It took Amario Cozier-Duberry just 12 minutes of his comeback to light the blue touchpaper as Wanderers re-ignited their play-off challenge, writes Pete Oliver.
The winger had been given two run-outs off the bench as he returned from the knee injury that interrupted his season in late January.
But on his first start since then, the on-loan Brighton man was quickly back in the groove with the goal that propelled the Whites to a first home win in three attempts and the brink of a guaranteed top-six finish as they equalled their biggest win of the season.
Cozier-Duberry – who added another after the break to move to nine goals for the season – had been in electric form in the opening months of the campaign and this was a sign of him rediscovering his touch as he combined nicely with Jordi Osei-Tutu before riding a challenge, working the ball onto his favoured left foot and picking out the bottom corner of the net from almost 25 yards out to give Wanderers the perfect start.
Steven Schumacher’s men looked a different prospect with their widemen back fit and firing, with Thierry Gale also returning to more like his ‘A’ game on the opposite flank. And Gale was heavily involved in the second goal as Wanderers doubled their lead after half an hour.
Ruben Rodrigues was another to mark his return to starting duty with a positive performance as he helped Wanderers get on the front foot and it was a lovely pass from the Portuguese which released Gale.
His speed was too much for the Stevenage back line which boasts one of the best defensive records in the division but had no answer when Gale’s low cross was coolly tucked away by Johnny Kenny to claim his third goal in as many games.
The young striker, who had missed last Saturday’s loss at Cardiff through injury, was a constant handful for the visitors – and willing target for his team-mates – and when he got too much for Daniel Phillips, the Stevenage midfielder threw the Celtic loanee to the ground to earn a straight red card three minutes before the break.
Stevenage had won at Bradford City last Saturday to enhance their own play-off prospects but had never beaten Wanderers in their seven previous meetings and were even less likely to once Phillips had departed.
Before that Boro had their moments, Harvey White whistling an early effort just wide and Dan Kemp failing to hit the target with a header from Jamie Reid’s excellent cross.
White was guilty of a further miss after Jack Bonham had saved from Reid just after half-time before Wanderers removed any doubt by quickly adding a third goal through Cozier-Duberry again.
It was another assured finish, passed into the net with his left foot, after Rodrigues had allowed the ball to by-pass him in the penalty area to find Cozier-Duberry in acres of space.
There was to be no hat-trick as Schumacher withdraw his talisman shortly afterwards with the game done, although when Kemp superbly rattled in a 25-yarder there was still close to half an hour to go.
No cause for concern, however, as Wanderers quickly restored their three-goal cushion with another strike of the highest quality when substitute Mason Burstow flicked a George Johnston ball around the corner for Rodrigues to cap a fine night’s work with a perfectly measured finish, cutting inside to bend a shot into the far corner.
There was still time for another as Burstow pounced on the rebound after Filip Marschall couldn’t hold Kyle Dempsey’s fierce strike to claim his 12th goal of the season and join Sam Dalby at the top of Wanderers’ scoring charts on a night pretty much everything went right.
It was fun to watch and after a stuttering recent run of one win in six games just what Wanderers needed to restore some confidence and momentum in the first of three home games in the final four fixtures before the play-offs hopefully begin.
Wanderers: Bonham; Osei-Tutu, Toal, Forino, Johnston; Cozier-Duberry (Apter 56), Sheehan, Rodrigues (Conway 68), Gale; Kenny (Dempsey 68), Dalby (Burstow 56). Substitutes: Broome, Cissoko, Christie.
Booked: None
Stevenage: Marschall; Sweeney (Earley 39), Piergianni, Goode; Pattenden, Thompson, White (M Phillips 59), Roberts (Houghton 60); D Phillips; Reid (Lubala 60), Kemp. Substitutes: Ashby-Hammond, Butler, Patterson.
Booked: Earley
Sent off: Phillips
Referee: Thomas Parsons
Attendance: 19,177 (135 away)
