‘QUALITY’ JOE EARNS SARLL’S SALUTE
JOE MARTIN’S superb free-kick may have maintained Stevenage’s unbeaten start to the season with victory at Cheltenham, but that did not stop manager Darren Sarll calling it a ‘horrible’ match.
Boro’s victory was their third of the season and sees them move up a place to second, with only Exeter keeping them off the League Two summit.
The key moment came eight minutes from time as left-back Martin curled in a sumptuous 20-yard free-kick, delighting the 160 travelling fans behind the goal.
“He has got unbelievable quality, far above and beyond the division we’re playing in,” Sarll said.
“He’s very low maintenance, is a wonderful player to manage, and he’s the first name on the teamsheet most weeks because of that attitude.
“A point may have been a fair reflection of both teams but Joe Martin’s got quality. He showed great composure and temperament at the end there to get the winner.”
It was somewhat harsh on Cheltenham, who had 17 shots but were wasteful in front of goal, only mustering one effort on target.
Robins manager Gary Johnson believed his side were unfortunate to come away with nothing.
“We deserved something,” he said. “We have to create more but when we had chances, we weren’t able to put them away.
“The boys worked hard but it’s in that final third where you win games.”
Cheltenham started the brighter but chances were at a premium, with neither goalkeeper tested in a tight first half.
On the stroke of half-time, confusion in Stevenage’s backline saw Kevin Dawson nip in, but he was adjudged to have fouled visiting goalkeeper Joe Fryer.
In the second half, Fryer was forced into a good save from Danny Wright, before Martin’s excellent free-kick put Boro ahead.
Cheltenham pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages but Harry Pell blazed a last-gasp set-piece high and wide as Stevenage held on for three points. And Sarll admitted he was pleased with his side’s never-say-die approach. “I just reinforced to the players at half-time that we’ve got to keep trying to play,” he added.
“I was delighted with their attitude and today’s performance shows consistency to that togetherness we’ve got. But it was a horrible football match.”
Opposition manager Johnson was left to reflect on another narrow home loss, after his side’s recent 4-3 defeat to Exeter.
“The game was competitive, neither keeper really had to make a marvellous save,” he explained.
“The one bit of quality got them the goal. It could have gone either way. Along with the supporters, I’m disappointed that we’ve lost another home game.
“There’s a long way to go, the only way is up and we’ll keep going. I’m seeing enough in the group to know we’ll get better.”