They needed to win and they did so everything should be rosy in the Stevenage garden, yes?

Obviously that is not the case after a less than convincing penalty shoot-out win over Northern Premier League Guiseley in the FA Cup.

And if team-wise, it wasn't good enough, the words of manager Alex Revell, then it logically follows that individually it wasn't a good day either.

This is how I rated the players.

Player ratings

Stevenage (0) 1 Guiseley (0) 1

Boro win 5-4 on penalties

Murphy Cooper - 9

Is there really a surprise he is getting Comet Sport's man of the match? Never mind what he did in the shoot-out, he literally saved Boro in normal time - three or four times at least. That stop on the edge of the box was simply sensational - the timing of the dive, the awareness to stay in the box. And then you get to the penalty saves. Neither of the spot-kicks were poor, the saves were top notch.

Dan Butler - 7

He's been a solid and dependable player over the last few games, needed to be like as he is now the most experienced defender. Was given a bit more freedom to go forward and used it.

Nick Freeman - 7

Not a full-back, we know that, but his versatility means he can play there. A tactical switch allowed him to get forward too and his crosses deserved better. Movement from the front men was not what was needed at times. 

Dan Kemp - 8

Started really well and although he drifted later on, he was still good. Got on the ball and ran forward with it, something that has not been seen enough recently by anyone from Stevenage. Performances since his shocker at Cambridge have been good, this was excellent. 

Jordan Roberts - 5

Granted, he never had any sort of a warm-up before bring thrust into the action. However, he was still off the pace 40 minutes in. Only the briefest of flashes of what he does so well.

Kane Smith - 5

Bit like Luther Wildin on Tuesday. Overall, he was really good, considering he too was hoyed into an unfamiliar position at the last possible moment, but a mistake lead to a goal and that unfortunately sticks in the memory. Honestly though, half-time we were singing his praises in the press box. Deserved a better mark but I see what I see.

Lewis Freestone - 6

Another like Butler who is proving to be Mr Dependable. Nothing flash, not without little errors but solid and gives you a consistent performance every time. One moment when he cleaned out Harvey White to win a header would have sent a tear of pride rolling down Carl Piergianni's cheek... 

Harvey White - 5

He's confident on the ball, can spot a pass but if there's a criticism it's that he doesn't rip apart defences more with his vision. One ball clipped over the top towards Roberts was exquisite. Needs to do more of that and here, needed to be more than a pretty passer. Needed to be Boro's quarterback.

Jamie Reid - 6

He scored at last, even if there were doubts surrounded how it went in. Showed real moments of being back to his best, and then there were moments where he was way off. One example of the latter was in the 44th minute. Freeman was in a great position to cross and Reid unmarked with nobody at the near post. He didn't run there though and left Freeman's only option a chipped cross towards Aaron Pressley. That was cleared.

Aaron Pressley - 5

A lot of things were played up to him or crossed into him but he was never truly able to run onto them and meet them perfectly or hold them up, not to the level he or anybody else would have wanted. The hour workout will help mind.

Eli King - 5

Couple of good passes but it wasn't a great performance again, unfortunately, lacking in parts. Might have helped having another body alongside him as he was asked to play in odd positions and had to do a lot of that on his own. 

READ MORE

Not good enough - Alex Revell's reaction to the game with Guiseley

Stevenage edge through in FA Cup on penalties against Guiseley - report

Stevenage 1 Guiseley 1 - Boro win 5-4 on penalties - full match recap, as it happened

Subs - Young, List

For some it was a surprise Jake Young didn't start but then Pressley needed the minutes too. Didn't really have a chance to shine. Neither did Elliott List but both did at least score in the shoot-out. 

Guiseley's stand-out players

Will Longbottom got the goal and was superb. He had been the one to watch prior to the fixture and lived up to that billing. Was at Doncaster as a kid and has played higher before in non-league. It would not surprise me if he moved up the pyramid in January.

A little mention too for Sam Bentley who came on literally for penalties and stuck it right in the top corner. Superb technique and he is a 19-year-old defender. Know anybody who needs one of them?

Overall

Feel like I've said this before but where to start?

"Not good enough" was how the boss summed it up and that was just for starters.

You can throw every one of the mitigating circumstances as excuses - the injuries, the late change, the poor run of form - and some carry weight.

But the honest to God truth of the matter is the players Stevenage had out there should have been more than capable of steering the club through without any real alarms.

The gap between non-league and EFL is shrinking year on year, I watch enough non-league matches to know that is true, but when you take the lead early in the second half, you should go on and crush the resistance.

It never felt Stevenage did that and Guiseley more than deserved their equaliser.

The only plus side I can take from the game is that there is no way they'll play better than that in two weeks when they play my Hebburn Town side in a league match.

Stevenage have to exponentially magnify the positives they can find from this and very quickly put the wrongs right.

The time for feeling sorry for themselves is over, and the new look Boro has to show their face against Reading on Saturday.