Stevenage boss Steve Evans is confident his side will enjoy a strong season in Sky Bet League One despite dropping points at home for the second game in succession following a 1-1 draw with Charlton.
Boro looked set for all three points thanks to Jamie Reid’s first-half strike but were made to settle for a point after Corey Blackett-Taylor converted from the penalty spot in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.
It is the second time in a week Stevenage have given up three points at the death following last week’s 2-2 draw with Carlisle, but Evans is confident his side will continue to cause plenty of problems.
“We’ll do alright,” he said. “People wrote us off before the game. If that’s a £10million budget, well we’ll do alright, that’s all and that’s not knocking them.
“They are full of good players. They’ve got a good manager in. I think he’d have been scratching his head at half-time because we should have been three-nil up.
“We should have had the game put to bed. We were frighteningly dominant and then you’re going to get a reaction, aren’t you, from good players, and they got a reaction.
“It was a little bit galling to see every time there’s a free-kick and it’s contested there’s seven Charlton players running around the referee.
“I think they get the penalty from that because I’ve just watched it back and there’s not a chance in a world that’s a penalty.
“They should have had one earlier but we should have had one in the first half, so it equals itself out.”
While it was disappointment for Evans, new Charlton boss Michael Appleton admitted a half-time rollicking was required to produce a better second-half showing from his players and earn him a first point in charge.
“I was disappointed with the way we competed,” he said. “I’d expect us to be much better and stronger, and to be fair to the players they proved in the second half that they are more than capable of doing it.
“It was one of them where I knew there was more to come and I expected more from them, certainly in possession.
“Out of possession you could argue it could be stronger and more physical, but the reality is we’ve come up against a side that are probably one of the best in the division at it.
“But for me, I still like some of our players, whether they’re 5ft 2ins or 6ft 2ins, to make sure they’re competitive, and we didn’t get it in the first half.
“We did in the second half and the performance obviously in both halves was chalk and cheese.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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