Reply To: Boston

[SODIron]

The Boston match wasn’t so much a football match as a live-action tutorial titled “How Not To Defend — Extended Edition.” Not six unstoppable moments of brilliance. Not six acts of cruel misfortune. Just six reminders that if you repeatedly invite trouble, eventually it brings friends.

We began in charitable fashion, gifting Boston the initiative and immediately looking like a team that had collectively decided defending was a social construct. Three down before my pre-match coffee had had time to cool down enough to drink!

Now, the second goal, yes, technically, it was an absolute rocket giving the keeper no chance, cue the admiring nods. But let’s not get carried away with the poetry. The lad had so much time to line it up he could’ve checked the weather, adjusted his socks, picked his favourite corner, and still struck it clean.

That was the theme of the afternoon: Boston attack, we retreat, panic gently, and watch events unfold like helpless spectators. Marking optional. Pressure discouraged. Urgency strongly avoided. Our defensive line moved backwards so consistently I thought they might be trying to exit the stadium.

Tom Cursons bagged a hat-trick, always nice when one man is allowed to enjoy himself that much. By his third, we were basically running a loyalty scheme: score two, get the third free. I half expected applause when he touched the ball.

To be fair (and it hurts to say), Boston didn’t need miracles, just competence. They stayed organised, punished mistakes, and took full advantage of the generous space we kept providing. Meanwhile, we looked like a team desperately searching for a reset button that didn’t exist.

Yes, we scored three. And yes, for fleeting, fragile moments you wondered if something dramatic might happen. Then Boston attacked again, we remembered who we were, and normal service resumed.

By full-time it felt less like a defeat and more like a slow public unravelling. The kind where everyone knows what’s going wrong, nobody stops it, and you’re left staring into the middle distance questioning your life choices…again!

Onwards we go, because supporting Scunthorpe United builds character. Apparently.