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Boston United v Barnet

Nationwide Conference
Friday 29th March 4.30pm

Updated 26/03/02

Boston are having a fantastic season and are currently locked in a promotion battle with Dagenham & Redbridge. After Saturdays surprise 0-1 defeat at home to Chester they were two points clear at the top, but after Tuesday's matches (where Boston won while the Daggers could only draw) they are now four points clear of their rivals. Dagenham & Redbridge do have a game in hand, which they will now need to win.

The previous six home games to that have produced an incredible 34 goals, with Boston scoring 23 and conceding 11. The only defeat amongst those was a 3-4 loss to Hereford United. They recently beat Telford United 3-1 at home, although Telford probably didn't put seven men behind the ball that day!!

After beating the Bees 1-0 at Underhill back in October the lads will be looking to reverse that score line. Boston will be getting nervous now and after seeing the Mighty Bees destroy Dagenham they should be feeling quite apprehensive.

Don't forget the game is live on Sky TV, so set your videos before making the 120 mile journey to Boston (coach leaves at 11:00).

Updated 26/03/02

Although Barnet lost 3-2 against Stevenage on Monday night, anyone who was there will have seen just what they are capable of. Refusing to let their heads go down after 3-0, they fought their way back, and almost forced a draw. We have repeatedly seen this season that Barnet perform at their best when up against tougher opposition, with our semi-final achievement in the LDV Trophy being testament to this.

No one can argue that Boston do not represent 'tougher' opposition - and this will only serve to bring out the best in Shreeves' Black and Amber machine. Boston now have a four point gap, but as the Daggers have a game in hand they will be desperate to win this game.

It is fairly likely that Toby Oshitola will get a deserved start on Friday, and Shreeves has said that he is keen to 'blood' some of the other youngsters, so expect to see the likes of Ishmail Yakubu (who made his debut on Tuesday), Tom Madden or some of the other reserves on the bench.

Last Six

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Home
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Below is Barnet and Bostons league details based on their Home and Away performances.

In the 1955/56 season, Boston united knocked Derby out of the FA Cup in the second round by beating them 6-1 at Derby's ground.

History

Boston United were formed in 1934, although Boston Swifts and Boston Town both played at the same site back in the 1800's. The Swifts never appeared after the First World War and a team called Boston carried on until 1933, when financial difficulties set in. Ernest Malkinson stepped in to save the club, changing it to Boston United and stayed for fifty years. They adopted the club colours of Black and Amber, changing from blue and white and competed in the Midland League.

In 1955/6 they finished runners up to Peterborough Utd and beat Derby County 6-1 in the FA Cup.

After a brief spell in the Southern League, between 58/9 and 60/1, they won a league and cup double in the Central Alliance in the 61/2 season. More financial problems set in and had to resign from the Midland League in 64/5.

In 1968 United were one of the founder members of the Northern Premier League after a few successful years in the West Midlands League.

Over the next eleven years they were very successful, winning the league four times, including a treble of league, cup and shield. The league cup was won twice and the shield four times. The non-league champion's trophy was also won four times.

1977 saw Boston winning the league again, but after Football League inspectors didn't pass the ground, runners-up Wigan Athletic were elected into the Football League. This spurred the club into re-developing the ground and with the backing of the local population, built one of the best non-league grounds.

They haven't won many trophies since, joining the Alliance Premier League in 1979 their highest finish has been third. In 84/5 season they lost to Wealdstone 2-1in the FA Trophy final at Wembley. Relegation back to the Northern Premier League was to follow in 92/3 season after finishing bottom

An administration error in 95/6 season cost them a place in the Vauxhall Conference after coming second and were again runners up in 97/8.

A sideways move from the Unibond to the Dr, Martens League in 98/9 started off poorly, but after getting Steve Evans to manage the team they came second.

The Pilgrims finally won promotion back to the Conference in 99/00 after leading the league for most of the season.

Last term saw them finish twelfth and they decided to go fully professional. It seems to have paid off and have been one of the strongest teams so far.

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