Steve Evans called Stevenage “the warriors of the EFL” after Jamie Reid’s 100th-minute winner capped a thrilling 4-3 FA Cup victory over Tranmere.
The League Two strugglers travelled to the Lamex and found themselves a goal down after three minutes courtesy of Jordan Roberts.
But Nigel Adkins’ side hit back through ex-Boro striker Luke Norris and Rob Apter, before Reid equalised and former Rovers forward Kane Hemmings nudged the hosts ahead.
Kieron Morris thought he had taken the first-round tie to a replay in the 90th minute, but Reid tucked home a last-gasp rebound, prompting Evans’ bullish claim.
Evans said: “I thought Nigel [Adkins] got a real tune out of his boys today, so credit to them.
“But if they think they’re the warriors, we’re the warriors in the EFL. We’re the warriors. We never stopped going. Great character from the boys.
“The FA Cup is simply about getting through. For a neutral it was fantastic. We never forget that we’re Stevenage and we beat Tranmere Rovers.”
The Boro boss picked out substitute Hemmings’ performance, after the summer signing forced the last-minute save from Luke McGee that Reid profited from.
“Real praise for Kane Hemmings,” said Evans. “Kane wasn’t thought to be good enough for Tranmere and I’ve always liked him.
“It was a fantastic first goal and a brilliant run and strike for Jamie Reid to get on the end of the winner.
“We were tempted to start him today. I’ve got absolutely no sympathy for players playing against their old clubs and all that nonsense but my God, when he came onto the pitch he looked like the Kane Hemmings who’s played for me before. He looked electric in everything he did.”
For Rovers boss Adkins, who was taking charge of his first game as permanent Tranmere manager, there were plenty of positives to take from the defeat.
Adkins said: “I think the commitment from the players was top drawer. I think that was there for everyone to see.
“We played some good football at times. You can see there were some good little intricate passages of play and movement.
“We’ve shown resilience, we’ve shown all the things you want. All in all, the lads put a really good shift in today.”
But the timing of Reid’s winner stung, especially after Morris’ equaliser might have contributed to the nine minutes of added time being extended.
Adkins said: “It’s just such a shame that after 99 minutes we’ve managed to get the ball forward and the fourth official said, that’s it, time’s done.
“We’ve put the ball, maybe naively or maybe trying to win the game, into the box and they’ve gone down the other end and scored.”
New Man Utd boss Amorim says he must win to be afforded time
New Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has said he will need to win matches in order to earn time and create his own identity at the club.
The Portuguese tactician, who left Sporting CP to become Erik ten Hag’s successor at Old Trafford, was speaking during his first interview with the Premier League club.
"We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games. But the most important thing for me is identity. So since day one we will start with our identity," the 39-year-old said.
"Of course we are going to prepare the games, but we will focus a lot in our game model. How to play, how to press, these small things, small details.
"You cannot go 100% on every detail because it will be confusing for the players. So if I have to say one thing, my main goal, my first goal, is identity."
Amorim is the seventh different manager to take charge of the club since Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013 and will face a trip to Ipswich Town in the league on 24 November on his United debut.
But the former Portugal international added that having a young squad will not be an excuse if he fails to get the desired results in the short term.
"I don't want to say that we need time because we are a young team. They are prepared. They are prepared to cope with the demands of playing for United. They should be because they are here," Amorim said.
"We know it will take time, but we have to start since day one without fear, without thinking that they are not used to playing like this. They will start on the first day with our idea, no matter what. That's the goal."
New Manchester United boss Amorim says he needs to win to be afforded time
New Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has said that he will need to win matches in order to win time and create his own identity at the club.
The Portuguese tactician, who left Sporting CP to become Erik ten Hag’s successor at Old Trafford, was speaking during his first interview with the Premier League club.
"We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games. But the most important thing for me is identity. So since day one we will start with our identity," the 39-year-old said.
"Of course we are going to prepare the games, but we will focus a lot in our game model. How to play, how to press, these small things, small details."
"You cannot go 100% on every detail because it will be confusing for the players. So if I have to say one thing, my main goal, my first goal, is identity," he said.
Amorim is the seventh different manager to take charge of the club since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013 and will face a trip to Ipswich Town in the league on 24 November on his United managerial debut.
But the former Portugal international also added that having a young squad will not be an excuse for not getting the desired results in the short term.
"I don't want to say that we need time because we are a young team. They are prepared. They are prepared to cope with the demands of playing for United. They should be because they are here," Amorim said.
"We know it will take time, but we have to start since day one without fear, without thinking that they are not used to playing like this. They will start on the first day with our idea, no matter what. That's the goal."
Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout
Japan continued their unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 victory over Indonesia on Friday.
Two goals from the visitors in either half were enough to seal the three points and get them back to winning ways after a stalemate with Australia last time out.
Ragnar Oratmangoen should have put Indonesia ahead, but he hesitated one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and Japan did not look back after that. They got a bit of fortune with their first goal, Justin Hubner deflecting a cross into his own net in the 35th minute.
Takumi Minamino got their second just before the break, finishing off a pacy counter-attack by darting onto the end of Kaoru Mitoma’s cross to sweep it past Maarten Paes.
While there was not much the goalkeeper could do with that one, he was at fault for the third as he gifted the ball to Hidemasa Morita, who coolly picked out the bottom corner just after the break.
Yukinari Sugawara came off the bench to round off the scoring in the 69th minute. He raced down the right wing and instead of looking to his options, he rifled it in from a tight angle at the near post.
Japan are up to 13 points after five games, sitting top of Group C, while Indonesia are bottom, still in search of their first win.
Data Debrief: Clinically done
For a team still chasing their first win, Japan are probably not high on the list of opponents they would want to face, and Indonesia were undone by their visitors.
Hajime Moriyasu's side created 0.79 expected goals (xG) to Indonesia's 0.72, while they only had four more shots than their hosts (12 compared to eight).
Japan took their chances, and though the win margin may look harsh, they were deserving of the three points, having dominated throughout the game.
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