Belper Town 1-1 Boston United

Belper Town 1-1 Boston United

Pre-Season Friendly

Thursday 29th July 2021

For some unexplainable reason I've never been to Belper Town previously so this game on Thursday against Boston United was perfect for a random trip out to somewhere new.

Initially Rotherham United were meant to be the visitors to the picturesque Christchurch Meadows until a Covid outbreak in the Millers camp put paid to that plan - though fortunately Boston were able to step up as suitable replacements at short notice.

What unfolded was a good game with a strong intensity. The bloodied nose to a young Belper substitute in the closing stages proving there were no prisoners as both teams went at each other in what felt like a 'proper' game. A string of iffy decisions from the referee (who was 'busy' just a little bit too much with his whistle) added an extra unpredictable edge to things.

Despite the eventual 1-1 scoreline, Boston's quality on the ball and all-round movement was evident in parts and by the closing stages, Belper's tiring players were desperately hanging on for a draw.

Hailing from Doncaster, there were also a big number of familiar faces and connections back to my hometown in both teams' line-ups. 

Boston, who train at the Keepmoat Stadium, included Donny-born Joe Leesley at left-back and he'll no doubt be a key player in the months ahead given his ability to operate comfortably in a variety of positions and use both feet reasonably well. Paul Green, someone who'll need little introduction to DRFC fans having been a three-time promotion winner in the 2000s, featured from the bench and although he wasn't present at this game the Pilgrims recently signed Rovers' ex-player/manager Andy Butler for the season ahead too.

Belper have their own Donny connections; two of their summer signings being local resident Jonny Margetts (who will surely score a bagful this season?) and also former DRFC youth team skipper Morgan James. The notorious Craig Nelthorpe has been at Christchurch Meadow for a while now and actually scored Belper's goal from the penalty spot, whilst Alex Peterson - likeable for being one of those guys who looks far older than his actual age, appeared for the first few minutes before being forced off through injury. Furthermore, Belper's assistant manager is a certain Micky Norbury and he wrote his own name into Donny folklore with a hat-trick against Scunthorpe United way back in his playing days in the 1990s.

The opening stages saw Belper acquit themselves reasonably well as they more than matched their opponents in terms of work-rate, intensity and application.

Boston looked the better team in possession but chances and dangerous moments occurred at both ends and the best of the early chances saw Margetts try his luck with an audacious and speculative long-range lob which was unlucky not to end up in the back of the net. Elsewhere, Jordan Burrow couldn't find accuracy with a free header in a set-piece opening for the visitors whilst his strike-partner, Jake Wright Jnr, also appeared to have forgotten his shooting boots despite managing to carve out a couple of half-chances and showing quite a bit of promise.

Margetts is something of a coup for Belper given the quality which he possesses and the ex-Hull City, Scunthorpe United and Lincoln City striker (not long after being booked for expressing frustration at the referee and booting the ball high into the sky), played a key part in the move which saw the hosts break the deadlock. His neat play drew a challenge inside the box and with the referee deeming that a penalty should be awarded as a consequence, Nelthorpe duly converted it for 1-0.

Though Boston continued to look dangerous when they had the ball - notably on the counter-attack when the likes of Andi Thanoj or Jake Wright Jnr were allowed to embark on driving runs, it wasn't until just past the re-start that they equalised with Scott Garner towering above everyone inside a packed six-yard box to head home from a corner.

The Pilgrims then pressed hard and gradually began to dominate in the remaining 40 minutes or so but they weren't able to get a winner as Belper's shape and dogged resilience, amidst a flurry of substitutions, remained remarkably strong. Credit to the well-travelled non-league journeyman that is Danny South who put in a real shift at the heart of Belper's defence!

On the whole, although you can't read an awful lot into pre-season games, given the players which both these teams have at their disposal for their respective levels, they'll likely have strong seasons. 

It's not difficult to see why Boston are fancied to do well in the National League North - though it'll probably take something phenomenal to topple moneybags AFC Fylde or even York City who look quite strong and are recruiting well this summer. 

Belper, meanwhile, have been placed in the Northern Premier League Division One (Central) for the upcoming campaign - the 'northern' element being a very loose description of who is actually in the division considering the geographical boundaries stretch as far south to obscure places such as Yaxley (near Peterborough), Soham (in Cambridgeshire) and Daventry (not too far from Northampton).

Next Up: Rossington Main vs Ollerton Town in the first game of the new Northern Counties East League (Division One) season. Up the Main!