Boston Winter

LATEST dominoes league results...

RESULTS:

Lincs Racing Premier Division: Wyberton SC A 7 Pilgrim Lounge 2, SPC Cosmos 6 Arbor Club A 3, Ship Tavern B 6 New Inn A 3, Wyberton SC B 6 Flying Club 3, Arbor Club B 5 Bull and Dog 4.

Bostonbuzz.co.uk Division One: King’s Arms 3 Ship Tavern A 6, Little Peacock 3 SPC Nomads 6, Queen of Spades 6 Peacock Kirton 3, Great Northern A 5 Wyberton SC C 4, Ropers Arms 5 Hammer and Pincers 4.

Boston Anorak Co Division Two: Jolly Crispin 6 Castle Haltoft End 3, Magnet Tavern 3 Butchers Arms A 6, Graves Park 3 King’s Head Freiston 6, White Hart Sibsey 4 Great Northern B 5.

THE trash talking has begun.

THE trash talking has begun. Callum Johnson may not even know the identity of his next opponent yet – but the Boston boxer has vowed to ‘take his head off’.

The 26-year-old will return to the ring for his fourth professional fight on March 10.

And despite the name of the man he’ll be facing remaining a complete mystery, confidence is high in Johnson’s camp. So high, he made the tongue-in-cheek swipe.

“I’ve been waiting for this fight a long time, and I’m sparring a lot to make sure I’m as sharp as I can be,” he told The Standard.

“I can’t wait to get in the ring again.

“I feel I’m the best I’ve ever been and if I went in right now I think I’d rip someone’s head off.

“I can’t wait to get in there.”

After having two fights against Dubliner Ciaran Healy postponed towards the end of last year, the light heavyweight is itching to return to action.

Another payday would, of course, be welcomed.

But for Johnson, his desire to return to action is more about ambition.

He wants to build upon that Commonwealth Games gold he won in Delhi, climb the British rankings and position himself to be in line for a shot at a Lonsdale belt.

Johnson’s last fight was a July points victory over Sheffield’s Lee Duncan. He has also ticked the wins column at the expense of Philip Townley and Jody Meikle.

After spending the past six months working hard in training – including three days a week at Manchester’s famous Gallagher’s Gym – the Bostonian believes he is in the best fighting shape of his life.

And this should be an advantage as he bids to put on a show to make the rest of his division take notice.

He added: “It’s all going good. I’m very happy with the training.

“There’s no opponent named yet. But I don’t mind who it is. “Like I said, he’s getting his head taken off.

“That’s because I know that I’m getting better and stronger all the time. Now it’s my turn to prove it.

“I’ve come a long way since the Commonwealths. I’m a way better fighter than I was then.”

Johnson will fight at Glasgow’s Braehead Arena, on the undercard of Ricky Burns’ interim WBO lightweight defence against Paulus Moses.

MARC Newsham bagged a brace as a four-goal first half saw Boston United overtake Vauxhall Motors.

Strike partner Spencer Weir-Daley and defender Tom Ward were also on target in the opening 45 of this Blue Square Bet North clash.

The Pilgrims were in pole position as early as the fifth minute.

A route one ball from Paul Bastock was flicked on by Newsham, where Weir-Daley cut inside and fired beyond Scott Tynan.

United doubled their lead in the 23rd minute as Ward looped a header home following Ian Ross’ corner.

Boston were now in top gear and added to their advantage when Newsham grabbed the first of his two first-half strikes.

In the 27th minute, Weir-Daley saw an effort denied by Tynan.

But he was first to the follow-up, squaring the ball into the path of Newsham, who slotted home.

And before the interval, United ensured they really had put the brakes on any hope of a Motormen comeback.

Moments before the whistle, Newsham grabbed his 13th of the season, a neat header from Ben Milnes’ cross.

It was a great end to a first half for the away side, whose pre-match build-up was hampered by problems.

With Ryan Semple being ruled out indefinitely, they then found themselves without defenders Lee Canoville and Kevin Austin - both suffering from illness.

Nathan Stainfield lined up against Ward in central defence, making only his fifth start of the season, his first since October.

Vauxhall had the first real chance of the game early on but found United keeper Bastock in fine form, saving Louis Horne’s header.

Ward was also called upon to block Cole Stockton’s drive.

Following the action-packed opening half, the second was a quiet affair in comparison.

However, Motors had a few chances to reduce the arrears, but Stockton sent a free header wide before Bastock denied him at the death to earn his seventh clean sheet of the campaign.

For Boston, Tynan denied Ross’ free kick and Sleath saw a 25-yarder fly off target.

MOTORS: Scott Tynan, Danny Fearnehough, Paul Jones, Tom Hannigan, Louis Horne (Fraser Ablett 46), Craig Mahon, David Mannix, Liam Wynn (Scott Phelan 46), John Lawless (Jonathan Egerton 46), Cole Stockton, Josh Wilson; Sub (not used): Gary Spotswood.

UNITED: Paul Bastock, Conor Marshall, Tom Ward, Nathan Stainfield, Gareth Jelleyman, Ben Milnes, Ian Ross (Chris Hall 88), Danny Sleath, Ben Fairclough (Tyrone Kirk 70), Spencer Weir-Daley (Leon Constantine 77), Marc Newsham.; Subs (not used): Jason Lee, Ricky Drury.

Att: 173.

Ref: Scott Oldham.

Star man: Marc Newsham.

LEWIS Brooks has rejoined Boston Town – because he believes the Poachers will soon be challenging at the top of the United Counties League Premier Division again.

LEWIS Brooks has rejoined Boston Town – because he believes the Poachers will soon be challenging at the top of the United Counties League Premier Division again.

The utility player agreed to move to Tattershall Road from near rivals Holbeach United last week, after Town made a seven-day approach.

The club’s objective for the remainder of the campaign is to force their way into the top eight of the table.

But Brooks sees his stay at Town as more of a long-term plan.

He said: “There are some very good players down there.

“Maybe they haven’t done as well as was expected so far this season, but that’ll come.

“New players are coming in and the focus is on us all gelling with each other for next season.

“I think we should be up there and challenging next season.”

Brooks opted to leave Carter’s Park after struggling to hold down a regular place in the Tigers’ starting XI after suffering an injury earlier this season.

He admitted it was a tough decision to leave the club he joined in the summer, but he knew he needed regular football.

Brooks added: “I’ve been in and out of the team and maybe if I’d been at another club I’d have looked to move on earlier.

“But Holbeach were doing well and they’re a good bunch of lads.

“It wasn’t an easy decision to leave Holbeach, but one I think I had to do to play more football.”

The curse of frozen and waterlogged pitches have hampered the Poachers in recent weeks, with five matches being postponed since Christmas.

But now Brooks and fellow new signings Jammal Shahin (Brigg) and Michael Neaverson (Sleaford) will be eager to make their debuts as Town travel to face Irchester on Saturday (KO 3pm).

The contest could also see Nick Brown make only his second appearance since also moving from Holbeach.

“A lot of players from the clubs (Boston and Holbeach) know each other already so I don’t think there’ll be any problems (with having new signings playing together),” Brooks added.

Brooks – a former Boston United trainee, who made two appearances for the club in League Two – made 13 outings for the Poachers last season.

But it was a case of right place wrong time for the utility man who said he didn’t feel comfortable with his surroundings and moved to Sleaford – before linking up with Holbeach in the summer.

Now back at Tattershall Road, Brooks wants to cement a place in the centre of the park.

He added: “I can play in defence and because I’m left sided, I can play on the wing as well.

“But my favourite position is in the middle, where I played for Town last season.

“But where the manager puts me is his decision.”

JUNIOR Thomas Pogson added another win to his promising start in amateur boxing when he outpointed southpaw Scott Pepper.

Fighting in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, on Saturday, the Boston ABC competitor – the cousin of Commonwealth gold medallist Callum Johnson – took control of the bout in the opening round, writes Neil Lockwood.

He didn’t find Pepper’s southpaw stance too much of a problem.

Nor was he troubled by the home-town fighter’s aggressive attitude as Pogson’s superior boxing kept him out of harm’s way.

However, the Boston lad’s success in the opening round saw his attitude a little careless in the second, where he was caught too often by Pepper before his defence became more existent.

A lecture from his corner saw Pogson return to what served him best at the beginning of the contest.

In the final round his defence stayed tight, and needed to be as Pepper threw swinging right handers.

However, Pogson’s left lead measured two-handed head and body shots, restoring his authority.

After the final bell, it was Pogson’s hand who was raised, before the fighter dedicated his victory to his dad, who passed away following an illness.

TOM Ward believes Boston United are heading off to Vauxhall Motors to right some wrongs tonight.

The Pilgrims have been left smarting for a fortnight after their last-gasp 3-2 defeat at Colwyn Bay.

And with postponements affecting the fixture list, Ward says the club is chomping at the bid to put that result behind them.

“It’s been frustrating not having a game, especially as we lost our last one,” he told The Standard.

“You want to put that right as soon as possible and we’ve been left waiting and thinking about the result.

“We want to get another win as soon as possible.”

Danny Sleath and Marc Newsham twice gave Boston the lead in north Wales 14 days ago, but the club left empty-handed after Karl Noon’s late strike from distance.

As well as wanting to banish those memories, the Pilgrims will be eager to get one over the Motormen tonight.

Boston suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat to this evening’s opponents at York Street back in August.

On that day striker Lawrie Dudfield saw two efforts saved off the line as the Pilgrims’ late consolation came via an own goal.

Kevin Holsgrove, who began the season with United, is a member of the Motors squad.

Struggling Motors, who sit 20th in the Blue Square Bet North, have won four and drawn four of their 14 home matches to date this season.

Kick off is at 7.45pm.

BOSTON Rugby Club lost their first match of the Midland 5 East (North) league campaign as they went down 27-24 at third-placed Keyworth.

But the Blue and Whites held on to top spot, buoyed by the news title challengers Meden Vale suffered a defeat against Ollerton, who Boston scored more than 100 points against.

Below-par Boston, playing only their second match of the new year, left it to the last10 minutes to attempt to overhaul a 17-point deficit, and narrowly failed.

Keyworth were up for the match from the start and began with the advantage of the strong wind.

Boston’s old habits of indiscipline in the loose, talking back to the referee, a stuttering line out and a lack of stability in the scrum compounded matters as Keyworth surged into a 6-0 lead after only 15 minutes, via two penalties.

Boston had to wait until the 35th minute to open their account, Tom Brooks converting a penalty for three points.

After the break, Keyworth started the stronger and scored their first try through sustained pressure on the Boston line, the conversion extended their lead to 13-3.

A loose pass gifted Keyworth a breakaway try as they extended their lead.

The home crowd were sensing a major upset and were helped further when back row Ross Noble was sin binned for an alleged dangerous tackle.

But Boston fought back.

A Joe Deamer try, taken from a quick tap penalty, was converted by Brooks, bringing the deficit to 20-10.

Just when it seemed there was hope, Boston lost their defensive shape and allowed Keyworth to score their third try.

With 10 minutes left, Boston sprung into action, led by fly half Darryn Barratt, who jinked through the home defence to touch down.

The conversion by Brooks reduced the score to 27-17.

Moments later, number eight Steve Loveley scored to narrow the gap further.

But Boston had to concede defeat as the clock ticked down, taking some consolation with.

There was some consolation for the visitors as they secured a losing bonus point, which may prove crucial as the gap narrows between the top three sides.

Another positive was debutant full back James Charlton having an impressive first outing.

On Saturday, Boston will be looking to get back to winning ways as they host Castle Donington at the Boardsides (KO 2.15pm).

BOSTON: Kemp, Wilson, Deamer, Betts, Enderby, Stokes, Noble, Pedley, Barratt, Cumber, J. Brooks, T. Brooks, Baldwin, Loveley, Charlton; replacements: Loveley, Sampson, Phoenix, Johnson.

NEW Zealand’s All Blacks have the Haka. Roger Milla had his corner flag shuffle. And now Boston United have the Zumba.

Boston United head off to Vauxhall Motors tonight - swapping their dancing shoes for football boots.

With last Saturday’s clash against Worcester City postponed due to a frozen pitch at the Jakemans Stadium, the Pilgrims tried a novel new training method to pass the afternoon.

The squad met up expecting to be put through their paces.

And indeed they were, by club physio Katie Cooper - a Zumba instructor who got them strutting their stuff to the dance craze.

But now the Pilgrims will have to make sure they are on top of their game as they may come face to face with a former teammate who, on his day, can happily dance through defences.

With no fixture this weekend either, United will return to action on Tuesday at Vauxhall Motors (KO 7.45pm) and possibly against ex-striker Kevin Holsgrove, if he can regain full fitness in time.

The attacker netted three times in 11 competitive games for Boston before have his contract terminated by mutual consent as the Wirral-based man struggled with the the travelling.

FOUR Boston United youngsters helped Lincolnshire Under 18s to a 3-1 victory over North Riding on Saturday.

Striker Jordan Nuttell was on target for Lincs.

Meanwhile, United teammates and midfielders Jake Beauchamp, Elliott Price and James Reed also featured in the clash at Barton Town Old Boys.