It'll be terrible but...

Bolton Wanderers vs Wigan Athletic

I've been putting off writing this post all morning.  What to say about this game?  Drab, dull, dreary and devoid of entertainment.  Like a standard episode of Everybody Loves Raymond.  The Stalybridge game fell early to the frost.  Not early enough to prevent me from having got half way there on the train already.  Rather than waste the tickets I looked for a plan B.  Sheffield Wednesday?  Been there.  Rochdale?  Hell to get too.  Chesterfield?  That'd still see me wasting half of my train tickets.  Bolton - Wigan in the FA Cup fourth round?  It'll be a terrible game but it's a ground tick and it uses almost all of my train ticket so it'll do.

The Wigan contingent of the 14,950.
NOTE: the empty seats which characterised this game.

£15 to get in and pay on the gate wasn't terrible and a programme for £2 meant that this game hadn't cost me much more than a pre-game trip to the Buffet Bar at Stalybridge.  The train station, Horwich Parkway, is right next to the ground so access is fairly easy.  My compatriot from More in Hope than Expectation and I considered which team to support.  We dredged through history and came up with the heinous slight inflicted on the Pilgrims by Wigan back in the 1977/78 season.  Boston won the Northern Premier League but were denied promotion to the Football League due to ground grading issues.  Wigan's Springfield Park was probably certainly worse than York St. but Wigan were put up for election to the League in Boston's place anyway.  Wigan won the tight vote at Southport's expense and the rest, as they say, is history.  That was enough for us to lend our support to the Trotters for this match at least.

Nat Lofthouse OBE; 27 August 1925 - 15 January 2011

The tribute to Nat Lofthouse OBE outside the ground was a moving reminder of the wonderful life of a true gentleman and one of the greatest strikers that the English game has ever seen.  Named the Lion of Vienna for his exploits in a 3-2 win over Austria, Lofthouse went on to score 30 goals in 33 England appearances.  Lofthouse died at the age of 85 on the 15th of January 2011.

Not a terrible view for £15.

Queuing up to get into the Reebok Stadium was an experience in itself.  Never before have I seen such an assortment of trackie bottoms, it was like being trapped in a JJB superstore. Which incidentally can probably be found in the retail park in which the ground sits.  For £15 the seats weren't bad and we took our places close to the away fans.  There was nearly a goal within seconds as Kevin Davies put through Ellmander who tested Mike Pollitt in the Wigan net.  The game was bubbling along nicely and only a lack of class in the final third from Wigan's own Moses; combined with some good goal keeping from Jaaskelainen, denying Gomez, kept the score at 0-0.  Petrov was forced to try and single handedly drag Bolton into the game before half time but couldn't hit the back of the net.

The Wigan fans providing the pick of the entertainment.
The attendance might have started at 14,950 but it finished closer to 14,940.

The second half was not the best half of football I have ever seen.  Robbie Blake's introduction threatened to spark some excitement.  Not much, just some.  The best chances of the half arrived in the last few minutes with Jaaskelainen doing well to keep out McManaman while at the opposite end Wheater couldn't hit the target, nailing a shot just wide.  It was never going to be the most exciting of games and the best entertainment was the banter between the two sets of fans combined with the occasional ejection.  The odd chant of "it's time to go home" when a fan gets thrown out is nowhere near as catchy as "cheerio".  The majority of other songs seemed to be exactly the same from both sides with only key words being swapped, the team name for example.  There was much contention amongst the fans over the allegiance of Ali Al-Habsi, on loan to Wigan from Bolton.  I'm not sure how that was even relevant as he wasn't playing.  The oddest of all the songs, however, seemed to be the "wanky, wanky, Wanderers" song.  Which was sung by both sides...  Maybe it means something different up there.

So it wasn't great but a ground tick is a ground tick and the local Tesco in the retail park did ensure there was some food on hand for the long trip home.

Next up: Boston away at Worcester.

A nice distraction

Wootton Blue Cross vs AFC Kempston Rovers

After yesterday's debacle at York St. I decided I needed to get the bad taste out of my mouth immediately so I, along with about 100 others, made my way down to a ridiculously cold Weston Park in Wootton, Bedfordshire; where fourth bottom Wootton Blue Cross would be playing host to high flying AFC Kempston Rovers in a postponed Boxing Day fixture in the Hereward Teamware United Counties League Division One.  A win for AFC Kempston would see them go second ahead of two fixtures against the teams around them.  Wootton would be looking to consolidate into mid-table.  Apologies for just the one photo, it was too cold!

Wootton defend yet another Kempston corner.

AFC Kempston started the brighter and seemed to have a little more class on the ball than Wootton as  expected from the club's respective league positions.  The pressure was being piled on with numerous corners but the Wootton defence was standing strong and dealing well with any aerial threat Rovers could muster.  Clearly the Kempston 'keeper continuously shouting "Kempston winners" whenever the ball was thumped up into the air was having little effect.  This was demonstrated perfectly when a Wootton goal-kick fell to the right winger who travelled with the ball before cutting in and flashing a shot-come-cross which the Kempston shot stopper did well to keep out.  Wootton were having the better of the chances despite not seeing much of the ball and some good work down the left wing resulted in a very dangerous ball across the face of goal.  Kempston rallied towards the end of the first half and a foul on Sam Brown, their ex-Rushden and Diamonds left back, presented an opportunity.  A good ball in from the free-kick resulted in a scramble before the ball was hacked clear by a Wootton defender.

The second half started with Kempston seeing a lot of the ball but still not fashioning many chances.  The Rovers management gave it 15 minutes and, when it was still even, switched things around a bit.  Kempston went 4-3-3 and pressed on forcing Wootton to go with one up front and to drop off a lot more.  Blue Cross weren't helped by their lone striker's inability to be onside, ever.  Kempston's pressing was nearly their undoing though.  A high line enabled a ball to split the defence but the Wootton front man wasn't able to do any more than chip it into the 'keepers waiting arms.  This Wootton chance was the exception though and Kempston were knocking at the door.

They thought they'd found a way in when a big penalty shout went up.  The ref and linesman both said no and they were probably right.  It would have been harsh as the lad had no chance to get his hand out of the way.  It almost didn't matter as the ball dropped kindly and the striker was inches away from connecting with the cross at the back post.  Wootton were sitting deeper and deeper and this cautious approach was to prove costly.  A Rovers attack down the left wing struck a defender on the head and fell back to the winger.  A driven cross was fired in which was bundled home from close range by the Kempston number 10 with seven minutes to go.  Wootton went in search of the equaliser straight from the restart but pushed too many men forward and two minutes later a simple ball over the top put a Kempston striker clean through.  He calmly sold the keeper a dummy and slotted the ball into the bottom corner to effectively end the match.

I've just about got the feeling back into my fingers by typing this!  In spite of the cold it was a very entertaining match and one that was thoroughly worth the £4 gate money.  A pleasant distraction from Boston United for a night.

Next up: It really is Stalybridge Celtic away this time!  Honest!

Anything but easy

Boston United vs Redditch United

It's a very good job that Redditch aren't particularly good because, seemingly, neither are we.  I'm beginning to wonder if Boston will field an unchanged back four at any point during the rest of the season.  For this match Murphy was still out, Pearson and Canoville picked up injuries during the match against Guiseley on Saturday and Nyoni mysteriously seems to have thrown in the towel and buggered off back to Sheffield.  As a result the Boston back line consisted of left-back, Jelleyman (our only first choice defender) starting at centre-back alongside bench warmer Simon Ashton.  The full-back positions were inhabited by Coleman and Cullingworth.  Semple and Sleath were on the wings and the central midfield partnership of Church and Clarke was reformed.  Davidson and Weir-Daley started in an unchanged front line.

Highlight of the night: the Town End's
 "you're not singing anymore"
to the lone Redditch fan.

Redditch are a much changed team since we spanked them 9-0 at their place earlier this year, in fact only one Redditch midfielder present took part in that game.  Not changed enough to get off the bottom of the table though.  This should be easy then, surely?  It would be if Boston weren't in such a woeful run of form.  The results haven't been terrible but the performances are awful and the fear is that getting mullered by a good team is just around the corner.  However, Boston dominated possession from the start.  Davidson tested the Redditch 'keeper early on while defensive blocks were required to keep out a couple of well struck shots from Church.

Boston were in front soon after when Dave Plowright, of Southport drop-ball fame*, played a good advantage after a Redditch defender handled on the edge of the box; Weir-Daley skipped through and fired into the back of the net.  Haystead was spending the majority of the match on his own in the Boston half.  Despite this Redditch were still creating the odd chance on the break which the Pilgrims' 'keeper and defenders were alert to shut out.  Semple was beginning to look dangerous creating chances for himself with a Davidson header bouncing off him and wide before he spanked his own shot wide.  This danger was short lived, however, as Semple pulled up feeling his hamstring just before the end of the first half.  1-0 at half time but no-where near a good performance.

The second half proved to be even worse.  Yates came on to replace Semple and might as well not have bothered, I barely remember him even touching the ball.  This was compounded as Cullingworth seemingly didn't fancy leaving the dressing room and probably went to get some chips from Eagle's, that's what I assume anyway as I didn't see him second half either.  Just after the restart the Pilgrims had their only real chance of the half.  Weir-Daley latching on to some rare good play from Danny Davidson.  The shot was dealt with easily by Dormand in the Redditch sticks.  Boston were still seeing plenty of the ball and most of the play was taking place in the Redditch half but they were really struggling to create anything.  Redditch adopted the tactic of winning the headers and second balls before belting it over the top to Haystead only for him to start the process all over again.  Abysmal.  Newsham replaced Weir-Daley with half an hour remaining, presumably to rest Spence ahead of the game on Saturday.

Haystead all alone in the Boston half.

The law of large numbers ensured that Redditch had a few chances and the Pilgrims were lucky to get away without conceding when McKenzie slotted a ball across the face of goal.  There was an even bigger scare to come.  993 Boston fans and the lone Redditch fan all held their breath as Redditch's Gavin Hurren hit the inside of Haystead's right hand post before the rebound was lashed wide.  Boston were still dominating possession but Redditch were unfortunate not to take advantage of their chances.

Hunter was brought on with five minutes to go.  In those five minutes he claimed my man of the match award for putting in more effort than the rest of the team combined.  Hunter even managed to muster a few shots, all off target but shots none the less.  McKenzie threatened again with a free header at the back post which he couldn't control.  Redditch finished the game on a high note as their 'keeper, Dormand, came forward for a corner; won the header and set up penalty claims which were, fortunately for the Pilgrims, waved away.

I can't remember seeing Boston play this badly and still win.  The performances have been dropping for a long time, since half way through the run of ten games without conceding in fact.  During that run the central midfielders stopped creating chances and dropped deep to reinforce the back line; they haven't come back since.  This is all well and good when the team is nicking the odd goal here and there to win one nil.  The problem at the moment is that the goals have mostly dried up and the defence is changing so often, due to the injuries, that we are leaking one or two more at the back.  It's a fine line between wining 1-0 and losing 1-0.  Luckily in this game Redditch were unable to test the Pilgrims defence to breaking point.  Redditch weren't quite good enough but I would suggest that most other teams in the league will be.

Abject as the performance was three points are three points and the Pilgrims move up to fourth.

Next up: Boston visit Bower Field to play Stalybridge Celtic.

*Dave Plowright's drop-ball incident; 1st December 2007, Boston United vs Southport.  The score was 1-1 with goals from Holland (proving he can score for anyone at York St. except Boston) and Leabon cancelling each other out.  There were a couple of minutes remaining when Southport's Tony Gray went down like a sack of tates.  Plowright stopped play so that Gray could receive treatment.  Following the treatment a drop-ball was given and after a discussion between the ref and the players it was decided that Boston wouldn't contest the ball and Noon could just knock it out for a Pilgrims goal kick.  The Boston players walked away and there was a brief exchange between Plowright and Noon at which point Noon took the ball and ran towards the Boston goal before being brought down by Crane on the edge of the box.  The resulting free-kick was headed in by Lee and the match finished 2-1 to Southport much to the disgust of the Boston support.

Not all I'd feared

Boston United vs Guisley Guiseley

I'll be honest; I thought we were going to get spanked.  Absolutely battered in fact.  We've been poor recently, as poor as the local media's spelling of "Guisley".  This can only have been exacerbated by missing out on a good slab of money following last weeks debacle against Gloucester.  Luton away would have been a smashing trip for me as well.  Such is life. There was small cause for optimism though; the Pilgrims starting line up was subject to six changes as injured players came back into contention.  Boston were actually able to name a defence for this match, which was an enormous bonus, as Pearson and Jelleyman came into the back line and Nyoni slotted in to a defensive midfield role.  Church and Coleman were both pushed forward into the centre and the left of midfield respectively with Sleath, Clarke and Yates missing out.  Semple and Davidson replaced Newsham and Suarez whilst Haystead returned from being cup-tied.  One other small cause for hope, Boston usually play well against better teams...

Boston on the offensive in front of the Town End.

The game started fairly evenly with few chances.  Guiseley were passing the ball around well and fashioned the first chance of the game from a corner but were unable to take advantage.  Davidson set up Coleman for Boston but then couldn't control the rebound as Coleman's shot was blocked.  Pearson, a lad who the Pilgrims have missed massively, took things into his own hands.  After winning the ball well inside his own half he went on a meandering run to the edge of the Guiseley box before laying the ball off to Semple.  He wasn't finished there though as he continued the run to get on the end of Semple's cross.  Sadly the finish was wayward and the move didn't see the goal that it deserved.  Coleman had a couple more chances before the break and looked to be the danger man for Boston, unfortunately his efforts were either wide or easily gathered by the Guiseley 'keeper.  Church struck a dipping effort which was collected by the 'keeper without too much trouble whilst O'Neill hit the Pilgrims' side netting in reply for Guiseley.  It was a tight half of few chances with the ball spending most of the time in the middle third of the pitch.  So far, so good.

Guiseley clear their lines.

Guiseley were sent out a good two or three minutes before the Boston players at the start of the second half.  They'd clearly got some sort of talking to and it showed.  The Yorkshire club penned their Bostonian rivals back for much of the second half.  It was backs to the wall stuff from the Pilgrims whose defence were sitting on the edge of the six yard box.  Haystead was called into action on numerous occasions and performed admirably.  He was helped out by his defenders putting tackles and blocks in wherever they could.  There was Guiseley goal coming, it was just a matter of when.  67 minutes was when.  A Guiseley corner headed home with power by Simon Ainge burst the Pilgrims bubble and it was difficult to see how Boston could come back into the game.

Guiseley restart having conceded the equalizer.

But come back into the game they did!  The substitutions lined up before the goal were made with Clarke replacing Nyoni at centre midfield and Sleath replacing Coleman.  Sleath's impact was almost instant; the excellent Semple got free down the right and flighted a cross to a completely unmarked Sleath at the back post, who had time to compose himself before hammering the shot home just two minutes after the Pilgrims had conceded themselves.  What a substitution!  It does beg the question "what does Danny Sleath have to do to come back into the starting line-up?"  Man of the match last week and goal-scorer with almost his first touch as a sub this, he is definitely making a case for himself.

With the game wide open again both teams went hunting for a winner, the Pilgrims threw on Suarez for Davidson in an attempt to find it.  However, Guiseley returned to penning the Pilgrims back and almost took advantage when the ball was smashed across the face of the goal, luckily for Boston there was no-one to poke home and the cross-come-shot missed the back stick by a hairs-breadth.  The Pilgrims managed to hold out for their first, league, home draw for fourteen months.  A great point against a team who were obviously better than us.  More importantly a good performance which has been much needed after the recent run of games.

Next-up: Boston host a Redditch side languishing at the foot of the table.

We blew it.

Boston United vs Gloucester City

When Boston United beat Gloucester 1-0 last week I thought it was one of the poorest performances that the Pilgrims had put in this season.  I thought, though, that a win is a win and the performance can only get better.  I thought we'd do them easily at York St and book a place in the last 16 of the FA Trophy.  Apparently I was wrong...

The littlest referee talks to the team captains.

The defensive crisis continued as Church was forced to start at centre-back.  The goal keeping worries concerning having to start Butcher looked to have been alleviated as James McKeown came back for a cameo appearance between the United sticks.  Newsham and Sleath also came in to the midfield.  Gloucester were playing better than last week and McKeown was in action early on to keep the scores level.   Gloucester were denied a stonewall, nailed on penalty and the chance to reduce United to ten men as Coleman, doing his best van der Sar impression, punched the ball off the line!  Thankfully for Boston the shortest referee in the world couldn't see through the bodies in the box.  His linesman should have seen it though, 1110 other people in the ground did.  I suppose Gloucester can't complain too much after the penalty that we didn't get at their place last week.

Boston weren't playing well.  In fact they were barely playing at all.  I cannot remember the Pilgrims having a shot that really troubled the portly Gloucester 'keeper.  Suarez had a headed effort pushed onto the post and Weir-Daley passed the ball into the 'keepers arms but that was about it.  The Pilgrims were making hard work of the half.  The wind played a big part in piling the pressure on as McKeown's clearances rarely got much further than the half-way line.  Boston were lucky to be going in to the break at 0-0.

The Pilgrims on a rare first half attack.

The half time break didn't seem to have woken the Pilgrims up and they laboured.  The wind was with Boston this half though and the performance started to pick up with an hour gone and the introduction of Davidson for Suarez.  Clarke hit a good shot from outside the box which tested the Gloucester 'keeper's concentration.  Just as Boston were getting into their stride they had the stuffing well and truly knocked out of them.  McKeown, looking up field for someone to clear to, failed to deal with the bobble.  The clearance went high but got no distance, falling to a Gloucester player on the wing.  The ball was knocked through to Mullings who slid the ball into the gaping United net.

Gloucester's 'keeper, this time in green.

Boston made their final changes and went for pace with Koranteng and Semple coming in for Newsham and Yates.  The Pilgrims were struggling to get back into their stride after the setback of the goal conceded.  With ten minutes to go Boston were battering at the Gloucester door.  Coleman had a couple of good chances and tested the 'keeper from range before smacking another shot against the crossbar.  The last minute saw everyone come forward for a Boston corner.  Yes, everyone!  The corner dropped to McKeown of all people who scuffed a shot into a defenders hand as the ball bobbled around in the box.  Coleman hit the ball towards the goal but the Gloucester 'keeper pushed it out before Sleath had a good effort just over the bar in a frantic finish.

The Pilgrims were very, very poor for an hour and didn't deserve anything from the game.  A physical Gloucester team kept us out well and we couldn't cope.  That said the last ten minutes of pressure could and probably should have resulted in an equalizer.  None of the Boston players were terrible but all of them were below average.  The Gloucester defender Matt Coupe took his celebrations too far and post-match apology or not he has won no friends in this corner of Lincolnshire.  The run of form is getting a little worrying now.  If we play like this in the up-coming games against Guiseley and Alfreton we will get absolutely battered.

Next up: Guiseley pay a visit to York St as the Pilgrims get back to league action.

Double Trouble

Boston United vs Hinckley United

York St. at night.

The Pilgrims last met a very different Hinckley team back in the first week of the season.  Hinckley have recently had their transfer embargo lifted and have made great efforts to replace the players who have left the club for opportunities at a higher level; Boston's new shot-stopper, Dan Haystead, included.  August saw the Pilgrims win 1-0 with Church scoring the only goal at the Greene King Stadium.  Since then Hinckley have struggled near the bottom of the league and were looking to avoid being Boston's first league double of the season.

For a team of midgets Hinckley had some big
lads up front!

Boston made a few changes before the game.  Rory Coleman came in on loan from Scunthorpe to replace Jelleyman, the Pilgrims third first choice defender to be injured.  Jamie Yates came in for Nathan Koranteng on the wing.  Hinckley looked like a team who'd never played together and were soon under pressure from the Pilgrims.  The Knitters were flying into the tackles and the referee did well to keep the game under control early on.  Weir-Daley hit the bar with a deflected drive and it turned into a night of deflections for Hinckley a few moments later.  A Yates cross took a massive deflection off Hinckley's Burgess, evading the keeper and looping into the back of the net.  It doesn't matter how they go in...

Dan Haystead's replacement in between the Hinckley sticks, Thackeray, was having a shocker!  I can't remember any of his kick-outs not going straight out or to a Boston player.  This was understandably putting his defence under real pressure.  Coleman had a good curling free kick saved by the 'keeper and Suarez forced the 'keeper to tip the ball over the bar.  Boston weren't playing great passing football but were still considerably better than a mistake ridden Hinckley side.  Another mistake contributed to the Pilgrims second on the half hour mark.  A ball over the top for Suarez to run on to prompted the 'keeper to come out and blast the ball clear, straight into one of his own defenders.  The rebound fell into the path of Suarez who found himself clear through on an open goal.  2-0, half an hour gone and barely a shot on target!  Hinckley did finally get one chance just before the break as a free-kick was belted narrowly over Haystead's crossbar.

The second half saw more dominance from a still slightly under-par Boston side.  Semple went on a fantastic run and some really strong play saw him create his own opening before clipping the ball just over under a lot of pressure from the Knitters' defence.  Hinckley had a great chance to pull a goal back but couldn't hit the target.  They were punished for the miss as Weir-Daley finished with a great drive across the Knitters' 'keeper from twenty yards on the hour mark.  Cecil Nyoni was replaced by Danny Sleath, dropping Church back into unfamiliar territory in the centre of defence.  Hinckley were creating a few chances on the break but the defence was blocking everything that the Knitters could throw at them.

Boston pile on the pressure in the second half.

Coleman, Suarez, Semple and Weir-Daley all tested the visitor's defence.  Weir-Daley stung the palms of Thackeray before the shot-stopper made a right hash of collecting a drive from Coleman, throwing the ball over his own shoulder and out for a corner.  Suarez had a header set up by Semple fall just wide before Semple's own shot went just over.  Hunter and Koranteng came on to replace Weir-Daley and Yates and to worry the home defence with pace.  Hunter had several chances but it wasn't his night; a shot wide following a good turn and then a brilliant one-on-one save by Thackeray denying him.  The chances for the night were capped off as Coleman had a powerful drive flash just wide with the beleaguered Knitters' 'keeper oblivious.

Hinckley offered nothing really.  I take back what I said about Gloucester on Saturday, they're much better than Hinckley.  The Knitters team was mistake ridden, especially at the back and this made it easy for Boston to win whilst not playing particularly well.  If the Pilgrims had really put the foot down it could have been more than three.  Defensive injuries are the main worry for Boston at the moment with Jelleyman, Murphy and Pearson all out injured whilst Haystead will be cup tied for next Saturday's F.A. Trophy match against Gloucester.

Next-up: Trophy action as Gloucester City visit York St.

Not exactly a classic

Gloucester City vs Boston United

Bizarrely, for one of the Pilgrims longer trips, I actually left home later than I do for home games.  I would have been in around the same time as well were it not for the consistently terrible Cross Country rail service between Leicester and Birmingham.  So delayed into Cheltenham, where Gloucester play their home games, I got a taxi to Whaddon Road.  During the two mile trip from the station the strongly accented taxi driver proceeded to explain to me how Cheltenham had played some big games down the years and how his next door neighbour's cousin twice removed played for Cheltenham forty years ago.  He didn't quite understand that Gloucester played at Whaddon Road as well.

Whaddon Road: flashbacks to the Football League days.

The Tigers have played at various grounds including Whaddon Road since 2007 when the whole of Gloucestershire was under eight feet of water, or something.  Gloucester broke their record run of 70 years in the Southern League by being promoted to the Conference North in 2009.  Their place in the Conf. North is a fine example of how poor the system for regionalizing the country is.  Boston were the first team for whom Gloucester enforced segregation for this season, they are yet to play Worcester, AFC Telford and Nuneaton at home this year so that isn't overly surprising.  It was a bit of a worry walking in to the away end as the signs above the turnstile claimed £20 for entry.  Luckily this was for Cheltenham games and Gloucester actually charged £6 for students with a free pack of Olbas chucked in.  That'll help my cold out no end!  Gloucester were hoping for a bumper crowd from Lincolnshire, hopefully they weren't too disappointed with the 97 who made the trip and boosted the attendance to 385.

Not quite a Football League attendance.

There were changes from Monday's draw at Eastwood.  Due to most of our central defence being injured Sheffield Wednesday loanee, Cecil Nyoni, came straight into the defence.  Mikel Suarez started up front in place of Danny Davidson and Ryan Semple came in for Marc Newsham.  Boston started the game at a reasonable pace and had numerous early chances.  The portly, pink Tigers' 'keeper did well to keep Weir-Daley out, with the odd bit of help from his defenders.  Cullingworth and Jelleyman were both causing Gloucester trouble by driving forward from full back.  This paid off on 23 minutes when the 'keeper couldn't get anywhere near a Jelleyman cross leaving Weir-Daley free to poke home yet another tap in taking him to ten for the season.  Gloucester were by no means out of the game and proved this by nailing a shot against the bar.  Thankfully it bounced down and out.

Boston were not playing well and it was lucky that Gloucester were one of the poorest teams we have played against this season otherwise the Pilgrims would have been in real trouble.  With Clarke in midfield we lack the creativity of Sleath.  Clarke can't tackle either and I'd definitely drop him for Sleath any day of the week.  There wasn't much else happening in the game before half time.  It was fairly even and neither sides' 'keeper had much to do before the break.

The portly, pink 'keeper.

The tubby Tigers' 'keeper made some cracking saves from Weir-Daley, Suarez and Koranteng at the start of the second half.  Weir-Daley tested the 'keeper from 25 yards out and a surprisingly acrobatic save kept the score at 1-0.  A headed effort from Suarez was also kept out well before a good run from Koranteng down the wing ended with him cutting in and blasting against the 'keeper from a tight angle.  As in the first half, the good Boston play didn't last and the Tigers came back into it with Haystead having to make a great save with his legs.  Gloucester could probably have caused Boston more problems if they weren't so terrible in front of goal.  They couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat and this made it easy for Boston to maintain the lead.  Hopefully they aren't saving their shooting boots for the return leg in the Trophy on Saturday.  Church lashed a driven free-kick against the bar half way through the second period as Boston looked dangerous.

The Gloucester faithful give Rob Scott some stick.

Boston should have sealed the win when Miles Hunter, who'd only just come on, tried to round the 'keeper.  The 'keeper must have been hungry as he seemed to ignore the ball completely and instead tried to eat Hunter's legs.  Hunter was completely flattened but the referee who had been giving fouls and bookings for the smallest of offences, including booking Semple for giving the ball back to Gloucester following a foul, decided he wasn't interested in giving a stonewall penalty.  Typical.  Boston still haven't been awarded a penalty in the league this season.  I'm beginning to think there is some sort of conspiracy against us!  A converted penalty would've been harsh on Gloucester who, whilst not very good, weren't two goals worse than United.  A poor performance but a clean sheet and three points away aren't to be sniffed at.

Next up: Boston take on Hinckley at York St in the BSB Conference North.

Deadwood, give us a song!

Eastwood Town vs Boston United

Rubbish: sponsored by Vauxhall.

Coming only a couple of days after the Tinpot Trinity debacle this game provided a perfect opportunity to set things right.  Being a fairly local game meant that I could afford to leave a little later and spend some time in Nottingham for pre-game snacks and drinks before getting the train to Eastwood.  Small problem there; the train doesn't actually go to Eastwood, it goes to Langley Mill, which is in another county!  So a brisk walk through two counties brought me to Eastwood, the town where the bins have the Vauxhall badge on them...

Coronation Park is a fairly tidy ground with an array of seated areas on one side, a small seated stand on the other and a couple of tin sheds at either end.  A good few hundred Pilgrims had turned up to boost the attendance to 675 and were in fine voice throughout the game with only a couple of minutes break in the singing every so often.  The Boston team included four changes since the Tinpot defeat; with Haystead, Koranteng, Murphy and Davidson coming in for the departed McKeown, the injured Pearson and the dropped Semple and Yates.  This meant that Davidson went up front pushing Newsham out onto the wing.  Probably wise in light of the ENORMOUS Eastwood centre-backs!

Welcome to Eastwood.

It was a fairly even start to the game with both sides creating chances.  The pacey Koranteng nailed a shot high and wide and both 'keepers did some good work to keep the scores level, denying Boston's Weir-Daley and Eastwood's Stevenson.  Stevenson wasn't to be denied for long though as a very narrow Cullingworth failed to close him down, leaving plenty of room for an unstoppable 20 yard effort curled into the back of the net.  Going behind on 13 minutes provided a big test to the Pilgrims resolve and the responded perfectly only 3 minutes later.  A mix up in the defence following a Cullingworth cross led to one of the Eastwood centre-backs heading the ball away from his own keepers grasp, right to the feet of Weir-Daley who tapped home with ease.

Eastwood were playing brilliantly on the counter and had several chances to put the ball in the net.  Some good work from Eastwood's Meikle caused the Boston defence no end of trouble from the wide areas.  Two or three deliveries just needed a touch to restore the Badgers lead.  Eastwood weren't going to have it all their own way before half time though.  Davidson, having won pretty much everything in the air and already playing superbly, ran the length of the pitch with the ball at his feet, skipping through tackles before shying away from the shot and trying to play Weir-Daley in.  It was almost graceful!  Boston piled on the pressure in the closing minutes of the half with repeated bombardment from the corner spot.  A few of the deliveries did eventually make it into the box and Boston were unlucky not to profit.

Pre-game handshake.

The second half continued in much the same fashion with both sides having chances.  Davidson wasn't able to keep his shot on target in front of the travelling fans who'd switched ends at the break.  It was Danby who was the busiest of the 'keepers as Boston peppered the badgers goal with shots coming from Church and Weir-Daley.  Suarez and Semple were brought on in the last quarter of an hour for Weir-Daley and Koranteng respectively.  Koranteng didn't play badly but his refusal to track back or tackle is hardly endearing.  It meant that Weir-Daley ended up covering and helping out Jelleyman at left back a lot of the time.  The lad also struggled to keep the ball with him when running at defenders.  He might do the job at York St but away from home?  I have my doubts.

The Keith Smith "Stand".

The game was still end to end with both sides pushing for the win.  It looked like Eastwood had got it in the 84th minute when a good run from Eastwood's winger ended in a pull-back for Stevenson to rifle home and silence the stunned away fans - well, for 30 seconds at least!  Hunter replaced Weir-Daley in Boston's search for an immediate reply and amazingly it came in the form of a Suarez header two minutes later!  The goal greeted by mental scenes from the Pilgrims fans behind the net.  The remaining minutes yielded no joy for either side and the match finished with the points shared.

Eastwood are a much better side than the league table indicates and if they play like that they won't be in trouble for long.  The game was there for the winning but Boston will be the happier side and the late equalizer feels a bit like a win.  A good point and an excellent game of football!

Next up: Gloucester City away in the BSB Conference North.

I think I preferred the snow...

Boston United vs Gainsborough (Tinpot) Trinity

Hang-over cure? Warning: hot chocolate,
not actually as good as it looks.

We're back! Hopefully for good this time, well until the end of the season at any rate.  What better way to cure the inevitable New Years hangover than an afternoon in the fresh air, watching the football with some mates and a hot chocolate or two?  Well spanking Tinpot Trinity for one.  Boston haven't played since beating York on the 11th of December and it was even longer for Tinpot as their last game was their defeat at York St in the FA Trophy on the 20th of November!

It wasn't a bad turnout over all with 1559 people at York St.  Their 26 muppets must have done some pretty impressive inbreeding over the last two years.  They must have been at it like rabbits in fact, as there were 62 of them this time round and that sort of village idiocy can only be genetic.  They arrived at the ground, presumably via the pikey encampment at Newark to pick up their 'comedy' ghost-train siren.  That's right, some teams have drums, some have whole bands, Tinpot have a ghost-train siren.  It was probably going to be appropriate for the horror show that their team were going to put on as we mauled them yet again.  It didn't quite work out like that...

Boston were unchanged from the York game but as I can't remember what that means I'll guess you can't either. McKeown was in goal for the final time for the Pilgrims before his loan spell ends.  The back four consisted of Cullingworth at right-back, Canoville and Pearson at centre-back with Jelleyman at left-back.  Midfield had Semple and Yates on the wings with Church and Clarke in the middle of the park.  Boston started with Newsham and Weir-Daley up front.  I'd give you the Tinpot line up but, meh.  A minutes silence for the sad loss of Dale Roberts, Rushden and Diamonds and England C keeper, was held prior to kick-off and was impeccably observed.

The Tinpot 62 taking part in some pre-game inbreeding, probably.

Boston started the brighter and were playing some really nice football on the ground with a quick tempo.  All the good groundwork was nearly undone though when a deflected shot escaped McKeown and hit the inside of the post before running along the goal line.  McKeown, thankfully, gathered at the second time of asking.  Boston soon got back into the swing of things and went close through Newsham who's headed effort hit the bar.  However, it was Tinpot who took the lead on 20 minutes.  Jelleyman misjudging an incoming cross from ex-Linscum reject Paul Mayo, jumped under it allowing the ball to come through to Aiston who rolled it past McKeown.  Jelleyman tried to make amends minutes later with a brilliant run into the Tinpot box, beating several men before remembering he is a left back and spanking it into the stands.

The referee observing a Tinpot training session... (Photograph:
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images/The Guardian)

The referee on the day, the appropriately named Mr Geoff Law, vastly resembled a MET police officer at a student protest: not seeing a thing while his colleagues in blue go around brutally assaulting people.  I'm pretty sure Newsham could have been raped and still have the decision go against him!  This was topped off when he missed a blatant penalty for handball.   No hope of the linesman seeing it either, he didn't make one single decision on his own all day.  In spite of this Boston were still on top.  Newsham was put through to blaze over the bar when it seemed easier to score.  Semple had also tested the keeper moments earlier.  The goal was coming, surely?  It arrived in the forty-fifth minute courtesy of Weir-Daley.  A rare quality delivery from the corner spot (we should probably work on this in training) was thrown into the box and Pearson connected powerfully to hit the cross-bar or be saved by the keeper, I'm not sure which.  The ball fell out to SWD who hit the back of a largely empty net with ease.

The second half saw Boston dominating the chances once again with Pearson and Semple both going close.  Once again Tinpot scored against the run of play with Kendall waltzing through a couple of powder-puff challenges in the box before producing a good finish to beat a stranded McKeown on the hour mark.  This was probably the time to change things about a bit.  Time to bring on a bit of pace up front or some creativity in midfield.  Hunter and Sleath for Semple (or Yates) and Clarke would've been my choice.  The managers chose to do nothing until far too late as they have a worrying tendency to do when it comes to substitutions.  Kendall scored his second and Tinpot's third about 10 minutes later.  A (irritatingly) good cross from ex-Linscum reject Paul Mayo split the defence and was well finished to effectively end the game.

Only now with just under a quarter of an hour remaining did the managers decide to change things.  Sleath, Hunter and Davidson all coming on to replace Semple, Yates and Newsham.  Boston still couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat and spurned several more chances before the final whistle particularly Sleath who missed a chance similar to Newsham's in the first half.  They weren't the only ones though as Kendall was denied by a great save from McKeown.  Davidson was lucky not to see red when, reacting to an elbow in the face, he seemed to kick a downed Tinpot player.  Both could have gone but the ref. once again chose to ignore the rule book and give out a yellow each.

3-1 seems fairly emphatic but it doesn't really reflect the game.  Tinpot took their chances, had the Pilgrims done the same at least a point was there for the taking.  Hopefully this isn't the start of a league slump, this was United's second league defeat in a row after all; Droylesdon, remember that?!  The outgoing McKeown will be replaced with Dan Haystead and Nathen Koranteng has come in on loan from Peterborough.  Koranteng was a little lightweight when he was on loan with us last time round, hopefully he'll have built up his strength a little since then.  Haystead has apparently been in great form with Hinckley this year and fingers crossed he'll do the job for us.  We'll see at Eastwood on Monday.

Next up: more league action as the Pilgrims make the short trip to Eastwood Town in the BSB Conference North.