STEVENAGE have confirmed they are taking action against the fan who ran on the pitch in the City game.

They are also reviewing the response of the club stewards to the incident which occurred after Jamie Walker had scored what proved to be the winning goal.

A home supporter charged on before the game could restart and appeared to be heading for Andy Cook. But Stevenage midfielder Alex Gilbey and other team-mates managed to block him off before he was escorted from the pitch.

A statement from Stevenage said that the fan has been arrested and banned from the Lamex Stadium.

It read: “Entering the pitch is a criminal offence and puts players, officials and supporters at great risk. This is not tolerated at The Lamex Stadium.

“Football stadiums should be a safe and enjoyable space for everyone, and these incidents are completely unacceptable and have no place in our game.

“The individual has been arrested, issued a ban from The Lamex Stadium and the club are working closely with the police and their investigation.

“The club is also reviewing the stewarding response and protocols following the incident.”

Mark Hughes thanked Gilbey afterwards for defusing what could have been a very serious situation.

“You don’t like to see that,” said the City boss. “Credit to the Stevenage lad who recognised what was going to happen.

“If he hadn’t intervened, obviously Cooky wasn’t aware that the lad was trying to give him a clump.

“We thank the Stevenage player for that. If he hadn’t seen that, it could have been a really nasty incident.”