This scoreless draw at Lincoln City was more akin to the toughness of a goods train than the pinnacle of streamlined engineering genius of the A4 Pacific.
It required graft, strength, and solidity—all of which negated the forward-thinking endeavours of both teams.
Boro enters the final 11 games of the season in the fourth and final play-off spot, three points clear of Oxford and four ahead of the Tangerines despite playing one fewer game than the five promotion chasers above Stevenage who all won. Only Blackpool, who finished below them, picked up three points.
Alex MacDonald took Kane Hemmings’ place as the only alteration from Tuesday night’s victory over Cambridge United.
The perception going into this match was that Boro would be happy with a draw, which served to mitigate the reality that the first half was a dismal display of football.
Too many players on both sides were tumbling over at the smallest contact, ruining what little rhythm there was, so there wasn’t even much huffing and puffing.
Although that appeared a little generous, the official numbers stated that there had been two shots on target.
Jake Forster-Caskey gave Boro a free-kick, which he wastedly sent straight into the wall from a reasonably central position 22 yards away.
Taye Ashby-Hammond easily collected a header from Paudie O’Connor for Lincoln in the meantime. In any case, it appeared to be heading wide.
Without nobody going close, Stevenage’s corner from MacDonald sailed across the goal and out for a goal kick.
The midfielder, who was the diamond’s attacking point, did have one major moment for Boro when Luther Wildin sent him clean, but instead of controlling the ball and taking a shot, he attempted to pass.
Lincoln briefly gained the upper hand, so Stevenage did have to make a few excellent blocks, the two main ones being made by Dan Butler and Forster-Caskey.
Reeco Hackett across the pitch for Joe Taylor, but his shot on the turn was way over.
The visitors had an opportunity to tighten things up during the halftime break, but the majority of the home threat had been neutralised. It was a case of work done so far.
They even started to play more with the ball in the second half, but again, there was nothing to alarm the official statisticians too much.
Boro did manage to create a pair of corners; MacDonald played one short and saw his shot blocked, and Vancooten was unable to finish the scramble with a clear shot.
Although Piergianni led the rearguard battle to limit Lincoln’s advances, the team did have certain advantages.
Then Lincoln made a very fortunate escape.
During the first half, Ethan Erhahon was booked for what appeared to be disobedience.
Then Louis Thompson purposefully leaned into the Boro guy and gave him a shove, knocking him to the ground as he surged forward.
For everyone else, it was a clear-cut yellow card, but Erhahon’s prior tact seemed to work in his favour, and he just needed to be talked to.
Piergianni had a chance from the free-kick, but he missed it. Reid then took a few time to shoot straight at Lukas Jensen.
Ashby-Hammond then gave City an opportunity, but House’s angle was never in his favour and it missed.
In an effort to expand their options, Boro had to make four substitutions as a result.
Before the ninety minutes were up, Louis Thompson skewed a shot from just beyond the box high and wide of the target, but it produced nothing noteworthy.
Although one stoppage-time free kick was sent harmlessly behind, this could prove to be a very important point for Boro.
