Jamie Reid’s second-half brace sees Stevenage hit back to beat Crewe

A second-half double from Jamie Reid saw Stevenage come from behind to win 2-1 at Crewe.

Defender Rod McDonald handed the Railwaymen an interval lead after Conor Thomas missed a penalty for the hosts. But a strong second-half performance from Steve Evans’ side turned the game around as the visitors moved up to second in the table while ending Crewe’s unbeaten home record.

Thomas stepped up after Dan Agyei was tripped by Terry Vancooten in the box. But Taye Ashby-Hammond dived the right way to push the Crewe midfielder’s 19th-minute kick around the post.

Stevenage appealed in vain for a similar award when Saxon Earley tumbled in the box and boss Evans was booked for his protests.

Crewe rubbed it in from a 27th-minute corner, which was driven across by Tariq Uwakwe for McDonald to plant a header past Ashby-Hammond.

Debutant Alex Gilbey’s shot from 25 yards nearly caught out Crewe keeper Arthur Okonkwo via a deflection, but it was a rare moment of threat for the visitors in the first 45.

But the Boro were level soon after the break when Okonkwo palmed out Gilbey’s drilled effort and Reid pounced to finish high into the corner of the net in the 48th minute. Soon after, Reid whistled a shot just past the post.

And he was in the right place when Okonkwo fumbled the ball attempting to clear Earley’s lofted cross under pressure from Carl Piergianni. The ball dropped for the striker to tap home into an empty net for Stevenage’s decisive second in the 67th minute.