Stevenage manager Alex Revell said Friday's Carabao Cup victory over Wycombe is "the standard" for his side this season as they progressed to the second round for the first time since 2016.
The Boro secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over their hosts at Adams Park thanks to a 95th-minute winner from summer signing Josh Magennis, ensuring they would get their 2026-27 campaign off to the perfect start as they look to build on last season's play-off finish in League One.
On the same night, Wolves defeated League Two outfit Port Vale 3-0 and Middlesbrough beat Wrexham 1-0 in an all-Championship affair, while a further 29 Carabao Cup first-round fixtures are set to take place today.
Hard-fought victory
Stevenage, who finished five places and 12 points ahead of Wycombe (11th) in the third tier last season, were certainly made to work for their victory, however, as the Chairboys responded well to going behind in the 27th minute.
Both sides could have arguably put the game to bed during the first half, and it looked as though the tie would be heading to a penalty shootout following a relatively lackluster second half, but veteran forward Magennis popped up in the dying seconds to steal the win for his new side.
Revell's praise
Following the game, Revell said he was "really pleased" with Stevenage's overall performance, having demanded a certain standard from his players heading into the new campaign.
"For us, we wanted to set a standard, and we have certain demands to maintain what we achieved last year and try to be better," Revell told The Mirror. "There's no better feeling than winning. For us, it was a really good challenge and really nice to start the season with a win."
What made things even better for Revell, a former Stevenage player himself, is that the winner came from not just one of his new signings, but one of his substitutions, as Magennis came off the bench to head home the winner.
"You look a genius, don't you?" he laughed. "Really pleased for Josh, he's worked really hard. When you get good delivery and timing, and somebody wants to score a goal, it’s a great ending to the game for us.
"We just have to get our head down and keep doing what we've been doing throughout pre-season, working as hard as we can to keep improving. Tonight, there were signs of that as well, and we'll look to keep that winning mentality going."
Duff's frustration
As for Wycombe, they will look to quickly bounce back with a victory in their opening League One game of the season away to Blackpool next week, though manager Michael Duff couldn't help but rue the missed opportunity for his side on home soil.
"The players said it themselves at halftime, we need to be better in both boxes," Duff told The Mirror. "We missed a load of chances and given them a really, really cheap goal."
"Ultimately, they didn't execute what we wanted in terms of being better in both boxes; that's why we've ended up losing the game."
