“A horrible game”: Revell bitterly disappointed as MK Dons win it late at Stevenage
Sunday 25 October 2026 · By Phil Ackroyd
Four days after thrashing Plymouth Argyle 3–0, Stevenage came back down to earth with a 1–0 home defeat by MK Dons on Saturday.
Alex Revell did not dress it up. “It was a horrible game, to be honest,” the Stevenage manager said, according to PA. “It was always going to be won by a mistake or a set piece and was a game that lacked quality, really.”
The game was settled nine minutes from time. BBC Sport reported that Dan Phillips hooked the ball back into the middle instead of clearing it down the line, and Aaron Collins picked it up and clipped it to the back post for Sam Nombe to head in.
Until then there had been little to choose between the sides in wet and windy conditions. The first half brought five yellow cards but few clear chances. Stevenage goalkeeper Tommy Setford tipped over a Jack Sanders header, and on the stroke of half-time MK goalkeeper Will Dennis, who had deflected Ben Broggio’s shot, got back up to claw away Josh Magennis’s follow-up header.
MK Dons also hit a post in the second half, when Ryan Wintle’s shot struck the far post, spun across the line and came out off the other upright.
Revell felt his side never reached the level they had shown against Plymouth. “We can look at the conditions but we played so well on Tuesday and those levels meant the team almost picked itself,” he said. “And we didn’t get to those levels here. I’ve said it many, many times; you have to earn the right to win games, and we didn’t show what we showed against Plymouth.”
He added: “No two games are the same and the opposition has changed. They’re very direct and the ball wasn’t on the floor a lot. But I just thought we ended up playing the way that they wanted us to play. We played into their hands a little bit and we’ve lost the game. I’m bitterly disappointed to be honest.”
The crowd was 4,042.
The defeat drops Stevenage from ninth to 12th. They have 15 points from 11 games, five points outside the play-off places and five clear of the relegation zone.
The defence remains a strength. Stevenage have conceded 11 league goals in 11 games, the same as leaders Huddersfield Town. Only Bradford City, with five, and Oxford United, with 10, have conceded fewer.
There is no midweek league game. Stevenage travel to Leicester City on Saturday 31 October (15:00 GMT), and Leicester will be looking to bounce back from their own late defeat at Luton Town.
After that comes an all-League One FA Cup first-round tie at Oxford United on Saturday 7 November (15:00 GMT). Mansfield Town visit on 14 November. The postponed league game at AFC Wimbledon still has no new date.
Revell’s message is clear: Stevenage have to earn the right to win again.
Broadhall Way is a compact, well-kept League ground on the south side of Stevenage, postcode SG2 8RH. You will also see it billed as the Lamex Stadium or SPORTA Arena, but locals still call it Broadhall Way. Capacity is about 7,300. Visiting supporters sit in the covered South Stand behind the south goal, a single-tier of roughly 1,390 seats with a clear view and no roof pillars in the way. For bigger followings the club can add a slice of the West Stand and push the allocation towards 2,000.
The pitch runs north–south. Home fans fill the 2019 North Stand behind the opposite goal and the long, noisy East Terrace along the far touchline. The West Stand is the main stand: seats, tunnel, dugouts, offices, club shop and the away ticket office beside it. Corners of the West Stand are open, so a cold wind can cut across on winter afternoons. The East Terrace still has its clock gable over the halfway line and is where the drums and loudest home noise usually sit.
By car, leave the A1(M) at junction 7 and follow the A602 towards Ware. The ground sits on the dual carriageway after the retail-park roundabout. Do not park in Roaring Meg or the other retail parks, and do not use the grass verges: enforcement is active on matchdays. The practical option is Fairlands Valley car park, about 500 free spaces north of the ground (often listed as SG2 8RH or SG2 9BN). It fills early. Coaches drop on Monkswood Way outside the South Stand, then park at the academy overflow a few minutes away. Disabled bays must be booked through [email protected].
Stevenage station is the rail stop. Trains from London King’s Cross take around half an hour. The walk is 25–30 minutes along the A602; use the underpasses rather than darting across the dual carriageway. A matchday shuttle often runs between the station, town centre and ground. Taxis from the station are straightforward if you are carrying bags or arriving after dark.
Away tickets usually go through your own club first. Unsold seats can be bought on the day from the away ticket office next to the club shop on the West Stand, unless the fixture is ticket-only. Prices move with category, but expect something in the low-to-mid twenties for an adult in the South Stand. The ground is generally cashless, so have a card ready for food and drink.
The Broadhall Suite, on the south-east corner by the away end, is the easiest pre-match pint for visitors. It opens from midday on Saturdays and welcomes both sets of fans. Food inside the South Stand is the usual football mix: pies, burgers, chips and hot drinks. Toilets sit under the stand. Alcohol arrangements inside the away end have varied over the years, so treat the Suite as the reliable option before kick-off. Town-centre pubs such as those around the Plaza and Broadwater are a 15-minute walk if you want a longer session; cover colours if a landlord asks.
Access is decent for a ground this size. Away wheelchair spaces are in the South Stand and should be booked in advance. A radio commentary feed on 95.5 FM is advertised for visually impaired supporters. Stewards are used to travelling fans and the atmosphere is usually competitive rather than hostile. After full time, give the dual carriageway a few minutes before you walk back or pull out of Fairlands Valley. Check stevenagefc.com or your own club mail-out on the morning of the game for late changes to gates, cashless rules or the shuttle.