Soccer
Alex Revell reveals half-time talk worked a treat for Stevenage
Stevenage manager Alex Revell reminded his players what the football club is about at half-time and it worked a treat as they came from behind to thrash Barnsley 5-1.
It was one-way traffic after Olly Sanderson cancelled out Cameron McGeehan’s opener as Stevenage romped to their first league victory thanks to a Dan Kemp brace and goals from Terence Vancooten and Michael Mellon.
Revell said: “We scored a goal just before half-time and then obviously getting in at half-time and (we) reminded them what we’re about and what this football club’s about.
“It’s about heart, intensity, desire, fighting for each other – and football comes after that.
“We have to do the basics and the fundamentals to the best of our ability.
“Then all of a sudden, our confidence and our belief comes out on the ball.”
The hosts were awarded a penalty in the 16th minute when Patrick Kelly’s shot was adjudged to have hit the hand of Stevenage defender Carl Piergianni.
McGeehan stepped up to score his third goal in as many games for the club and give the Reds a deserved lead but from there it all fell apart for the hosts.
Stevenage equalised in the 43rd minute after Sanderson headed against the bar and, with the ball looping in the area, somehow managed to beat Rogan Ravenhill to the rebound from a yard out.
Kemp then fired home on the turn in the 52nd minute to make it 2-1 after some poor defending before Vancooten’s header looped in to add a third four minutes later.
Kemp scored again in the 66th minute from long range before Mellon added a fifth in added time.
Revell brought Terry Taylor off after 23 minutes and from there the game turned on its head.
He added: “We didn’t start the way that we obviously wanted to start.
“We made a change not because of a player playing poorly, just because we needed to make a change in that area of the pitch.
“I thought after that, when we made that change we started to grow.”
Barnsley head coach Daniel Stendel believed his side were “too passive” – even before the Stevenage opener.
He said: “Two minutes before the goal I said to my assistants we are too passive for this.
“We know we have a really young squad and we have not made many changes in the team.
“It was a bad experience for everybody today.
“We have to work every week for a win, every week for defending our goal, and then we have a good chance to win games.
“When we don’t, then what has happened today can happen.
“This is what we have to learn really quickly.”
