Boston United vs Wealdstone

Boston United looked doomed at the end of February as they were firmly cemented in the National League relegation zone with their survival chances looking bleak. After the joy of beating Brackley Town 2-1 in the National League North play-off final last season to gain promotion, Boston would’ve been hoping that they would be able to consolidate their status in the National League in their first season back. Since they lost 2-1 at home to Eastleigh on the 22nd February, the club have gone on an incredible run of form that has seen them climb out of the relegation zone. During that run they have only lost 2 games in 12, picking up 8 wins and 2 draws along the way. Graham Coughlan and his players are pulling off the great escape and in doing so are giving all of their faithful followers at the Jakeman’s community stadium something to be proud of.

Boston nicknamed themselves ‘The Pilgrims’ in 1969 due to the town’s connection with the Pilgrim fathers who set sail on the Mayflower to North America in 1620. In 1607, it is widely told that a group of separatists were arrested in the town of Boston, England and were tried at the Guildhall for attempting to escape to the Netherlands. The group later went on to name Boston, Massachusetts when they eventually settled in North America.

The Pilgrims’ opponents on good Friday were another team at risk of being relegated in Wealdstone FC. Located in Ruislip, London, Wealdstone currently play at Grosvenor Vale where they have been since 2008. Having previously suffered from financial difficulties in the early noughties they did have an agreement in place to build a stadium on Prince Edwards playing fields but Harrow Council ended up selling the half-finished project to Barnet, which later became ‘The Hive’ as we covered in our post following our visit to London to watch Barnet vs York City. Wealdstone have recently entered an agreement with Hillingdon Council to apply for planning permission to build a new stadium in the borough.

Going into Friday’s fixture the two teams were locked together on 49 points with Boston only ahead of Wealdstone on goal difference. Both teams went into the day 5 points clear of Dagenham & Redbridge and Maidenhead United who were each sat on 44 points, occupying the two closest relegation spots in 21st and 22nd respectively. The clubs have significant history with each other as they famously met in the FA Trophy final of 1985, where Wealdstone ran out 2-1 winners despite current Boston United director Chris Cook’s second half goal to reduce the deficit. Cook reminisced on that day in his programme notes and claimed that ‘we owe Wealdstone one, and not just for me, but for the other 15,000 United fans who were there in 1985.’

Players in focus

Boston United- Frankie Maguire:

Frankie Maguire left his boyhood club Sheffield United to join Boston on a free transfer in the summer of 2024. During his time at the Blades, Maguire spent most of his time out on loan and impressed in multiple loan spells which included time at Kettering Town, Chester and Chorley in the National League North. Making the step up to the National League this season, Maguire has been utilised across the midfield in multiple different positions owing to his versatility. His hard working attitude and composure on the ball have seen the 21 year old midfielder shine in the National League where he’s put in consistently good performances for Boston. The midfielder scored crucial goals in games in March and early April against Southend and Altrincham to help the club move away from the relegation zone.

Wealdstone- Alex Reid:

Alex Reid is an out and out centre forward with a wealth of experience in the National League. Standing at 6 foot 3, Reid is known for his aerial presence but despite that, he is also very good with the ball at his feet, excellent at getting into goal scoring positions and is clinical whenever a chance comes his way. His best season for goal scoring came during his time at Stockport County in 2020 where he netted 18 goals to help the club achieve promotion to League Two. Reid joined Wealdstone on loan from Oldham in October 2024 and has been a hugely successful signing showing that he still has a keen eye for goals, scoring 16 times in 33 games. Without his goals, the club would definitely be in the relegation zone.

The match

At 2:30PM on Good Friday, the North Stand of the Jakeman’s community stadium was already bouncing with excitement in anticipation for the latest episode of their attempt at completing the great escape. Boston fans knew that a win in this game would create daylight between them and their opponents on the day, so this was a real relegation six pointer.

This was my first ever visit to the Jakeman’s community stadium and on my pre-match walk around the stadium and upon entering through the modern turnstiles in the North stand terrace I was very impressed by the standard of the stadium and it’s facilities. It is a sleak and compact ground with only 3 stands, yet that doesn’t seem to have much detriment on the atmosphere, especially in the terrace where I was stood where it was noticeably loud. The previous record attendance at the ground stood at 2,964, but the closer we got to kick off it became evident that good Friday’s crowd would surpass that.

Boston United were in no mood to slowly settle into the match, they wanted to give the amped up home crowd something to cheer about early on. They came flying out of the traps, not giving the Wealdstone defenders a moment to breathe in the opening moments. It was no surprise then when Frankie Maguire showed fantastic endeavour to wriggle his way into the penalty area in the left hand channel, leaving ex Premier League defender Adrian Mariappa in his wake before finishing well past Dante Baptiste in the Wealdstone goal. Boston were 1-0 up after only 2 minutes.

The noise in the North Stand went up another notch as Maguire ran to celebrate in front of them. It was a dream start for Boston in this six-pointer. The dominance from the home team continued as they sensed blood and looked to make the most of the momentum they had gained from getting the early goal. Wealdstone weren’t allowed to settle and had to defend wave after wave of Boston United pressure in the early stages of the game.

On 15 minutes Cameron Green was fouled while jumping for a header in a promising shooting position. Last weekend we witnessed a spectacular 15th minute free kick from Harley Mills in the Vertu Trophy final for Peterborough United which you can read about here. This free kick was given in the same minute of the game, but to the left of the penalty area instead, favouring the right foot of Frankie Maguire. As he stepped up, there was a sense that the ball was going to hit the back of the net. Maguire was already high on confidence after his opener, and he curled in a spectacular effort past the reach of Baptiste to double the Pilgrims’ lead. His second goal sparked a huge roar which reverberated around the stadium.

Wealdstone fans would’ve been seriously deflated after witnessing their sides poor start to the game seeing them go 2-0 down. In such an important fixture towards the bottom of the National League, they would’ve been hoping that they’d be watching their team at least put in a competitive performance in South Lincolnshire. They were unable to create any real chances in the first half, prompting Neil Gibson to bring on ex Forest winger Mustapha Carayol in place of Micah Obiero.

Early in the second half we saw a slight improvement from Wealdstone as Carayol showed some attacking intent and tested his luck with a couple of shots from long range which came close. Boston had also made a change though, with hero on the day and our player in focus Frankie Maguire coming off to a rousing reception with chants of ‘Ohh Frankie Maguire’ coming from the stands as he left the field with an injury. His replacement was James Gayle who had a big chance of his own in the 50th minute but was denied by Baptiste who made a good stop from point-blank range.

The main theme of second half was Wealdstone getting caught in transition as they lost the ball countless times in midfield. Boston United sprung several quick counter attacks and had enough chances to score again and wrap up the win. On another day, Jacob Hazel would have had a hat trick but he couldn’t make the most of his openings. Throughout the 90 minutes we saw very little of Alex Reid, the highly rated striker was starved of any service and became increasingly frustrated the longer that the game went on.

As we expected, it was announced as a record attendance at the Jakeman’s community stadium, with 3,865 fans packing out the three stands, 257 of which were from Wealdstone who sold out their allocation. The final whistle confirmed three points on what was a momentous day for the club and a sign that they are definitely moving in the right direction.

The aftermath

Since the result on Good Friday, Boston played again on Easter Monday. In an away fixture against Sollihull Moors they lost 3-2 after being 2-1 ahead until the 72nd minute. Solihull scored an equaliser from the penalty spot and broke Boston hearts with a 97th minute winner. Meanwhile, Dagenham & Redbridge drew 0-0 away at Braintree and Wealdstone drew 1-1 with Maidenhead in another six-pointer. Those results mean that the relegation race is still open, with Boston 4 points clear of the drop zone with two games left to play. While they are still in a strong position and should be able to survive the drop, their remaining two matches against Gateshead and Maidenhead could be nervy depending on results elsewhere. Although I’m sure that Graham Coughlan will be reinforcing the message to his players that the situation is very much in their hands, if they can ‘control the controllables’ then they will still be a National League team next season.

Pitch fundraiser

As Boston United look to confirm their safety in the National League, the future of the club next season will see a change in status as they go from being Semi-Pro to Professional. This will allow them to pay players more and hopefully attract better quality players which is necessary if they have ambitions of finishing higher up the table.

What this does mean however is that there will be much more of a strain on club finances, and to help relieve some of that pressure the Boston United Supporters Association have started a fundraiser to help pay for the pitch renovation that is set to be undertaken during the summer at the Jakeman’s community stadium. They have set an initial target of £30,000, and have so far managed to raise £7,870, with £5,000 coming from BUSA. If you wish to support the cause then you can donate by following the link below:

Jakemans Community Stadium Pitch Renovations Fundraiser

Written by Joe Horne