Stevenage manager Steve Evans believes Josh March is now up to speed after a slow start at the club, following the striker’s two goals in victory over Walsall.

March signed for Boro on the penultimate day of the January transfer window from Forest Green and was given only his second start since then as Evans made five changes from last week’s defeat at Rochdale.

The 25-year-old certainly made the most of his opportunity, with the overhead kick for his second goal being the highlight as Stevenage opened up a three-point gap between themselves and fourth-placed Northampton.

Evans, whose side picked up just their second win in eight games, said: “He’s a terrific lad and we brought him in and by his own admission he wasn’t at the levels where he needed to be.

“He’s been patient, we’ve kept working with him physically with Matty [Rogers] and Alex Revell, and Paul [Raynor] on the technical side, and it’s paid off.

“I said in front of the players ‘thank you to the staff as well’ because they’ve quickly behind the scenes got players up to speed.

“We were without Terence [Vancooten], without Luther [James-Wildin], without Dean Campbell and they’re all big players for us.

“Everyone in that strip today was who was available for us, but they’ve worked incredibly hard all the way up to today and they got rewards because I think we were, in spells, back to how we were earlier in the season.”

Stevenage started much the sharper and were 2-0 up after 14 minutes as March ran onto Max Clark’s long ball and rifled past Owen Evans, before Luke Norris turned in Kane Smith’s ball across goal.

Walsall were briefly back in the game when Manny Monthe struck after the ball ran loose off Smith, but March quickly restored the two-goal cushion with a spectacular finish.

Walsall boss Michael Flynn made four substitutions at half-time and he said: “If I could have made more, I would have.

“I’m not singling out any individual, we’re all together and I’ll take the blame as well – I’ll hold my hands up – but they’ve got to give me more than they did first half and they’ve got to give themselves more.

“[At 2-1] we go and give another silly goal away. They’ve had a corner, we don’t win the first header and alright, it’s a good finish, but he’s got a free shot.

“You see Stevenage players putting their bodies on the line, which predominantly we do but we didn’t today.

“We should have taken both of those chances late on, but we don’t and that’s the ruthlessness of both boxes, but we wouldn’t have deserved it after that first half.”