The season ended on a high in a sunny North London as Stevenage Borough beat York City 2-0 to
win the FA Trophy at Wembley. It was the perfect end to what has been a difficult week for the
club. Boro were the dominant force throughout and what could of been a trciky encounter ended up
being a walk in the park for Graham Westley's side.
Chelmsford City 1-2 Stevenage Borough
15th July 2009
Melbourne Park
It wasn't pretty, but it was never going to be in Chelmsford this evening as Stevenage kicked
off their pre-season campaign. It was an unfamiliar looking Boro side who started the game in
black training shirts before reverting to the old white home shirt for the second half.
Today was another game where Stevenage were held by opposition you would expect to be beating if
your side are serious challengers for promotion. It hasn't been the start that Graham Westley would
of been hoping for. After last season started slowly, they ended the campaign strongly to finish
the season in the play-offs and it looks like Westley may have to repeat the trick again this
season to try and win promotion.
Stevenage made it into the draw for the second round of the FA Cup after a superb performance up
at Port Vale. Boro dominated the game in long spells and were unlucky not to win the game
comfortably. Vale looked poor and I think underestimated the task ahead of them. Boro manager
Graham Westley will be delighted with his side's performance after ripping the League 2 club apart
for the majority of the game, but will be frustrated that missed chances again cost his side
winning away from home for the second weekend in a row.
Boro continued their fantastic unbeaten home run after a 5-3 victory over Gateshead this
afternoon. In wet and windy conditions both teams struggled to really get hold of the game and
kicking against the wind certainly seemed to affect Boro at times during the first half.
It was a rare opportunity for Graham Westley to name the same team as last Saturday after an
impressive performance against Port Vale.
Graham Westley has already completed his first piece of business of the summer, securing the
signature of Salisbury City striker Charlie Griffin. The Bath born forward was out of contract at
the Raymond McEnhill Stadium and moves to Hertfordshire on a free transfer. Griffin had a prolific
season in front of goal for the Whites and wasn't far away from beating Steve Morison in the Blue
Square Premier goalscoring charts.
After the signing of Stacy Long from Ebbsfleet, I assume that will be that with regards to
signings this summer. Westley has brought 5 in, getting rid of 4 and seems to have a balanced squad
of 22 senior players at his disposal for next season.
One thing that stands out from the signings the manager has made this summer, is that almost all
of them are versatile and can play in different positions when needed to.
Its the battle of 17th versus 18th in the Blue Square Premier tomorrow night. Boro are still
unbeaten, but have struggled so far this term, while opponents Ebbsfleet are still finding their
feet after a traumatic summer which saw just 3 players remain from last season's squad. Even their
official website is having problems at the minute!
