19 October 2021

Alex Revell wants his players to reflect after another away defeat

19 October 2021

Stevenage boss Alex Revell wants his players to ‘go away and think about things’ after they were beaten 3-0 for the second game in a row.

After losing heavily at struggling Oldham on Saturday, Stevenage were swept aside by Northampton at a sodden Sixfields and now sit just two points above the Sky Bet League Two relegation zone.

Kion Etete and Sam Hoskins struck in the first half for the Cobblers, before Fraser Horsfall headed in a third shortly after the hour-mark.

Revell said: “We wanted a reaction from the players after Saturday and we wanted to make it difficult for Northampton and be more aggressive.

“For half an hour, the game was exactly how we wanted it to go, but then two mistakes cost you two goals.

“It’s very difficult because you plan and things are going to that plan but then all of a sudden, one ball goes over the top and we don’t defend it anywhere near well enough.

“A player slips for the second goal and that’s 2-0 and we’re in the same predicament as we were in on Saturday.

“Ultimately, if you make mistakes, you’ll be punished and at the moment when we make a mistake, we’re being punished – and that’s something that has to stop.

“You’re the manager and you take it, but players have to be accountable when they step over the white line because mistakes are costing us.

“The players need to go away and think about things and reflect on it, as we do as staff as well.”

Northampton now have back-to-back home wins and move into the top six as a result.

“It’s been a good few days,” said boss Jon Brady.

“It was a bit like Sunday League football with how both teams started in the first 15 minutes, the conditions were horrendous, but we had to get the ball down and pass and play.

“We needed to get the forward players on the ball and you’ve got to be brave in those conditions. We showed that after about 15 or 20 minutes and we got our just rewards with the goals.

“We’ve also only faced two shots against us in the last two games and I think that’s important for the defence because we looked at ourselves after the games against Hartlepool and Sutton.

“We gave away some poor goals in those games, as we’ve spoken a lot about, but now we have bounced back and that’s what it’s all about.

“To get back-to-back home wins is really positive and now we find ourselves moving up the table.

“It’s still so tight and you can fly up the table if you win two and you can drop a few places if you lose a couple.”

The best videos delivered daily

Watch the stories that matter, right from your inbox