Town travel to Stevenage tomorrow afternoon for our final away match of the Sky Bet League Two season.
Our opponents at the Lamex Stadium can seal promotion with three points but the Mariners head to Hertfordshire on the back of Tuesday’s win at Blundell Park over Crewe Alexandra.
That victory sealed the league double over the Railwaymen and a third win in all competitions over them this season and Paul Hurst’s team will be motivated by the possibility of a top-half finish in our first season back in the EFL.
The Mariners currently sit 11th with two matches remaining and Hurst spoke following Tuesday’s win of making sure Stevenage, if they are to seal promotion tomorrow, have to work for their points.
Team News
Aaron Braithwaite made his league debut against Crewe and could be involved again towards the end of the season while fellow youngster Evan Khouri started his second consecutive home match.
Post-match, Hurst confirmed that John McAtee and Bryn Morris have been ruled out for the remainder of the season with muscle injuries, meaning the former has played his last match for the Club and has returned to Luton Town.
Stevenage
After narrowly escaping relegation last season, Stevenage have surpassed expectations this year by being one of the frontrunners throughout the 2022/23 campaign.
Under the stewardship of Steve Evans, tomorrow’s hosts had rarely been out of the automatic promotion places but a wobble in form through February with just one win in six allowed the likes of Carlisle and Northampton to close the gap on them.
Earlier this month, they dropped as low as fifth but are now back in a prime position to go up to League One for the first time since being relegated in 2013/14.
Key to their success this season have been Luke Norris and Jordan Roberts, Stevenage’s top scorers who each have ten league goals to their names, respectively. Norris’ fellow striker Jamie Reid has a further nine to add to the club’s tally as well as a late equaliser at Aston Villa as they pulled off an FA Cup Third Round upset against the Premier League side.
Manager Evans has been at the helm since March last year and, after overseeing their survival last season, has turned around the Club’s fortunes this term. Vastly experienced as a Football League manager, he won promotion to League Two with Crawley Town before back-to-back promotions with Rotherham United from League Two to the Championship, reaching the second tier in 2014.
Previous Meetings
Town have faced Stevenage eleven times in the past, winning two of those encounters compared to their six.
Our last victory over tomorrow’s opponents was a 3-1 triumph at Blundell Park in January 2020. Should the Mariners win at the Lamex Stadium, it would be our first-ever victory away at Stevenage.
Referee
Will Finnie is the referee for tomorrow’s match in what will be his first Town match since our 1-0 win against Port Vale on 1st May 2021.
He will be assisted by Scott Williams and Damith Bandara.
Coverage
Due to broadcast regulations, tomorrow’s match is available live on Mariners TV to overseas supporters only. Match passes are available for £10 HERE.
UTM
