Boro boo boys get unlikely supporter
DARREN SARLL said he was booing with the fans as his Stevenage side were defeated by ten-man Exeter City.
Visiting skipper Jordan Moore-Taylor was sent off in the first half, but goals from substitute Lee Holmes and Ollie Watkins earned the Grecians three points.
Despite the numerical advantage, Boro put forward a lacklustre performance, much to the anger of their supporters and manager.
Sarll said: “That’s the worst performance of my time here and I booed with the crowd. I was with them.
“It has been a horrible outcome, because the performance was so inferior. It was horrible from 3.01 for me. The performance was below standard. To be energy-less is not acceptable and it is not good enough for the viewing public and not good enough for me.
“To be in football is an absolute privilege and an inspiring position to be in, so to be so energy-less when nearly 2,500 people pay to watch you play is no excuse.”
Watkins nearly made the most of sloppy defending in the first couple of minutes before Robbie Simpson saw his shot hooked off the line by Fraser Franks.
Then in the 24th minute, Tom Pett raced in on goal from a long pass only to be cynically pulled back by Moore Taylor just outside the area, prompting his sending off.
This gave Boro an upper hand, but they struggled to carve out chances against stubborn opponents.
And they were made to pay for the lack of creativity with 20 minutes to go as the defence fell asleep and allowed Holmes to run in and score.
The visitors had their tails up and a minute later they moved the ball around the midfield and set Watkins free to double the lead.
Exeter have now moved out of the relegation zone and Paul Tisdale was delighted with their attitude.
“There is no hiding from the fact we’ve had a hard five or six weeks, but from the start we put so much effort into this game and we looked the more determined side,” he said.
“When Jordan got sent off, I just thought, ‘Crikey, that’s the last we need now’. But the players just stuck in and it looked like it really meant something to them.
“It was a big performance and there are a lot of knackered bodies and minds, including mine, in that changing room. We just knew we had to get something out of the game and to do it with ten men is brilliant.”