Evans reveals Brady gave him a call after Stevenage's defeat to Cobblers

Stevenage manager Steve Evans has revealed that Cobblers boss Jon Brady gave him a call following Saturday’s ding-dong affair between the two teams at the Lamex Stadium.

Northampton came out on top in a game that just about had it all, including five goals, a penalty after just 30 seconds, a late Shaun McWilliams winner and red cards for both Evans and Town striker Danny Hylton. To add further spice, the Boro boss hit out at the way Cobblers celebrated in his post-match interview, something midfielder Alex Gilbey also criticised.

Stevenage responded well to the defeat though, beating Doncaster Rovers 1-0 in midweek to stay second in League Two.

"This group are tremendous,” said Evans. “I thought it was harsh on us to lose a great game on Saturday but we have that bouncebackability.

"Jon Brady took the time to ring me last night (Monday) and we had a good hour on the phone myself and Jon.

"We spoke about our little tiff and other stuff that went on and he said that it was two teams of men going head to head and I thought we had to be men again tonight (Tuesday) to bounce back. It’s a fantastic reaction from a fantastic group of men.

Expanding a bit more on Saturday’s game, Evans added: "The game had everything. It was two very competitive teams. Defensively we could have done a lot better for all of their goals and I think my counterparts at Northampton will be thinking the same for the goals we scored.

"I think the early goal created a bit of nervousness and we forgot to play and we didn’t win the battle. We couldn’t string two or three passes together but we will take the defeat and we will channel that hurt into more positivity.

"They were a top three team last season and they should have been promoted. I said it before the game and I’ll say it again now and they recruited really well in the summer. It doesn’t change my thoughts that they will be in the top three come the end of the season and that’s a benchmark for us. For us to be ahead of them 15, 16 games into the season is pretty incredible but we know how tough it will be to stay there.”