Bourne Equality

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Monday 31 August 2026 at Mortgages For You Stadium, Tattershall Road
Result	Boston Town 1 Bourne Town 1
Competition	Northern Premier League Division One Midlands (Step 4)
Hopstats	Ground #817 on my lifetime list. Here rather than elsewhere with a one-in-four chance as shown in the video clip above.
The Randomness
The “castle” on the Czech 10-koruna coin turns out on further research to be the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul in Brno. The obverse is indeed a rather rampant heraldic Lion. The Irish penny coin has a Celtic harp obverse and a hen-and-chick parade on the reverse.
Context
It was only just before kickoff that I realised that my visit to Bourne Town in May 2025 was probably the last time that these clubs met. On that day, Bourne won promotion on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the playoff. Boston Town got automatic promotion from the United Counties League last season, so now both clubs have reached Step 4.
Match Report
Bourne were forced into a very early substitution and it wasn’t long before they conceded. Zak Munton’s neat curling shot into the far corner gave the keeper no chance. Boston had two more shooting chances before the Bourne equaliser. The ball fell nicely for Zac Allen after a long throw and he made no mistake. 1-1 The game now settled into a very even and end-to-end contest. Both sides created half-chances but generally defences did well. It was never a dull encounter. For a while, Bourne played the more measured on-the-floor approaches in contrast to more directness down the channels from Boston. There were no further goals before the interval. The second half provided more of the same. I made a note after about 70 minutes that Bourne were very slightly in ascendance, but with very little in it. The game continued at a good pace. Both keepers were well-protected by their defences and they did what they had to do, often looking for early release of counter-attacks. Credit to both sides for not settling for the draw. This could have gone either way in the final few stretched and frantic minutes. Probably a fair result but both sides will have recollections of half-chances that could have won all three points.
So What?
Still very early days for league tables as some clubs have played more cup games than others, or had matches postponed due to cup involvement by their opponents. Boston Town are mid-table with seven points from five games, Bourne Town are lower with four points but they have only played three league games.
Pre-match Entertainment
A walk around Boston town centre in the lunchtime sunshine. I found it somewhat ironic that a town so closely associated with migration based largely on religious affiliation should now have a number of St George flags hanging pathetically here and there around the place. None but the brave deserve the (Boston) Fair !
Pix
This ground is now in transition between Step 5 and Step 4 requirements and more work will be needed if the team stays at this level. Staff and volunteers were universally friendly and helpful, but the teacher in me would love the spelling errors to be corrected before too long! The ground has some interesting features such as the press box and has plenty of cover against the eastern England breezes. The pitch was decent enough to allow each team to play its chosen style.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
The background to this, and the latest keeper top colour league table, is here on this dedicated page. Today, Pink (Sam Edwards) v Yellow (Will Lakin). Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Home Win Was the prediction correct? No % of correct predictions so far 48% (108 from 223)
What Next?
Probably London City Lionesses v Manchester United Women on Friday evening in Bromley, unless I try for a Herts Senior League game later today. In other news, @ModusHRandom on Twitter has been re-started and at the time of writing I have precisely one follower. I do understand, I’m increasingly niche these days!