I don't even know where to begin with this one. Boston don't seem to be very good at playing football recently. Which, for a football team, presents a few issues. The performances simply aren't there and it's starting to feel a lot like we're looking back and trying to defend the play-off spot rather than pushing on and trying to win the league. I know it would take a monumental slip up from the teams above us to win it but that's the mentality we should have. Looking forward, not back. The injury problems clearly haven't helped, the team has been changing almost daily, making it difficult to get into a rhythm and string some results together. Maybe we're a bit lightweight, maybe the team isn't up for the fight. If that's true then something has changed because we always used to be able to go to tough places and grind out results. Maybe teams in this league have us sussed. Maybe we just aren't good enough.
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| The railway shed. |
Worcester away. Worcester, the team who dumped us out of the FA Cup then celebrated like they'd won it. A bit of payback then, you'd think. Well that's what we thought anyway, as we strolled through the back roads to St. George's Lane. To say that St. George's Lane has character would be an understatement. That isn't to say it's a good ground, just an interesting one. There is a sizeable main-stand down the turnstiles side of the pitch which provides seating for a good proportion of the crowd. The left hand end is the funnel end. This tapered bit of terracing is accessed by walking around the back of the little cottage in which the changing rooms are situated. The right hand end is the mountain end. This end is raised so far above pitch level that if someone forgets their oxygen tanks on the terrace they'll have to call mountain rescue in. On the side opposite the main-stand there is the engine shed, which I assume used to be part of some industrial railway complex, and a stretch of largely empty open terracing. Like I said, character.
Worcester might not be in this ground for much longer, if what we were told is correct. They might not be in business for that matter. Initially Worcester were going to sell their ground for £7,000,000 and use the cash to pay off their £1,000,000 debt, leaving £6,000,000 for building them a new ground. It's taken them that long to decide what they are doing that the debt has risen by £600,000 and the ground is now worth up to £5,000,000 less. I know maths isn't my strong point on a Sunday morning, but that doesn't leave very much left to build a new ground over the next two or three years. With Redditch having reduced their playing budget to zero this week and their management having gone, it looks like tough times ahead for clubs in that area.
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| There was a game, I just don't want to talk about it. |
You may have noticed I haven't actually talked about the game yet. That's largely because I don't know what to say. Boston made four changes with Canoville and Pearson returning from injury to bolster the defence and Yates starting on the wing, hoping to supply the new lad, Boyes, with some ammunition. Boyes comes highly recommended and has a brilliant scoring record, having scored two goals in the last 4.5 billion years or something. Because, with all these defensive injuries, a striker is what we really needed.
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| Not the best pitch in the world. |
The early action set the tempo of the game. Boston would try to play some nice stuff before being muscled off the ball (sometimes fairly!) only for Worcester to smash it long to their strikers. The referee proved that he couldn't be relied on to ensure fairness when he didn't even book Matt Birley who'd thrown Cullingworth to the floor. Worcester were flying into the tackles and the ref was giving nothing. Despite this there were the odd chances for both teams with Yates tamely chipping a shot into the Worcester 'keepers arms and Birley having two bites of the cherry at the other end. Worcester were in luck though, the referee handing them a penalty half-way through the second period. The penalty was given for handball on the line and Pearson was booked. So Pearson handled it then? No. Pearson got booked for asking the referee who had handled it, the ref didn't know. The penalty was dispatched by Glover to make it 1-0 to Worcester. There was still time for Worcester to hit the crossbar and Coleman to shank the ball wide for the Pilgrims before half time. There was also time for a passing Worcester fan to ask "Do you lot always play this dirty? Your team are a bunch of f***ing animals!" which is a bit rich coming from them really.
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| Erm, what advertising boards? |
The second half was better in that the Pilgrims made two chances of note rather than the one in the first half. There were half-chances though and blocks denied a labouring Weir-Daley and Danny Sleath. An easy save from the 'keeper was required to shut out Church. The main talking point of the second period was the Worcester players and the referee. The Worcester number two, feeling aggrieved that a decision hadn't gone his way spent a good minute or so pushing the ref and screaming in his face. He got nothing, not a booking, not a talking to. Nothing. There were occasions where our players were clearly fouled but the free-kick went the other way. Absolutely farcical refereeing from Mr John Mayhew. The gobby number two shut up when defending corners right next to the away support though, he clearly wasn't that brave. Ryan Clarke thought he'd have a go at the away support, mainly because he was never fit to wear our shirt when he was here. The lazy, useless mug...
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| The Worcester number two tries to assault the ref and gets away with it. |
Anyway, I digress, the Pilgrims brought on Semple, Clarke and Davidson to try and switch things around with Semple almost making an immediate impact as he sent a shot just wide of the mark. Boston were handed a lifeline when a Pearson through ball found the Worcester 'keeper confronted by Spencer Weir-Daley in no-man's-land. The 'keeper, bizarrely decided to tip the ball up over his head whilst well outside his area and the ensuing red card was no surprise. Unfortunately for Boston the new 'keeper managed to push the free-kick out for a corner. Boston were pressing for an equaliser but Worcester, even a man short, still had free runners. It was this that proved to be the Pilgrims undoing as a cross thrown into the box from wide was turned in to his own net by Clarke. There was just time for one more shot from Clarke at the other end, which was saved well, before the Worcester celebrations began. Anyone would think they'd won the league...
We're going to have to be a lot better than that to avoid being smashed away at Tinpot Trinity on Tuesday night.
Next up: Tinpot Trinity at their place.
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