Alex Revell thanks Stevenage for ‘sticking together’ to go top with Saints win

Stevenage boss Alex Revell believes the 2-0 home victory over Northampton showed his side’s newfound resilience and quality.

Second-half goals from Dan Kemp and Gassan Ahadme, the second scored about 90 seconds after coming on for his debut following a midweek loan switch from Charlton, sent Boro top of the table, the only side left in Sky Bet League One with a 100 per cent record.

But the visitors to the Lamex had made life less than pleasant and had chances to snatch the lead before the opener, Elliott List twice off target in the opening 15 minutes of the second period.

Revell said: “We made it tougher because the first half was really slow and lethargic and lacked energy.

“We didn’t pass the ball well enough and we ended up doing things that weren’t us.

“We needed to get to half-time because we allowed Northampton to interfere with our game and it was important to speak to them.

“But then I thought we came out and showed intent.

“I thought when Dan Kemp scored, the goal was coming. We had started getting crosses in and Jordan Roberts was coming alive.

“And the second killed off the game. That was a really good goal and a nice goal to see.

“It was a really tough game but the sign of a good team is that when you don’t play well, you stick together, you keep a clean sheet, you keep the ball out of the net and you wait for those moments.

“That’s what we did.”

Northampton boss Kevin Nolan could take the positives from their performance, but they still find themselves with just one point from three matches.

And he knows the longer they go without winning, the more frustrating it is going to get.

He said: “Oh, of course, there’s going to be lots of positive we can take but we can’t keep coming away from and patting ourselves on the back when we’ve lost.

“We have to have a real desire to not lose a game, we might not win, but we don’t lose.

“They’ll say the goals were really good because they put it in the right area, but they were two sloppy goals on our part.

“They are something we can avoid and that’s where the disappointment comes from my behalf.

“But if you go 1-0 down, don’t concede a second because you never know, it only takes a second to get back in it.

“It’s just disappointing that we’ve come away from home and I feel like we’ve gifted them the win.

“It was a very even game and we had shots but there’s only one stat that matters.”