Stevenage FC boss Alex Revell pays Harrogate Town huge compliment

The Sulphurites dominated possession for long periods, played some slick football and also engineered a number of decent goal-scoring opportunities, but were ultimately undone by Elliott List's 52nd-minute strike.

The defeat was Town's first in four matches following three consecutive victories, though their performance clearly left an impression on Stevenage's manager

"It's a fantastic win. I've got to be honest, I think that Harrogate are one of the best teams in the league at what they do, I really do," Revell reflected.

"Their energy, the way they press, they are relentless with everything. We hammered that home to the players in preparation for this game and, as a group, we defended excellently. The back five and Jamie [Cumming], every time there was a cross we made first contact and Jamie came and caught everything.

"This wasn't the type of football that we know we can play, we didn't show the patterns that we've worked on, but we changed the shape slightly and had a bit more control and grew into it.

"I think that what we did look was a threat on the counter, which wasn't really intended, but because of the way that they [Town] played that's the way the game became."

Town remain 11th in the League Two standings despite Saturday's loss, their first in four matches following on from three consecutive wins.

They return to action on Tuesday evening when they entertain Colchester United at the EnviroVent Stadium, 7pm kick-off.