Bira Dembele
It was a very comfortable game for defender who signed from CS Sedan in February. He was one of three starting players (John Ashton and Darius Charles) who were at the side last year and used his experience to help his side not only win, but also to an important clean sheet. The 26-year-old managed to keep Hartlepool’s striker Marlon Harewood quiet for the majority of the game. It was almost a disastrous start for the defender as Pool’s Jack Compton managed to free himself from the Stevenage defence and curl a shot onto the bar. This was just a lack of concentration and Dembele remained focus and determined throughout the remainder of the fixture. The first half consisted of many lobbed passes as nerves showed, Dembele used his strength to head clear most of them.
