Grantham Town 0-3 Pilgrims

Dr Martens League

Grantham are a good side to play when you need a confidence boost. Last season they gifted the Pilgrims an easy win after a run of losses and they did the same again this season. Boston started the match with Mark Rawle up front in place of the injured Lee Power and Steve Charles got the number 8 shirt ahead of Gary Childs, Kevin Noteman and Andy Kiwomya all of whom were on the subs bench. The first half was fairly scrappy. Boston were making the most chances and Grantham were defending with some hard tackling. After two minutes Mickey Nuttell got a free header but directed it straight at Ben Nower in the Grantham goal. Joby Gowshall then had a crack from outside the area but the ball went over the bar. After quarter of an hour Andrew Stanhope broke down the right wing and his cross sailed over the Grantham defence to find Charles at the far side, but he volleyed wide. The Grantham tackling was beginning to get desperate and before long two Grantham names went into the referee's book. The Gingerbreads then conceded a penalty when David Norris, much to the surprise of most of the crowd and the players on the pitch, was adjudged to have been unfairly challenged running into the area. Peter COSTELLO dispatched the spot kick with power and precision into the corner of the net. With quite a few stoppages the first half went on for about eight minutes beyond the allotted time. The most notable break being close to the end of the half when former Pilgrim Andy Gray collapsed in a whimpering heap clutching his groin following a high tackle by Gowshall.

The second half was dominated by Boston. Nice work by Rawle set up Costello, but his shot from the edge of the area was high. A few minutes later Boston had a penalty appeal turned down when Costello appeared to be brought down as he dribbled round the Grantham keeper. Rawle's pace then began to cause Grantham lots of problems. Ten mimutes into the half he broke clear but shot straight at the keeper. He was then fouled on the edge of the area and Charles saw both a header and a shot well saved from the resulting free kick. On sixty minutes Rawle finally scored. In a quick break Stanhope found Rawle on the left wing with a penetrating pass out of defence. RAWLE outpaced his marker and then beat the keeper with an inch perfect shot from a tight angle. Rawle got the final goal of the game when Stanhope broke down the right and centred to RAWLE who neatly deflected the ball into the net. With the game now won Grantham disintegrated and Boston could easily have added more goals to their total. Stanhope, Rawle, Costello and Norris all came close to scoring, but for once Grantham's luck held out. Boston are back on the promotion trail and Grantham will need a miracle or twenty before the end of the season to avoid the drop.

United team: 1. Paul Bastock, 2. Joby Gowshall, 3. Paul Wilson, 4. Colin Hoyle, 5. Peter Costello, 6. David Rennie, 7. Andrew Stanhope, 8. Steve Charles, 9. Mickey Nuttell, 10. Mark Rawle, 11. David Norris, 12. Andy Kiwomya, 14. Kevin Noteman, 15. Gary Childs.