OFFICIAL MATCHDAY MAGAZINE OF BOSTON UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB | SEASON 2020/21 | FREE THE VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH PROGRAMME OF THE YEAR 2019/20 THE PILGRIM BOSTON UNITED v KETTERING TOWN TUESDAY 5TH JANUARY 2021 | KICK-OFF: 19:45 | VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH FROMNeil Kempster THE BOARDROOM VICE-CHAIRMAN NEIL KEMPSTER WRITES HIS FIRST COLUMN OF 2021 This evening we see another into the play-off places, while still do all we can to keep completing couple of firsts at the Jakemans having games in hand over most of fixtures at this time and hopefully Community Stadium, with the teams around us. matters will start to improve so we not only our first competitive It was great to get our first outright can start to consider getting fans game of 2021, following the victory at the new stadium with back into our stadiums. postponement of the Alfreton our professional display against Our opponents this evening, Town match on Saturday, but Alfreton on Boxing Day and this Kettering Town, are familiar also the first evening match to was followed by an even better opposition over many years and be held at the new stadium. performance away at Farsley Celtic, while they find themselves in the As a football fan, there is something who had previously been unbeaten lower reaches of the league at this magical about a match under at home, where we converted a stage of the season, they have been lights, particularly on a winter’s larger proportion of our chances in good form recently and have evening, so hopefully tonight’s and got what I believe was a fully- proved a difficult team to beat for match will provide the first of many deserved victory. many teams. memorable night games at Pilgrim It was frustrating therefore to yet Hopefully we will be able to continue Way. again experience a postponement our good run of results and record There will be a minute’s silence for the return fixture at Alfreton, a further win to start to really make at the beginning of the match in with this time a frozen pitch adding the new stadium feel more like honour of Glen Chapman, a lifelong to our backlog of matches that will home. supporter of the club and long-term now have to be fitted in over the Finally, I would like to take this chair of Boston United Supporters next few months. opportunity to wish you all a Happy Association, who sadly passed With all the uncertainty around at New Year and hope that things start away over the weekend. Everyone present due to Covid, there has to to improve for everyone. Enjoy the at the club is deeply shocked and be concern at the number of games game. saddened at his untimely passing. that still have to be completed at the Neil Kempster Glen was a truly dedicated and turn of the year. We will continue to Vice-Chairman committed supporter, not just in attending games, but with his excellent work in his role as chair of BUSA where his professional approach greatly assisted the club for many years. Above all though, Glen was a great guy, kind and considerate and always happy to stop for a chat on a matchday. On behalf of the board and all at the club, we send our thoughts and prayers to Pauline, Amy, John and Harry and his wider family and friends. He will be missed by all of us. We return to action following an excellent festive period with a couple of victories, six goals and two clean sheets that has seen us climb 02 | BOSTON UNITED V KETTERING TOWN THE PILGRIM Craig Elliott THE MANAGER MANAGER CRAIG ELLIOTT PREPARES FOR ANOTHER CALENDAR YEAR OF ACTION. I would like to wish everybody “IN BOTH THESE GAMES, I FELT WE DOMINATED AND a Happy New Year and a healthy THOROUGHLY DESERVED BOTH VICTORIES. IT GAVE THE 2021. I hope everybody has had LADS LOTS OF CONFIDENCE TO KEEP TWO CLEAN SHEETS a good Christmas and New Year AND IT WAS GOOD TO START SCORING GOALS AS THIS and I really hope we can see you HAD BEEN MISSING IN RECENT WEEKS.” all at a game in this magnificent new stadium soon. Therefore, I was extremely balance that we have and I was I would like to welcome Kettering disappointed that the return fixture delighted that we managed to Town tonight for this important away at Alfreton was postponed secure Joe Leesley on a long-term National League North fixture. I am and yet again it is an interruption loan from Harrogate Town for the under no illusions tonight’s game we could have done without. The rest of the season. will be a difficult match. I have a only positive to not playing Alfreton The injury list at present is not too lot of respect for Paul Cox as a was it gives us a nice little rest and bad and there is only Mitch Rose manager and I expect an extremely a few players can recover fully from who is unavailable for tonight’s competitive game. a few knocks they have received. game. Hayden and his team have Kettering are on a mini unbeaten We now have a game tonight that worked hard to limit the injuries run (like us), most notably gaining enables us to get back to playing we have had and it is credit to him a great result on Saturday away at very quickly. You can see by the and his staff that we have as many Brackley Town. They have only lost league table we need to make up players available as we do in such one game in 10 and although a lot a busy period. of them have been draws, it shows the games played column to give they are going to come here very us a more accurate reading of the We now begin a busy six or seven organised and difficult to beat. state of play. weeks in front of us where we play midweek football every week and The festive season was beginning I am happy with the squad at there is no doubt this will be a to look like a successful one for us present in terms of options and testing time both physically and as we got back-to-back wins against mentally. It is not just the physical Alfreton Town and Farsley Celtic side of playing games every few and we were looking forward to days but mentally there is lots of securing our third win on Saturday travelling and recovery periods that but unfortunately the weather put players need to adhere to. paid to this. We all know times are difficult away In both these games, I felt we from football at the moment with dominated and thoroughly the Covid situation and mentally deserved both victories. It gave the footballers are only human. Their lads lots of confidence to keep two clean sheets and it was good to only release is playing football start scoring goals as this had been and keeping fit at gyms so fingers missing in recent weeks. I think crossed the players can continue you can clearly see now players are to play football and we can build starting to feel fitter and play with a on the positive start to the season lot more confidence and I expected we have had. Stay safe. this to happen as we had a lot of Craig Elliott interruptions in our season. Manager THE PILGRIM BOSTON UNITED v KETTERING TOWN | 03 MATCH BY MATCH 2020/21 First teamATTENDANCE fixtures, results and line-ups DATE COMP OPPOSITION RESULT TOTAL AWAY POS OCTOBER 2020 SAT 3 FAC2Q AFC MANSFIELD H W4-2 N/A N/A - FITZSIMONS WARREN SHIELS 1 GIBBENS ASKEW THANOJ PLATT y DIMAIO THEWLIS BURROW 1 HAWKRIDGE 1 CROOK PRESTON 1 TOOTLE GREEN ARCHER DUXBURY GARNER TUE 6 NLN LEAMINGTON A W4-0 N/A N/A 1 FITZSIMONS y TOOTLE SHIELS 1 GARNER 1 y DUXBURY THANOJ PLATT GREEN 1 y PRESTON BURROW HAWKRIDGE WARREN DIMAIO THEWLIS 1 ARCHER ASKEW SAT 24 NLN AFC TELFORD UNITED H W3-2 N/A N/A 5 FITZSIMONS TOOTLE SHIELS y GARNER 1 DUXBURY y THANOJ PLATT GREEN THEWLIS 1 BURROW 1 HAWKRIDGE CROOK ASKEW DIMAIO ARCHER WARREN TUE 27 NLN GUISELEY H D1-1 N/A N/A 3 FITZSIMONS TOOTLE SHIELS GARNER y DUXBURY y DIMAIO PLATT GREEN THEWLIS BURROW HAWKRIDGE 1 CROOK THANOJ ASKEW ARCHER WARREN SAT 31 NLN SOUTHPORT A W1-0 N/A N/A 3 FITZSIMONS TOOTLE y SHIELS GARNER DUXBURY THANOJ PLATT GREEN THEWLIS 1 BURROW HAWKRIDGE CROOK PRESTON DIMAIO ARCHER WARREN NOVEMBER 2020 SAT 28 NLN AFC FYLDE A L1-2 N/A N/A 13 FITZSIMONS TOOTLE SHIELS GARNER DUXBURY PRESTON ROSE y GREEN DIMAIO BURROW 1 HAWKRIDGE CROOK THANOJ LEESLEY THEWLIS ROLLINS DECEMBER 2020 TUE 1 NLN GLOUCESTER CITY A D0-0 N/A N/A 14 FITZSIMONS TOOTLE SHIELS y GARNER DUXBURY THANOJ ROSE LEESLEY DIMAIO BURROW HAWKRIDGE CROOK GREEN PRESTON THEWLIS ROLLINS SAT 5 NLN CHORLEY H L1-2 N/A N/A 13 FITZSIMONS TOOTLE SHIELS y GARNER y DUXBURY THANOJ ROSE ROLLINS DIMAIO BURROW 1 THEWLIS CROOK GREEN PRESTON LEESLEY HAWKRIDGE TUE 8 NLN BLYTH SPARTANS A W1-0 N/A N/A 11 FITZSIMONS TOOTLE SHIELS GARNER 1 ASKEW THANOJ GREEN THEWLIS DIMAIO BURROW HAWKRIDGE ROSE PRESTON LEESLEY y ROLLINS DUXBURY SAT 12 NLN CHESTER FC H D0-0 N/A N/A 12 FITZSIMONS TOOTLE y SHIELS GARNER DUXBURY THANOJ ROSE y GREEN THEWLIS y BURROW HAWKRIDGE PLATT y PRESTON LEESLEY ROLLINS DIMAIO MON 14 FAT R2 EVESHAM UNITED A W3-0 370 N/A - CROOK WARREN SHIELS GARNER LEESLEY 1 y PRESTON ROSE y GREEN DIMAIO ROLLINS 1 THEWLIS FITZSIMONS PLATT y DUXBURY TOOTLE HAWKRIDGE BURROW 1 SAT 16 FAT R3 AFC FYLDE H D1-1* N/A N/A - FITZSIMONS TOOTLE SHIELS BIRD DUXBURY PRESTON PLATT GREEN LEESLEY BURROW HAWKRIDGE CROOK GARNER DIMAIO 1 WARREN SAT 26 NLN ALFRETON TOWN H W2-0 N/A N/A 6 FITZSIMONS TOOTLE SHIELS y BIRD DUXBURY PRESTON PLATT 1 LEESLEY 1 DIMAIO BURROW HAWKRIDGE y CROOK GARNER y GREEN WARREN ROLLINS MON 28 NLN FARSLEY CELTIC A W4-0 N/A N/A 3 FITZSIMONS TOOTLE SHIELS BIRD DUXBURY PRESTON 1 PLATT LEESLEY 2 DIMAIO BURROW HAWKRIDGE CROOK GARNER y GREEN WARREN ROLLINS 1 JANUARY 2021 TUE 5 NLN KETTERING TOWN H 19:45 SAT 9 NLN YORK CITY H 15:00 MON 11 NLN BRADFORD PARK AVENUE A 19:45 SAT 16 FAT R4 CHESTERFIELD H 15:00 TUE 19 NLN SPENNYMOOR TOWN H 19:45