Stevenage slumped to a 2-0 defeat away to Rochdale on Saturday, writes Owen Rodbard from the Crown Oil Arena.

Boro's dismal form continued as two early goals confirmed another loss on the road for Steve Evans' men.

With all the teams around Boro winning, the next few games will be crucial to keep the promotion hopes alive.

See how Hitchin NubNews rated each players performance from Spotland. 

Stevenage Player Ratings:

Savin: 4- Poor kicking, needs to be more commanding in his penalty area

Gilbey: 5- Worked the ball well between the midfield and attack bit failed to make an assertive impact

Sweeney: 4- A really average performance defensively, worked well on the ball but fell asleep when called upon in the defensive third

Tomkinson: 3- Lacklustre defending led to him being hooked for Smith

Piergianni: 4.5- Won all his aerial duels but made multiple silly fouls which allowed Rochdale to lump the ball into his box

Clark: 3- Awful defending for the first two goals, often isolated against the tricky Oroh, caught out on the ball too often and some really poor passes which put his teammates in trouble

Bostwick: 4- Was caught flat footed on multiple occasions, lucky to not be carded for a silly foul 

Forster-Caskey: 5- Some good set pieces swung into the box, ran well with the ball at his feet but was unlucky to be swapped out after 30 minutes for a change of system

Roberts: 4- Ball watched a lot in the first half, was brighter second half but still not up to his usual performances 

Reid: 5.5- Had some bright moments, was unlucky not to score with a couple of half chances

Norris: 4.5- Held up play well, no one around him to play off him however, should've scored with a rasping effort in the first half

Substitutions:

Taylor: 6

Smith: 5.5

Reeves: 4

March: 5

Rose: 4.5

.......... 

Rochdale Player Ratings:

O'Donnell: 6

Taylor: 6

Ebanks-Landell: 6.5

Rodney: 7

Odoh: 7.5

Keohane: 6

Brierley: 6

Quigley: 6.5

Dodgson: 6

Lloyd: 6.5

Mullarkey: 6.5 

Substitutions:

Bennett: 6

Mellor: 4.5

Henderson: 5