Paul Tisdale loved what he saw from Stevenage in draw with Sutton

Posted Sunday, January 16, 2022 by PA

Stevenage boss Paul Tisdale said he was happy that his side wanted to score more despite conceding in added time during their 3-3 draw against promotion-chasing Sutton.

Tisdale’s side went 2-0 up just before half-time after goals from Luke Norris and Jamie Reid.

But despite controlling the early stages of the second half, Sutton got a foothold back in the game with goals from Alistair Smith and Robert Milsom either side of Reid’s second.

Richie Bennett nodded home the equaliser in the eighth minute of added time, leaving Stevenage five points above the bottom two and Sutton one point off the top three.

Tisdale said: “My boys played absolutely wonderfully.

“We tried to score more right to the end. I mean, we were 3-2 up trying to score goals at the end.

“There was not a whiff that we were settling to see out the game, we wanted to score another, and we defended well.

“Everything we did today was bang on, and it was a wonderful game of football. It had everything.

“They’re a good team, they’re a really good team and credit to them for coming back into it.

“What a game. I love the team today, and I thought they were cracking.

“It must have been a hard game to referee. I mean, the lights went out, but it was a cracking game of football, it had everything, and both sides were incredibly committed.

“We’ve only got the point, and we were one minute away from getting three, but crikey, that gives me so much heart again that we played so well last week, and we’ve come out and done it again.”

Sutton manager Matt Gray was proud of his side’s response to falling behind.

He said: “I just knew, even at half-time, that we felt a little bit hard done by on both decisions by the referee leading up to the goal.

“In all fairness, I wasn’t sure ours was a penalty either, so sometimes the decisions go for you, or they don’t go for you, but a great response to get that goal back.

“An uncharacteristic goal to give away to suddenly find ourselves 3-1 down, but again we just kept pushing and pushing and pushing.

“Again, we’ve got great belief in this dressing room, and I’m really pleased with that result.

“Unfortunately, many times this season, we’ve been on the wrong end of late goals where it hasn’t quite gone for us, but today we’ve come back and nicked a draw, and it certainly feels like a win.

“As always, our supporters, in full voice, and they were absolutely outstanding. We’re one club together, and we’re all in it together.”