Savage Subs

Boston United 0-0 Forest Green Rovers (National League)

It’s October, which means my cricket season is finally over. I spent the last weekend of September at Lords watching Middlesex against Gloucestershire so no footy game for me last Saturday, but I’m back now for the foreseeable with 100% dedication on my number one sport until May, this month is going to be busy with a few internationals to also enjoy.

The last game I was at was over ten days ago when Boston lost at home to Boreham Wood, who are, as I keep telling everyone who’s interested, ‘a bloody good side’. Since 2-0 defeat, the Pilgrims beat Braintree Town 2-0, and also drew with Sutton Town on Saturday 1-1, Graham Coughlan’s men were leading at Gander Green Lane until the dying seconds after a fabulous Matty Carson free kick and even had a chance to make it 2-0 late on through Dylan Hill, but a 93rd minute leveller leaves Boston 19th going into this game averaging just over a point per game which is much better than they were this time last year (when under Ian Culverhouse).

Also going better than last season, Forest Green, under Robbie Savage. After missing out on promotion via the playoffs, Steve Cotterill lost his job, and former Macclesfield Manager Savage has stepped up, bringing a couple of his old lads with him, and the Rovers start to the season has been magnificent, top of the table, unbeaten, they come into this match having drew with York City 1-1 last time out but they do have one eye on Saturday when they host second placed Rochdale, so have made a few changes tonight, which might play to Boston’s advantage.

The Venue

It feels like I’ve been here a trillion times before, the wife’s been working in Birmingham so I await for her to get home at 5:30pm before leaving for Lincolnshire, down the A52 from my south Nottingham home less than 90 minutes away, through Grantham and the usual green fields en-route as I listen in to Newcastle United’s Champions League victory over Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium.

I’ve parked up on the new estate across the way, with plenty of time, it’s not yet 7pm as I head over the busy A16 and towards the quaint modern stadium that appears set back beyond a few bushes and beside a Costa on the edge of town, where there’s a few more franchise eateries to enjoy like Greggs and Burger King a short hop away.

I’m inside at the usual collection point where I’m told tonight ‘my names not down’. The lovely lady behind the glass window sorts me out a complimentary ticket but she tells me “the press box is full” as Forest Green and DAZN, BBC and the Papz, have all taken advantage of this intriguing Wednesday night clash.

After a quick scan of my ticket, and pee underneath the bright yellow concourse which is not yet full, I walk up to see a few old faces in the media area, I tell a couple of local scouts that “I’m in with the fans tonight” as the two sets of teams warm up on the pristine green carpet neath the bright amber floodlights glowing the darkened sky.

There’s a young lad who works for Forest Green who I say hello too, I last saw him at Hartlepool on the last day of last season and he tells me it’s taken him just as long to get here as it did that day, “I thought our ground was hard enough to get to” he says.

The Game

I’m lucky enough to get a spare pew in front of my usual place so it’s not too distracting from the norm, as the two teams come out to applause, a crowd just under 2,000 and some just under 100 have made it from rural Gloucestershire.

Forest Green are in bright pink, Boston as always, amber and gold, as the two teams get started, the visitors are the early enforcers, but in truth, there’s not much happening anywhere on the pitch.

Organisation, is key, Boston look organised, well drilled and well set for taking on the divisions top team, they play a 4-5-1 type formation that has Jordan Cropper, Connor Teale, Zak Mills and Will Lankshear across the defence, Jordan Richard sits in midfield with Greg Sloggett, Matty Carson and Dylan Hill offering legs, Owen Hampson sits off lone striker Lenell John-Lewis but he’s isolated, leggy, now 36 he doesn’t get much support and lacks the energy needed to make a nuisance on the limited occasions that Boston cross the halfway line.

As for Forest Green, they are much changed having ‘rested’ a few for the Rochdale game at the weekend. A big side, defensively they have good athletic full backs, Kengni left, Pemberton right, whilst the huge Ryan Inniss partners Jordan Moore-Taylor in the heart of defence.

In midfield they have the impressive Laurent Mendy sitting, he’s been a revelation since stepping up from Macclesfield where he helped Robbie Savage win the Northern Premier League last season, besides Mendy, James Balagzi and Kyle McAllister, more central than usual, in attack, Tom Knowles is out right, Yahya Bamba out left, with Kairo Mitchell up front and in goalscoring form.

The Score

There’s hardly a shot at goal in an intriguing, but lacklustre first half, as I have a chat with my old mate from Forest Green who’s on Radio Gloucestershire comms during the break.

“It’s the worst we’ve played this season” he tells me, but I notice there’s more pace and athleticism in attack compared to last year, one thing I notice is that Forest Green have a huge squad for the division, a lot of quality, and Robbie Savage doesn’t hold back on the changes, as he makes one half time sub, in bringing on Nick Haughton, who they signed from Fylde in the summer.

In fact, just a couple of minutes into the second half, Savage subs again, as he takes off Tom Knowles and by sixty minutes he drags off McAllister who’s been disappointing in his unpreferred central midfield position.

By 69 he’s used all five subs as he introduces Harvey Bunker and Christian Doidge who are both big solid units.

I like that the Manager has done things early, on a night where he’s spotted his team aren’t at it, he’s prepared to mix things up and admit perhaps getting the starting XI wrong.

But even with the new faces, Forest Green just don’t look like scoring, they’ve hardly tested Lovett’s goal before a right-wing cross is flicked wide by the head of Doidge on 78. In fact, late on, it’s Boston, who have been brilliant defensively, with the tail between their legs offensively. They should score when Sloggett whacks one close range into the grateful diving hands of McNicholas, and as time ticks Hiwula goes close with a shot deflected behind, the following corner is then crossed to the back post where Mills effort is scrambled away by the goalkeeper. Relieved in the end are Forest Green just to take something from the game on a tough night for them, whilst Boston’s fans also go home happy, with cheers on the final whistle which goes a long way to telling the players just what the fans thought of their efforts tonight.

The Stars

On a typical workmanlike night it was Dylan Hill on his hundredth game who took the home sponsors man of the match gong and it was he who epitomised the Boston performance, chasing everything, running his socks off, but adding a bit of quality on the ball when needed, he’s growing and growing as a fine footballer in this division and seems to get better every time I watch him play.

Next to Hill in midfield, you can’t fault the efforts of Greg Sloggett who is probably Boston’s best player? Although Zak Mills, since moving into a more central defensive position, who hasn’t put many a foot wrong in the games I’ve seen him play, who’s essential to how Boston defend, he’s probably as important as Sloggett, in having the experience and bite in his game to give off the right education for those younger around. Mills made one huge tackle in the second half, taking ball and man, which led frustratingly to a free kick, with every man, woman and dog in the venue bar the referee, agreeing that to them, it looked ‘fair game’.

For Forest Green, it wasn’t a night which shone their attacking qualities, but defensively they were good, and in Luke McNicholas they have solid foundations between the sticks, in Moore-Taylor and Inniss they have two solid centre halves who do the ugly stuff well, in full backs Kengni, and in particular, Tre Pemberton they have pace and product, Pemberton gets forward from the right and whips a lovely ball in.

My eyes during the game were often drawn to Laurent Mendy who sat in front of the back four and issued a calming physical presence, whilst Tom Knowles I thought looked a threat on the right before being subbed early on, Harvey Bunker did well when he came on, he’s a player I like, who I’m told hasn’t had much chance yet under Savage.

The Verdict

Boston will take confidence from that performance, in some ways you feel Graham Coughlan has them set up well, so that when they play those at the top of the tree, they know how to defend and nick points, which will get them a few nice bonuses during the season, but it’s the matches against those in and around them, when it matters most, where I feel they need to do better. Still lacking some goal threat, I wonder if they might dip into the market, ahead of injury return for last season’s top goalscorer Jacob Hazell? That said, available strikers at this time of the year are usually like rocking horse sh*t.

From the outside, Forest Green fans might see this as a poor result? Especially after Robbie Savage rested one or two of his better players with Rochdale on Saturday in mind? But I think what Savage did well, was see the signs early, that his side weren’t at it, and that could easily have been a 1-0 loss, in the end he made the changes to earn a good point on the road, should they beat Rochdale on Saturday, it’ll be a fairly decent return this week.

Will they win it? They certainly have the squad, but there’s a few in the mix, Rochdale, Carlisle, Boreham Wood, York, Scunthorpe, Southend? Even Halifax shouldn’t be written off. I'm off to see two contenders in Scunthorpe and Carlisle next, so will hopefully know better about more of those involved in the promotion race after that.

The Teams

Boston United: Rhys Lovett, Jordan Cropper, Connor Teale, Zak Mills, Alex Lankshear, Greg Sloggett, Jordan Richards, Matty Carson (Michael Kelly 83), Dylan Hill, Owen Hampson (Kieren Donnelly 62), Lenell John-Lewis (Jordy Hiwula 62).

Forest Green Rovers: Luke McNicholas, Tre Pemberton, Ryan Inniss, Jordan Moore-Taylor, Neil Kengni (Christian Doidge 69), Laurent Mendy, James Balagizi (Harvey Bunker 69), Tom Knowles (Jili Buyabu 49), Kyle McAllister (Jayden Clarke 60), Yahya Bamba (Nick Haughton 46), Kairo Mitchell.

7:45pm Kick Off. Wednesday 1st October 2025, Jakemans Stadium, Boston (att 1,695).