Exeter line-up: Marriott, Tully, Friend, M Taylor, Seaborne, Edwards, Gill, Harley, Stansfield, Basham (Watson, 42), Logan.

Subs not used: Jones, Moxey, Cozic, Sercombe.

What a difference a day makes. On Thursday the mood around St. James Park was despondent after the Droylesden draw, but a fine attacking performance in Hertfordshire and Exeter are once again masters of their own destiny in the racefor the play-offs.

Nothing less than a win would have sufficed at Stevenage and Paul Tisdale recognized this by naming an attacking 4-3-3 line up with both Logan and Basham in the starting line-up supporting Stansfield up front, and Rob Edwards sitting deep as a holding midfielder, while Dean Moxey was relegated to the bench and there was no place for Wayne Carlisle.

The attacking formation, which took many by surprise, paid off from the start as City dominated possession and pushed towards the Stevenage goal, with two of the three strikers working the flanks, supported by Tully and Friend from the full-back position.

With plenty of pressure of the Stevenage goal, it was inevitable City would carve out a clear chance sooner rather than later and nine minutes in some neat work between Stansfield and Tully on the right created a perfect cross. Logan nodded down for Basham to wrap his foot around the ball and drive it beyond the despairing dive of Alan Julian and into the bottom corner of the net.

Stevenage looked somewhat shell-shocked and tried to push forward in response for an equalizer, but City were on fire and their response was limited to a long-range wayward effort from top scorer Steve Morrison.

Exeter continued to push forward, with Tully in particular crossing some nice balls into the box, while Stansfield and Basham continually unsettled the Boro back four. But despite enjoying lengthy spells of possession City were restricted to a couple of long range efforts from Matt Gill and Rob Edwards, while Marriott was called into action once with a tame shot from Morrison.

As half-time loomed, Exeter were hit with a minor setback when the impressive Steve Basham picked up a niggling injury, meaning Ben Watson would get his longest spell on the pitch in a City shirt this season. Up to that point Basham had been the focal point of many of City's attacks, but with the formation working well, Paul Tisdale saw no reason to revert to a 4-4-2 to protect the lead.

Just as Basham had trudged off the pitch, City nearly doubled their lead when Ryan Harley whipped in a free-kick that caused panic in the Stevenage defence, with Danny Seaborne's shot frantically blocked, then scrambled away.

Stevenage manager Peter Taylor showed his intent to wrest the initiative back in the second half with a double substation and just after the break Stevenage enjoyed their best spell of possession in the game with Exeter unable to get hold of the ball for a good five minutes, but the only thing Stevenage had to show for it was a shot that went-well side and Marriott was never threatened during the spell of heavy pressure.

Exeter then rallied and turned the pressure back onto Boro as Paul Tisdale's men continued to push forward in search of a second goal that would probably have killed the game off. After some wonderful interplay on the left between the increasingly influential Harley and Stansfield, Richard Logan found himself with space just outside the area and unleashed a shot that had Julian scrambling to divert the goal out for a corner.

Harley then out a couple of shots that were deflected and, from one of the resulting corners, Matt Taylor fired one towards goal, forcing Julian into a smart tip-over. The resulting corner then produced one of the afternoon's two controversial moments, as Matt Taylor was pulled back in the area and the referee pointed to the spot, cueing protests from the Stevenage players and yellows cards for Julian and Boro defender Ashley Westwood.

During the chaos, Logan had been patiently waiting by the spot with the ball but when the referee finally signaled he was happy, Logan's penalty was parried by Julian, but as the Stevenage keeper moved to celebrate with his team, the referee blew again and ordered the spot-kick to be retaken. Logan again waited patiently while the Boro players surrounded the ref, but the striker's kick was identical to the first and Julian again palmed the ball to safety.

At that point the same threatened to boil over, with a Stevenage defender cautioned for an ugly foul on George Friend, and Rob Edwards also receiving a yellow for a pull back, but City, and the ref, both gradually reasserted their authority on the game and every time Boro pinged the ball forward, Exeter's backline stood firm and Gill and Harley were always on hand for an outlet.

But as City looked towards a first away win at Broadhall Way, Stevenage pushed forward in search of an equaliser to protect their buffer in the play-off zone. First they managed to fire over from six yards despite and open goal, and continued to pile forward as four minutes of stoppage time was held up.

Inevitably, Stevenage won a corner in the very last minute of stoppage time, to test the nerves of the City defence. The inswinging corner found the head of a Stevenage player and looked for all the world if it was heading goalwards, when Matt Gill popped up and managed to get his head to the ball and clear off the line, although some angles suggested the midfielder may have been a bit further back than the officials thought.

Nonetheless, Gill's block could be on of the most important actions in City's season, and with Burton also slipping up, Exeter are now firmly back in the hunt for a play-off place. Credit must got to Tisdale for his adventurous shake-up after Thursday's disappointing, while the players also responded with one of City's best performances of the season.

Basham was at the centre of everything in the first half, and losing him was a blow for City. Harley was also calm and impressive and grows into his role with every game. Stansfield never stopped running and Tully sent a strong message to the manager that he's still first-choice right back after his suspension.

With just a handful of games left, similar performances should see City make the top five again, but nothing should be taken for granted. The Grecians face a tricky away trip to Salisbury before welcoming a resurgent Northwich to the park. More of the same from both the players and the fans, who were in fine voice, and the final day trip to Burton could be a lot less stressful than it currently looks.