Stevenage 3
Northampton Town 0
League (League One)

Match report written by Neil Metcalfe, The Comet

Stevenage made it a very merry Christmas as they found the perfect performance to defeat Northampton Town.

Jamie Reid and Jordan Roberts scored in the first half and Elliott List made it 3-0 midway through the second period.

That was the final score too and leaves Boro sixth in the table.

Such has been Stevenage's fine form in League One this season that a draw and a defeat in their last two games had felt a little disappointing.

Nonsense of course but this was just the way to nip any dark thoughts in the bud.

Steve Evans went for three changes from the 2-1 loss at Barnsley on Saturday, bringing in List, Nick Freeman and Louis Thompson.

Jake Forster-Caskey, Terence Vancooten and Kane Hemmings were the ones replaced with the first two moving to the bench.

Vancooten was missing altogether, as was Harvey White.

The system was also a bit of surprise for Stevenage, a never used before 4-2-3-1 with List, Freeman and Roberts playing behind Reid as a lone striker.

It worked a treat though as around 100 seconds had elapsed, with latecomers still sliding into their seats, when the home side took the lead.

List got the assist but the ball to Reid found him 30 yards out and with barely a mint green shirt in the same postcode as him.

He took it on and slid it to the keeper's left as cool as you like, Max Thompson in the Town goal simply sitting down completely bamboozled.

For a long while that was the only chance of the game but Stevenage were comfortable and Northampton never laid a glove on them, no shots or corners to cheer them up.

Such was the lack of a threat by the Cobblers that you felt Stevenage needed to grab another and slowly the opportunities arrived.

Reid should have doubled his own tally when he met a Dan Butler corner from the left that evaded the Northampton defender at the front.

He could only guide it across goal and wide.

Sweeney then slid a through ball into the mix and a clever turn by List gave him a brief sight of goal that was only taken away by the slightest grab of his shirt.

He did win a corner and that ended with Sweeney volleying into the ground and into the arms of the keeper.

Reid then won the ball down at the byline and Northampton appeals for a foul went unheard.

His low cross though was inches ahead of a sliding List.

It was only a temporary reprieve though as Boro grabbed their second a minute later.

It was a fluke, of that there can't be too much argument but Roberts' cross took a deflection and flew over Thompson's head and into the far corner.

And they should have all but wrapped it up two minutes into stoppage time.

Butler had all the time in the world to pick out a body in the box and he chose List with a low delivery.

The striker had been much like the List of old but somehow, from five yards out, he sent it wide.

Normally it is Steve Evans who is not shy about changing things at half-time, This time the questions were whether Jon Brady would do so.

He didn't but with no change in the pattern of play in the opening 10 minutes, he made a double change.

It had no immediate impact but Sweeney almost gifted them one, Bowie robbing him inside the Boro half.

Piergianni cleared that attack and then launched a tirade against his centre-back partner.

Moments later there was praise from the skipper as Sweeney stuck a clearance over the stands in a no-nonsense fashion.

That was in a rare Northampton foray forward and the game was finally put to bed midway through the half.

List may have been guilty of a big miss earlier but the sharpness that has been lacking for 18 months was suddenly back in abundance and after a simply superb tackle by Finley Burns put him away, he drilled it low across the keeper and into the far corner.

It sent some Northampton fans towards the exit.

The ones that stayed were imploring their team to "have a shot" when they got a free-kick 30 yards out and 15 minutes to go.

Mitch Pinnock obliged, sort of, but it was blocked around two yards closer to the goal.

And Stevenage should have had a fourth not long after but after being gifted a chance, Reid was denied by Thompson on the edge of his box and then List's rebound attempt was cleared at the six-yard box by the final defender.

The only action of the final stages was a first appearance off the bench of the the Boro boss, as he made five changes.

Evans at his best that and to be honest, his team were pretty close to it too.