The second round FA Trophy match came off the back of a poor run with a loss against Bishop's Stortford and a draw against Blyth Spartans in the last few games. Add to this the injury to Semple who has consistently been the Pilgrims best player, and the only positive for Boston was the re-arrival of Spencer Weir-Daley. Dartford, conversely, are having a good season in the Blue Square South so there was surely only one result from this game. Plenty of Pilgrims made the trip and a stop off at Boston Sausage in the market under London Bridge was more than welcome. The Boston based butchers improving their profile with reduced price hot-dogs and free sausage rolls for the travelling United fans.
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| Dartford's neat new ground, a bit posh for United fans. |
Dartford's ground is a neat new development and provided a pleasant setting for the clash to see who makes it into the final 16 of the Trophy. United lined up with Weir-Daley up front alongside Jason Lee while Newsham and Ben Fairclough were pushed onto the wings. The United support were superb from the off, sadly the same couldn't be said of the team. Four minutes in and, with the vocal Boston support trading songs with the home fans, Dartford went in front. Canners was well beaten and the resulting cross was put home with a cheeky back-heal by Erskine. United were undaunted though and began to play themselves back into the game. It wasn't long before United had their equalizer, Ward heading a corner towards the net only for Weir-Daley to poach it and steal the glory on his second début.
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| Weir-Daley lurks, moments before scoring his goal. |
Boston pressed forward and only alert goalkeeping from the Dartford 'keeper kept the scores level. The game was pretty even and there weren't many chances in the remainder of the first half. Dartford saw a free-kick fly wide before half-time. During the break the Dartford fans decided to change ends, the United fans didn't fancy this much and set the scene for a vocal conflict. The more numerous Dartford fans had the advantage in numbers but the United fans were determined and sang louder and longer than their southern counterparts. Sadly this support wasn't enough to push the team on. Fairclough had a chance and really should've done more with it, the 'keeper gathering before the winger had even got a shot in.
United went behind for the second time not long after. Erskine again on hand to convert a well aimed cross. Boston nearly levelled it up through Weir-Daley but the Dartford 'keeper again saved well. This was the prelude to more misery for Boston as some really shoddy defending saw Noble through on goal to slide the ball past Bastock. At 3-1 down the Pilgrims heads still didn't drop. Buoyed by their excellent support Weir-Daley again saw a good chance go begging. With ten minutes to go United had reduced the deficit, Constantine heading home well. This prompted some of the more loutish of the Dartford fans to express their nervousness by trying to start trouble. Needless to say the Boston fans only response was laughter, it's hard to take being threatened by someone who looks like a Danny Dyer body double seriously.
United tried to push for an equaliser but this only resulted in more pressure from the neat passing play of Dartford. Bastock managed to keep one out but in the last minute of normal time Dartford put the game out of reach, Erskine completing his hat-trick. It wasn't a bad performance from United, who could probably do with a bit more solidarity at the back and a bit more fire-power up front. Despite the obvious deficit in the strike force being pace, the managers have yet to address this issue and Weir-Daley, competent as he undoubtedly is, isn't the answer. 4-2, in the end, was a fair reflection of the game.
Next up: ... I have no idea but I'm sure I'll get to a game soon!
