CONSIDERING our record at Boston United isn’t particularly great, I really enjoy a trip to the far side of Lincolnshire. When playing them in the Football League, Boston was one of my local games and even though we kept getting beat, it felt like an obligation to head over.

Living in Darlington now, I still enjoy the trip down even if it does take an eternity to get there. While I like the rather quaint nature of the town itself, what I really like is York Street. On our visits in the Football League, it was difficult to fully appreciate the ground as we still had a number of proper grounds to visit each season.

These days with the rise of out of town copycat stadiums, York Street provides us with a glimpse of what football was. A town centre location with rickety old stands which ooze history and past glories and let’s not forget proper floodlight pylons. You can’t beat proper floodlight pylons. Forgive me for getting all doughy eyed, but having read that next season is likely to be Boston’s final one at York Street before they head to an out of town copycat stadium, it feels like we will lose another ground where you get that same sense of feeling as we had at Feethams. It’s a shame our traditional old grounds can’t be modified rather than turned into housing estates.

Anyhow, on to the game. What an odd affair. Against a very average looking Boston side, we laboured in the first half and then wiped the floor with them in the second.

The first 45 was neither here nor there. We rode our luck with the hosts causing us some problems at the back – some of which were our own making – while we carried a threat on the counter. Half time came and went and then all hell broke loose.

Tommy made three substitutions at the start of the second 45. At best it was bold. It felt like a risky move. What would have happened if we’d picked up an injury or had someone send off? Fortunately, neither happened. What the change did, with all credit to Tommy, was allowed us to expose just how poor our hosts were. Playing what at times looked like a really offensive 4-2-4, we took the game to them and they did not cope well.

While Ben Jackson’s long-range strike will no doubt take the plaudits, a lot of credit is due to his Huddersfield team-mate Kit Elliott for his composed and clinical strike which gave us the lead.

For 45 minutes, we put in a really good performance, arguably our best half of the season. Where it came from goodness knows. It would be interesting to know what was said in the dressing room at half time. Whatever it was, it worked. There wasn’t a bad performance after the break.

As enthusiastic as we can be about the showing, at this point in the season, it kind of frustrates me a bit. Over the two games we’ve played against Boston, all I have seen from them is a bang average outfit. I can’t imagine they have a mega budget and yet they are going to end the season in a position which I would have thought was our minimum expectation on the opening day of the season.

What has struck me this season is there are a lot of Bostons in this league. The standard has dropped in comparison to the previous two seasons. Regardless of this, and despite getting little glimpses of potential here and there, we have only just secured our position in the league for next season with three games to spare. As enjoyable as the win was, it only served to remind me that with what was a competitive budget at the start of the season, we have missed out on what was a good chance of challenging for the play-offs.