Stevenage

Next up in our club-by-blub guide to our Fourth Division opponents are our old muckers from the Conference Stevenage Boroughless. To celebrate their promotion from tinpottery, the club dropped the Borough suffix because, in their opinion, it sounded too non-league. They should really have dropped the Stevenage part of their name too, for the same reason, but that could have caused some logistical problems.

Stevenage have a very short history, being formed as recently as 1976 following the demise of Stevenage Athletic. The club started life playing in the Chiltern Youth League (which is odd, as Stevenage is nowhere near the Chilterns) before moving up a level to the Wallspan Southern Combination. In 1980 they added the now dropped Borough bit to their name and moved to Broadhall Way. At the same time they joined the United Counties League, winning the First Division in their first season. They celebrated by switching to the Isthmian League Division Two, which they also won at the first attempt, winning the First Division the following season.

Borough's rapid rise continued in 1994, when they were promoted to the Conference, and in their second season they won the non-league's top division but were denied promotion to the Football League because their ground was too crap. In 1998 the club had a famous FA Cup run, notable less for their elimination by Newcastle United after a replay, but for them knocking out Swindon Town in the previous round. In 2002 Stevenage reached the FA Trophy final, losing 2-0 to Yeovil Town at Villa Park.

In 2005 Borough reached the Conference play-off final, which they lost 1-0 to Carlisle United at the Britannia Stadium. Stevenage again reached the final of the FA Trophy in 2006, the first competitive game to be played at the newly rebuilt Wembley Stadium. Two glorious goals from James Constable gave Kidderminster Harriers a 2-0 half-time lead, but Borough struck back to win 3-2. In 2009 they won the FA Trophy again, beating York City 2-0, and also reached the play-offs, where they were knocked out by Cambridge United in the semis. Last season they overhauled Oxford to win the Conference title and secure promotion to the Football League.

Broadhall Way has been renamed the Lamex Stadium and has a capacity of 7,100, with 1,400 seats in the Buildbase Stand reserved for away supporters. Ticket prices for this season are