Newark Town vs Boston United Reserves
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| Welcome to Station Road. |
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| The peanuts in question, at least the year is correct! |
I was presented with a choice of games this weekend. Boston United away at glamorous Gainsborough in the Lincs. Senior Shield or Boston's reserve team away at step seven Newark Town. I've been to Gainsborough before and I'm going again later this season, with this in mind the lure of a ground tick and a hint of the unknown was irresistible; especially when compared to a day in Gainsborough. The first obstacle was locating the ground. Don't get me wrong, it isn't difficult to get there from the station, it's just not Newark station that you get there from. Newark Town actually play their games at
Station road in Collingham, a village just north of the town itself. The ground itself is little more than a field with a fence down each touchline. There is a clubhouse serving (terrible) beer and out of date peanuts so it is best avoided if at all possible.
The second issue came into sharp focus while I watched the Boston team warm up: I had no idea who any of our players were. In fact this was such an issue that for the first ten minutes of the pre-match warm-up I was watching the wrong team not realizing that Boston reserves play in the white away kit worn by the first-team last year, not the light blue away kit of this years first-team. Worryingly I wasn't the only one confused as one of the Boston players tried warm up with the Town squad. Even more worryingly it seems the
official site doesn't know who our players are either.
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| We're the ones in white, yeah? |
As a couple of home fans arrived, meaning I no longer outnumbered the home support one to none, the referee led the teams out. The ref. looked about six and I'm sure it was the same guy who refereed the game I attended at
Radford over Easter this year. The reserves started the game on the front foot and Newark soon had to hack the ball off the line to keep the scores level. Things became more evenly balanced as both teams cancelled each other out in midfield. United had the better of the half going forward and struck the crossbar just before half-time. Town were lucky to go into the break on level terms only mustering one decent effort in the entire half.
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| It's like spot the Newark fan, but without any Newark fans... |
I'm not one hundred per-cent sure that the same Boston side came out in the second half. I say this not because the faces were any different but because the performance most certainly was. With Boston half asleep Newark looked to take advantage. Good work from the keeper came to United's rescue when the right back dawdled, not for the first time, and was dispossessed. Boston took the lead against the run of play when the ref. awarded a penalty. I'm not entirely sure he got that right but it did balance a marginal decision he got wrong in the first-half, sort of. The ball was duly dispatched and the game settled back into the rhythm that had dominated much of the second period. Newark eventually got the equalizer that they deserved courtesy of some route one stuff. Long ball punted over the top for the striker to run onto. Bang. One all. 'Pass the ball better, all of you'; some good advice from United's manager. It paid off too as Boston woke up and started playing again. Chances came and went, Boston hit the bar then had to clear off their own goal line moments later, but ultimately time ran out for both sides. 1-1. Probably about right on the day.
Next time: I go to Wembley to watch some overpaid, badly organised chumps muck about for an hour and a half; and that's just the train on the way there...
