Had it been fight night at the Lamex, the contest against Crewe Alexandra would have been over sharpish said Stevenage manager Steve Evans.

Boro won 1-0 to move back to second in League Two but it needed a goal from Jamie Reid on 79 minutes to finally floor the visitors.

The home side had 60 per cent of possession in the first-half but didn't have a single shot on goal, on or off target.

It improved greatly after the break with 17 shots flying in, six on target, and 16 corners in total won.

And it was a dominance that deserved the win according to the boss.

Evans said: "If it was a boxing match, it would be all over in half an hour because we've had all the ball, all the territory and we're making entries into the final third.

"But what we didn't have was that little jab and that big punch. 

"When we came in at half-time, we said we had to move the ball a bit quicker, a little bit sharper and maybe with a little more purpose.

"You never win a game by having possession. You win by scoring against the other team. 

"It’s been two big games. The pressure to get the win against Walsall took a lot out of the players, so we knew that we'd need to make some changes at key stages. 

"I think we got the substitutions right and not just because of the goal. Michael Bostwick could have had a hat trick but for the goalkeeper's face. 

"And Jamie Reid always can produce something that's very good and that's what he did."

The scorer came in for more praise from Evans when asked just how important a goal that could be.

But the manager was also delighted with his entire squad.

He said: "Every goal we score is welcomed and is massive for us. We said to the players back in June and July and in January, at the end of the window, that everyone here will play a part. 

"This demonstrates that. Kane [Smith] was telling the bench he was starting to feel as if he had nothing left but when you’ve got Luther James-Wildin sitting there, it's very easy.

"And I had Forster-Caskey, Rose, Reid, some good options and it just got us three points. 

"Jamie is a big player for us. He has had some things away from football that he had to deal with in the past couple of weeks. 

"And that's why we relieved a little bit of pressure from him and brought him to the bench.  

"But I said to him when he went on that he was the man to score the winner and he just winked and laughed."  

And there was another little quip that had the boss smiling as for the second time in a week, someone said Stevenage were in a crisis.

He was quick to point out that the pressure will all be on others.

Evans said: "Someone said to me in the tunnel after the game that we were lucky as we've been having a crisis.

"Three wins out of four, second in the league with 11 to go. We'll take that crisis every season, won't we? 

"I hope I'm standing here in League One in a year from now having the same crisis.

"It was just about accumulating three points and moving forward to Saturday. 

"After that it’s 10 games to go and then we'll see who can deal with the pressure, then we'll see some of the managers that have never been the course. 

"Squeaky bum time is arriving after this weekend."