FC Boro

After weeks without a game, Boro are back in action again tomorrow night when they travel down to Church Road, Hayes to play Hayes & Yeading FC. It will be Stevenage’s first ever fixture against the club formed in 2007, but many fans will have fond memories of the trips to Hayes in the mid to late nineties, when former Aldershot boss Terry Brown used to manage the Middlesex club.

Hayes FC and Yeading FC, who themselves are famous for a FA Cup run a few years ago which earned DJ Campbell a move into the Premier League, merged in 2007. They had an average first season in the Blue Square South, but improved last season to finish in the play-offs. A win in the semi-final against Eastleigh saw Hayes & Yeading face favourites Hampton & Richmond in the final, but they defied the odds and won the game 3-2 to earn promotion to the Blue Square Premier.

Familiar names in the Hayes & Yeading squad include former Woking pair Matt Ruby and Adam Green, while Scott Fitzgerald, formerly of Watford now plays down at Church Road. Dale Binns, who was a member of the 2007 FA Trophy winning squad at Broadhall Way is also on the books at Hayes & Yeading. Binns was signed for Stevenage by Mark Stimson, but failed to make an impact in his time at the club. Injury and the competition on the left side of midfield from Mitchell Cole and Steve Guppy were just some of the reasons why the former Cambridge City winger struggled to settle in Hertfordshire.

On the Boro front, Mitchell Cole’s return to action as a substitute on Saturday boosts Westley’s options in attack. Whether Cole starts or not is undecided, but Joel Byrom is ruled out due to being sent off on Saturday against Tamworth. GW may opt to move Stacey Long into central midfield alongside Darren Murphy and play Cole wide left. Other than that I expect the starting 11 will be the same to what started on the opening day.

Tomorrow night should see Boro win their first 3 points of the season. Hayes & Yeading are not the same force as they were last season with key players like Steve Gregory and Josh Scott departing the club during the summer. Scott has moved into the football league with Dagenham while Gregory has moved to fellow Blue Square South Champions AFC Wimbledon. Hayes & Yeading began the campaign with a narrow away defeat at Kidderminster. They won’t be easy opposition, but Boro should have enough to come back from Middlesex with all 3 points.