6 things spotted as Stevenage beat Wrexham 1-0 in League One

I was already planning to stick something down after Peterborough. That is 10 games into the league season and a perfect time to take stock of how things are going.

Sometimes, however, you feel compelled to put things down on paper. Stevenage beating Wrexham 1-0 in League One is a perfect case in point.

I came away from the Lamex with my mind swimming with thoughts, opinions and emotions. Trying to make sense of that maddening stream of consciousness, putting it into some sort of logical order and form is quite cathartic to be honest.

Whether I am capable of calming the excitement - well, we're all about to find out eh?

I've gone for a structured categorised approach with six sub-headings at the moment (if if gets any longer by the end, another thought has wriggled free from its moorings and popped out of my brain).

Anyway, here we go.

1.A seismic result

And I mean that in terms of the league as well as in terms of Stevenage.

From the league point of view, the result will catch the eye. Not many would have had Boro beating Wrexham down on their coupon prior to kick-off (coupon - ask your mam and dad kids).

But to do it on the back of winning at home to Charlton, and with another clean sheet, and in the manner they did, opposition managers will be watching the video with trepidation and coming out the other end with a sense of foreboding.

And that's because I still maintain Boro had more left in the tank, plenty left to give. Like a runner in race, almost gliding but with another kick in there if needed.

They have to consistently produce this effort and it might work against them with teams finding a way to counteract their tactics, but they are now going to be considered a threat.

From a Stevenage point of view, the performance, if not the result, is also huge.

It's fair to say that there are doubters over what Boro can achieve this season from some of the fans. They will, quite rightly, point to the whole consistency thing - the need to be able to do this again and again.

Some may still think a relegation battle will be on the cards.

This will ease a lot of those fears and doubt though and as fear subsides in a person, belief pokes its head through. And as all football fans know - it's the hope that kills you.

The upcoming international break could be badly timed but judging how well they used the last break, it could also be perfect, resting some weary bones and getting some extra tactical instruction in.

Time will tell but as of now, Stevenage have made a huge statement.

2.Emotional

I don't know if it came across on the video but Alex Revell was almost close to tears last night.

The release of all that adrenaline on the back of the seeing your team perform in EXACTLY the way you want them to, that will do it to a person.

Part of that emotion though was down to the performances of the Thompsons, Nathan and Louis, who lost their father a few weeks ago. Revs mentioned them without mentioning them when I asked.

"We've had a lot going on," he said. "We’ve got a lot of players that have things going on but they're very committed to getting wins at this football club.

"They’ve got their own staff [to deal with] but when they go on to that pitch, they give everything for everyone."

I would think it is the first time he has had to deal with something like this as a manager. No doubt he will have had team-mates who have lost family members, no doubt he'll have played under managers and coaches who have as well, but when you're the gaffer, it brings different emotions.

It's a sign of his growing maturity too. Players wouldn't perform for a manager or a club if they didn't feel valued.

3.Defending - what's changed?

I need to speak to Scott Cuthbert probably to get the answer to this (I really want to speak to Scott Cuthbert too at the minute - need to get on to Alfie) but something has changed with the defence and I'd love to know what.

Is it tactical? Is it just a year of playing together? What have they done differently? What are they focusing on?

Wrexham was a sixth clean sheet from nine League One games, seven from 11 in all competitions. That's an incredible statistic. I mean they've been good last year but they are already almost a third of the way to matching last year's total of 19.

The thing that epitomises the change for me is Carl Piergianni. I can think of three moments in recent games, and there are probably more, where he's won a header from almost underneath his own bar and headed it away for a corner.

And it's not the fact he's doing it that is impressive, it's the fact he is nonchalantly doing it. He's always been a great defender but he seems to have more belief in his own ability, more confidence in those around him.

Even with all of Wrexham's pressure, that defence never looked totally stretched. They always held a modicum of control.

So again, I NEED to speak to Scott Cuthbert....  

4.Attack coming together

T'other end of the pitch is starting to look canny too...

There's still not a million chances or loads more goals but there is more than earlier in the campaign. It's not perfect by any stretch but this team is definitely growing. They are all starting to know their roles, they are starting to feel comfortable in their own skin and in the team as a whole.

And there is positivity in that Jamie Reid and Jake Young probably aren't up to match speed yet. Tyreece Simpson showed flashes last night of what he can be. Louis Appere is still to come back (groin I believe - will get that on record this week hopefully), Elliott List can get consistently better, Dan Kemp will get his goal soon.

There will be dips, bumps in the road, but there is huge positivity at the moment. 

5.Wigan result

I saw a lot of complaints about this result and the performance at the time but I felt the 0-0 draw was a perfect response to the shambles at Exeter.

And I am convinced of this point - without that performance, you don't get the wins over Charlton and Wrexham.

Exeter was hopeless, rubbish, call it what you want. Nobody performed well that afternoon.

But there was no structure in Devon either whereas at Wigan, they addressed the failings and made sure they put it right. There was no chance they were going to lose in Lancashire, a lack of shots prevented them from winning.

The way they defended though allowed them to come back home and play as they have done in the last week.

And the Charlton and Wrexham games will help them go on. Boro are building a strong sense of identity.

But....

6.Away form

For as good as the performance was against Wrexham, as good as the result was against Charlton, they were both at home and its time to show they can do it on the road too, starting at Peterborough on Saturday.

Four away games this season in the league have only produced two points. There has only been the one goal, Harvey White's late penalty up at Huddersfield, and not many more efforts on target if we're honest.

They say win your home games, draw your away ones, but you have to add a W or six on your travels too.

They can point to just four goals conceded but converting that home form into an acceptable away day is next on the list.

They have to build on what they have achieved this week and with three of the next four games on the road, the time to do that is now.