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Graham Westley

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Stevenage v Cambridge

Stevenage Borough will be hoping to grab the early advantage in the first leg of their play-off semi final against Cambridge United at the Lamex Stadium on Thursday evening.

Boro manager Graham Westley is calling on his players to pile the pressure on the U's in order to hand themselves a cushion going into the second leg.

Westley told The Comet: "I would sooner have had the second leg at home but we showed against Ebbsfleet that you can quite comfortably win ties when you get that home advantage first and make it count.

"I remember when I was here last time around against Hereford in the play-offs. We drew 1-1 at home and then we had to go there and win to turn the tie around.

"The pressure in the second leg can tell against the home club. There's all sorts of interesting possibilities.

"The two games we've had so far have been really tight affairs. We drew 1-1 away and edged it at our place - the two sides are pretty evenly matched on the whole and it's going to be an interesting tie."

Boro will not be able to call upon winger Mitchell Cole as he is currently serving a suspension.

David Bridges looks set to miss the clash due to a knee problem, while Jon Ashton will require a late fitness test on a shoulder injury.

Cambridge United manager Gary Brabin has called on the fans to act as a '12th man' during the clash at Boro.

Brabin knows that a big turnout from the supporters at the Lamex Stadium will act as a massive boost for the whole team.

The U's boss told Cambridge News Online: "The fans have been different class from day one and one of the games I remember was Stevenage away where it felt like we were the home side. It does really help the lads when you've got more than 1,000 fans behind you at an away game.

"When I spoke to someone from Altrincham after the game on Sunday, they said their game plan was to keep our fans quiet after the first 25 minutes hoping it would work against our players.

"People are using the fact we've got such a fantastic fanbase to try to frustrate us.

"But it has an effect on the pitch and it's no coincidence when we've gone away from home our fans have been encouraging and cheering from start to end."

Courtney Pitt and Andy Parkinson will both require late fitness tests as they are currently struggling with injury and illness respectively.

Those are Brabin's only two concerns heading into the clash and will go into the meeting with a strong squad.