Ingles V Boston Town (FA Vase, First round)

Ingles were looking to cause an upset yesterday afternoon at Thringstone Miners Social Centre against Boston Town in the first round of the FA Vase. The match was originally set to take place last weekend but was postponed due to the heavy rain caused by Storm Babet.  

​The Leicester club have started the season well in MFL Division One and are competing for the play offs places alongside the likes of Heather St John’s. Their record at home has been brilliant so far with just one loss from eight matches to leave them only three points off the play off places.    

Boston Town have gone a bit under the radar within the Premier Division North of the United Counties League but are having a good season and are well clear of any relegation worries. The Poachers are comfortably in mid table and seven points above Pinchbeck United in the relegation place.  

The atmosphere around the ground prior to kick off was welcoming and friendly with both sets of supporters and club officials looking forward to the match. The programme on offer was informative and provided a comprehensive history of Boston Town which was well researched. The visitors have a notable pedigree in the FA Vase and reached the semi-finals back in 1994 where they lost to Taunton Town.

The location of the ground is a huge positive for the casual groundhopper with the 16 bus from Loughborough to Coalville making it an accessible ground to visit for people around the Leicester area.       

Starting Line ups

Ingles’ starting line up included Scott Handley starting in goal and Billy Blackshaw captaining the team from holding midfield. The formation looked like a 4-4-2 (diamond) with a front two of Aaron Windram and Jack Allen supported by Jamie Light in the number ten role.

There were two changes from the team that started against Coventry Copsewood a few weeks ago with Billy Snaith coming into the team and playing in midfield alongside Ollie Grimshaw.

The starting line up for Boston Town featured Travis Portas starting in goal and Lee Beeson leading the team as the skipper. The formation appeared to be a 4-2-3-1 with Marshall Young leading the line up front as the number nine and being supported by Lee Beeson and Fraser Bayliss on the wings.

There were two changes from the team that started against Sherwood Colliery a few weeks back with Richard Ford coming into the team and playing at centre back alongside Luke Wilson.   

First Half

The visitors started the match the sharper of the two teams and were looking to create chances early on to test the Ingles defence. Marshall Young was linking up the play well as the number nine and Fraser Bayliss looked threatening on the left wing going forward. The visitors were mainly playing a possession-based style of play with Ingles looking to catch them on the counterattack.

The game plan was working well for the hosts in the opening 20 minutes with the team looking organised off the ball and blocking balls into the box. Billy Blackshaw was doing an excellent job breaking up the play and stopping Boston attacks from holding midfield with Michael Tuck also playing well at the back and clearing balls away from danger.

To the host’s credit they were undone by a moment of genuine quality rather than a mistake at the back for the opening goal. Lee Beeson struck a free kick near the edge of the box excellently into the bottom right corner in the 22nd minute to give the visitors the lead.

The rest of the first half involved Boston getting forward and Ingles doing a good job to break up attacks to keep the scoreline close for the second half. The visitors had a few half chances with the best one falling to Liam Adams on the edge of the box in the 39th minute which went wide.

Being well organised off the ball is Ingle’s main strength and keeps them in games. The Leicester club have only conceded 17 goals in the league so far and that played a key part it in being 1-0 at half time.

Second Half

The second half started with an early goal for Boston Town with Liam Adams capitalising on a rare mistake at the back where Ingles struggled to clear the ball away and finishing well to make it 2-0 in the 48th minute. This was a shame as Ingles gave it a good go throughout the second half and committed a lot of players forward in search of getting back into the match.

There was an improvement with how Ingles linked up the play in the second half and the hosts were starting to build a bit of confidence in front of goal. A player who really impressed in the second half was Billy Snaith who was carrying the team forward at times and getting into some good positions. He scored from a quality free kick in the 56th minute that was struck excellently into the bottom right corner to pull Ingles back into the match.

A few minutes later an Ingles cross almost went into the net for an equaliser and Travis Portas did well to instinctively tip the ball over the bar.

Boston Town had some chances at the other end to put the match out of reach with Marshall Young having a good chance one on one with Scott Handley who did brilliantly to save a shot from point blank range in the 73rd minute. The visitors managed to score a third late on to take control of the match and like the first, it involved a moment of quality on the ball rather than a glaring mistake.

George Hobbins made an important tackle to stop an Ingles attack before playing a well-placed long ball to Liam Adams who rounded the keeper and finished well to make it 3-1 in the 79th minute. Ingles managed to respond a get a goal back from a corner at the back post in the 83rd minute to set up an entertaining finish to the match.

The hosts were really searching for an equaliser in the last ten minutes with the best chance falling to substitute Cam Smith who missed from a good position in the 86th minute. Boston Town managed to see the match out from there and defended well to limit the changes for Ingles late on for it to finish 3-2 to the Lincolnshire side.

Full Time

Despite the defeat, Ingles played well in this match and showed a lot of effort and endeavour against a side from a higher division. Michael Tuck had a really good game at centre back and was constantly blocking shots and making important tackles to stop Boston Town attacks. Billy Blackshaw had an underrated game from holding midfield and managed to win the ball back for Ingles to give them a foothold in the match.

Billy Snaith was excellent from midfield and really helped the team get up the pitch and cause Boston Town problems. Substitute Jorge Pascoal looked good in the second half and was positive on the ball when given the opportunity. He was regularly taking Boston players on which gave the team something different. Ingles can now focus on the league and pushing for the play offs in what is a competitive MFL Division One this season.  

Boston Town played well and showed a lot of industry and composure to progress to the next round and avoid the upset. The quality of the team showed in this match and Fraser Bayliss and Liam Adams looked good when creating attacks. Jason Field had an underrated game at left back and looked solid defensively. Richard Ford also played well at centre back and was heading the ball away throughout the second half to withstand the Ingles pressure.

The team linked up well and looked organised both on and off the ball. The Poachers should be looking forward to playing Stone Old Alleynians at home in the next round on the 11th of November.

FT score: Ingles 2-3 Boston Town

Man of the Match: Billy Snaith (Ingles)

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League