Swindon Town look to build on their emphatic win over AFC Wimbledon at the weekend as they welcome Stevenage to the County Ground tomorrow evening, kick of at 7.45pm.
Steve Evans’ side are hot on the heels of Northampton in the automatic places, and with The Robins’ on an unbeaten run stretching to three, it makes for an enticing encounter at SN1.
Here’s some background on our next opponents…
The lowdown on Boro…
After back-to-back wins and an upturn in performances, Swindon will be hoping to continue to build momentum and finish the season off on a high as they take on Stevenage, a side who are very much in the mix for the automatic places in League Two.
They’ll be hoping to widen the gap between them and Stockport County, who currently sit one point behind them, although today’s opponents have a game in hand.
Stevenage have a relatively short history compared to some clubs in the football league.
The Boro were only founded in 1976 and were formed after the town’s former club disbanded.
They enjoyed a quick rise through the divisions, winning the league in their first season in the United Counties League Division One in 1980, and with three promotions in four seasons, found themselves in the Conference National in 1994.
Stevenage were then denied promotion to the Football League in 1996 due to insufficient ground facilities, and that proved costly for them, as they remained in the Conference Premier for the next 14 seasons.
They won promotion to the promise land in 2010 under the leadership of Graham Westley and achieved promotion to League One the following season.
They then achieved their highest league finish of sixth the year after, losing out to Sheffield United in the play-off semi-final, and after a mass exodus of the playing staff, Stevenage struggled the season after, and after a disappointing finish were relegated to League Two in the 2014.
Football legend Teddy Sheringham had a brief spell at the helm but only lasted nine months, as the club narrowly avoided a second relegation.
Then, In 2019/20, Stevenage narrowly avoided the drop again as a suspended points deduction initially saved Macclesfield from going down, but a successful EFL appeal saw them demoted meaning Stevenage’s league status was saved.
After a disappointing season last time out that resulted in a 19th placed finish, Evans has guided the club to within touching distance of the automatic places, and today’s opponents will be looking to move one step closer to a guaranteed place in League One next season.
Their season so far…
After an impressive start to the campaign under Evans, Stevenage have somewhat faltered since the turn of the year.
The Boro have been fighting toe-to-toe with champions-elect Leyton Orient for much of the season but have fallen away in recent months, and today’s match holds great importance as they aim to keep their noses in front of the chasing pack.
Stevenage currently sit in the last automatic spot, with only a single point separating them from Stockport, and with County away at Leyton Orient this weekend, they’ll be looking to put some space between them.
Last time out…
Swindon were undone in their last encounter with Stevenage, eventually going down 2-0 at the Lamex Stadium, courtesy of a brace from Jordan Roberts.
Today’s visitors had a mere 29% possession in the previous fixture, but for all Town’s dominance on the ball, Stevenage came out on top, with both of Roberts’ goals coming on the counter as Stevenage put in a resolute performance against the Robins.
Head to head…
Swindon have only faced today’s opponents 16 times during their respective histories, the first of those coming in the FA Cup, as Town lost 2-1 in 1998.
Since then, they have a relatively strong record against The Boro - winning nine, drawing two and losing four of the other games, although our most recent results against them don’t make good reading, with only one win in the last five.
18/19: Stevenage 2 - 0 Swindon Town L
19/20: Swindon Town 1 – 0 Stevenage W
21/22: Stevenage 1 – 1 Swindon Town D
21/22: Swindon Town 0 – 0 Stevenage D
22/23: Stevenage 2 – 0 Swindon Town L
The manager: Steve Evans…
Steve Evans is a lower league stalwart and has had a long and distinguished career in management.
The Glaswegian began his playing career at Bolton Wanderers, but was released before making his debut, and played the rest of his career in Scotland.
He turned out for Clyde, Albion Rovers, Ayr United, Hamilton Academical and St Johnstone, but it was in management he truly made his name.
Evans was made to work hard to rise through the leagues in management.
After quitting football altogether and becoming an Account Manager for Budweiser, he began managing local Peterborough side Gedney Hill.
After getting a taste for management, he then cut his teeth at Holbeach United before a brief stint as Chairman of Corby Town.
He then got his first real experience in the hotseat with Stamford in 1994, with whomhe won the United Counties Football League Premier Division title, before joining Boston United in 1998.
He then enjoyed a productive spell with The Pilgrims, firstly gaining promotion to the Conference in 2000 before a second promotion, this time to the Football League, in 2002.
After Boston, the 60-year-old joined Crawley Town, reaching the fifth round of the FA Cup during the 2010/11 season, before steering the club to promotion to League Two.
Evans switched to fellow League Two club Rotherham in 2012, and took them through the leagues, finishing second in League Two in his first full season at the club, and only a year later guided them to promotion again, winning the play-off final against Leyton Orient after extra time.
He then took up a new role as Head Coach at Leeds United in 2015 and took the club from one point outside the relegation zone to a respectable 13th place finish in the Championship, but that wasn’t enough to keep his job, as Massimo Cellino replaced him after a long-drawn-out period where the Leeds owner publicly approached numerous managers while Evans was still in the role.
The Glaswegian then had spells with Mansfield Town, Peterborough United and Gillingham, before taking up the reins at Stevenage in 2022, turning around the Boro’sfortunes to clinch safety with three matches remaining, after a run of 10 points in his first six matches, before a much stronger campaign this season.
Key players…
Luke Norris
Stevenage’s number nine will be very familiar to Town fans, and will be out to prove apoint this evening after successful spells since departing Swindon.
The Stevenage-born striker has 10 goals and two assists for his hometown club this season and has been more prolific since he left the Robins, after an inconsistent return during his time with the club.
Norris started out at Luton Town before moving to Brentford, where he signed professional terms after time in their academy.
He only made three appearances for the Bees, and was loaned out to Boreham Wood, Northampton Town and Dagenham & Redbridge before securing a permanent switch to Gillingham in 2014.
He then joined Town on a permanent deal in 2016 and scored 17 goals in 74 during a three-year spell, before moving to Colchester, where he returned his most prolific spell, notching 20 goals in 83 matches.
Norris joined Stevenage in 2021 and has netted 31 times in his 103 appearances.
Carl Piergianni
Club captain Carl Piergianni has been a mainstay in the Boro squad, only missing one game all season and amassing 42 appearances in the league.
The 30-year-old centre-back started at Peterborough United and has clocked up over 300 appearances across a variety of clubs, including Stockport County, Boston United, Salford City and Oldham Athletic, and also had a brief spell in Australia with South Melbourne.
At over six foot, Piergianni is an imposing figure at the back for Stevenage, and Town’s attack will have to be at their creative best if they are to break down Stevenage’s defence this evening.
Dan Sweeney
Only one player has made as many appearances as Piergianni in the league, and that is his defensive partner, Dan Sweeney.
The 28-year-old also clocks in at over six foot in height, and the pair have combined to ensure Stevenage have been resolute this season, conceding only 39 goals.
Sweeney’s career has seen long spells spent in non-league.
After starting out at AFC Wimbledon, he spent time at Kingstonian, Dulwich Hamlet, Maidstone United and Barnet, before securing a move to Forest Green Rovers in 2020.
Sweeney was part of the team that got promoted to League One last season, but after playing a bit part he was to allowed to leave for free last summer, joining today’s opponents, where he has become a core part of Boro’s push for promotion.
