paragraph of the second half is our goal on 72 minutes.
The move for us to get into the box was lovely. Fred and JJ combined for the latter to jinx into the area, and there’s no doubt about the outcome. Dan Butler lunges and trips McKiernan; he’s nowhere near the ball, and David Rock perhaps gave the only clear-cut decision of the day by pointing to the spot. The actual penalty took an age, but Ethan Erhahon was cute, taking the ball and perhaps removing some pressure from Jack Moylan, the taker. It also stopped Piergianni playing any of his games.
Moylan sent the keeper the wrong way, for what Alex Revell was keen to highlight was our ‘only shot on target, ‘ forgetting his side also had only one.
After that we defended the long balls into the box, and while they didn’t look like scoring, it remained a little nervy. Then, late in the game, everything exploded for no reason. Here’s a shock – it involved Piergianni. Him and Paudie had a coming together, a ‘much ado about nothing’ moment which the Stevenage man seemed to blow out of all proportion. It’s crazy how he reacted having watched it back, and it shows what an utter nob he is (in my opinion). I can maybe understand if it’s 75 minutes and they’re wanting an advantage, but 10 minutes into seven minutes of injury time, he’s trying to get a man sent off? Seriously? That’s not looking for an advantage, that’s just being a horrible bugger. Both players were booked, Paudie for a second time, and off he went. The game ended with the focus on the referee which, given his previous matches against us, isn’t a massive surprise.
Well, we had to have something to enjoy other than the football.
I’ll be honest – this morning, we did a 12km walk for charity in the warm, sweated and ached, and I feel dirtier writing this up as a ‘game of football’ as I did before I got in the shower. There was nothing for the spectator, nothing at all. Well, nothing apart from a penalty, a win and three points. I suppose that’s really all you need.
It’s hard to praise anyone across our midfield unless we’re going to comment on their neck muscles as they looked up all the time. The back three were excellent, and my man of the match was Paudie, despite him being sent off. It was a captain’s performance, one where we had to stand toe-to-toe with bullies, and we bullied them back. What this did not look like was a young side (which we are) going up against an organised, professional team of fighters (which they are).
Compared to the game in November, that really does represent the march of progress.
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