Salisbury City 1  Stevenage Borough 0
Tubbs 90

Stevenage Borough succumbed to their second loss in a row after a Matthew Tubbs sucker punch in the dying embers of the game in this Blue Square Premier tie on Thursday evening. Setanta were in town again to witness these two sides battle for supremacy and on this occasion Salisbury won the battle.

Fred Murray returned to the side in place of Scott Laird while Lawrie Wilson and Gavin Grant also started. Emergency loan signing Scott Mitchell was on the bench after only meeting up with his new team-mates on the coach.

The scene was set early in the first half. Both sides had passion and urgency to their game though Salisbury had more of a cutting edge. Andrew Sandell, Aaron Cook and Darrell Clark all had good chances, the best of which fell to Cook. The defender was stuck in a group of players but hooked the ball towards the top corner and only heroics from the Borough goalkeeper Alan Julian saved the day.

For Borough there were two incidents to contend with. The first was the double booking of Ashley Westwood and Wilson. The first booking was for a tackle Wilson had made, Westwood however talked himself into the book after running fully 30 yards to ask the referee why he’d blown for the foul.

Secondly came a low hard shot from John Martin, which was parried, into Grant’s path by Ryan Clarke. Grant blasted it home but was promptly flagged for offside.

After the break Mitchell Cole almost got Borough ahead when he got his toe to Grants low cross but it was poked wide. During the second half Salisbury claimed for two penalty shouts which were both dismissed by the referee.  However their best chance to gain the lead was after Tommy Smith had got into trouble at the back. Westwood tried to pass back to Julian but found Tubbs instead. Julian’s save whilst one-on-one was inspirational.

Julian was determined to keep Borough in it and following that save Steve Morison had two good chances to nick the lead. The first was sent wide after great work in controlling the ball and racing through on goal. The second was similar and on target but Clarke got down to save and the ball was cleared before Grant could tap it into the empty net.

By now a draw looked inevitable until Robert Sinclair got past Ronnie Henry and crossed low into the Stevenage area. Westwood took a swing at the ball, which hit both legs, before rolling into the path of Tubbs who poked home. For Westwood it was the sort of thing that would normally have come off fine, today though luck was not on his side and the hurt on his face was apparent.

Peter Taylor was also clearly disappointed after the game. “I thought we would be the team to win it 1-0 the amount of times we got Steve Morison through but it wasn’t to be.” He said. “I can’t fault the effort, I think the lads give everything they’ve got but at the end of the day we’ve come away with nothing.”

For now Taylor has to pick up his charges confidence for the next game. As Stevenage Borough prepare for a tight run in, the first game is York City and at home three points would go a long way to settling nerves on this seasons rollercoaster ride.

Stevenage Borough (4-3-3) A Julian – R Henry, A Westwood, T Smith, F Murray – L Wilson, P Vincenti (Sub: S Mitchell, 77), J Martin – G Grant, S Morison, M Cole (Sub: T Berry, 77). Substitutes Not Used: I Rankin, S Laird, C Masters. Booked: Westwood, Wilson
Attendance: 1,211

Match Report by Barry Rust