Reflections - An encouraging second half means we can sign off in much more optimistic mood ahead of next Saturday. Tommy Taylor deserves enormous credit for that turnaround. Thanks for all yer e-mails, texts and pictures (cheers Nudd). There's no min-by-min until Burscough now, as I'm off to Kettering and the home games aren't covered. Cheerio!

PEEP PEEP PEEEEEP! .....but Telford won't get to take it, as the referee brings the game to a halt. And Boston have, remarkably, salvaged a point from what seemed at half-time like a total lost cause. Tommy Taylor has managed to do what Steve Evans rarely did, if ever: rally his troops after going a goal down. It's a great, great point.

90+2 - CHANCE! And now at the other end, Boston almost snatch a late winner, but Leabon is unable to stab home the ball slid across the box by Clarke! The ball trickles across the pitch and rolls out for a throw in....

90+1 - CHANCE! After saving Boston, Wright almost throws it away, missing a cross and leaving Tony Crane to frantically stab the ball clear.

90+1 - CHANCE! Asa Charlton almost wins it for Telford, his long range, looping, effort sees Chris Wright scrambling back and he just manages to tip the ball onto the bar!!

90 mins - 'Just got back in after a panic dash for more tiles. knew i'd miss a goal!' laments Upsall.

87 mins - Boston are finishing the stronger here. Would you believe it? And, get this, we're close to completing three games without a single Tony Crane dismissal!

86 mins - Elsewhere, Spurs are tonking Derby 4-0. Shame.

84 mins - If Boston can get a point here, it would be a magnificent achievement. After that first half, I was simply hoping we'd keep the defeat dignified.

83 mins - 'Just to let you know Steve Evans never won a game at Telford,' chuckles Andy. 'And his side are now 4-1 down and down to 10 men. Nice to see he's not lost his shite touch since ditching hopeless Thompson and shacking up with the genius Raynor.'

78 mins - GOAL!!!!!!!!!!! BOSTON EQUALISE! Nicholls strikes with a wonderful solo effort to bring Boston back on level terms, the first goal Telford have conceded this season. Nicols controlled the ball and struck a sweet shot under the keeper. If you're struggling to create chances, THAT'S the way to do it - just do it yourself!

76 mins - Much, much, much better stuff by Boston. But still - it's the lack of genuine chances that's going to do for them. No such problems in the league above: Salisbury 4, Crawley 1.

74 mins - Boston sub - Froggatt off, Quistin on.

71 mins - Chris Cook will, at some point, require restraining, probably by being tied to his chair by rope. He's not at all happy with the ref.

69 mins - 'Continuing the tiling theme, I have just bought some super strength tile cleaner (it'll take the varnish off too I'm told) to clean the soot I traipsed onto my kitchen floor after insulating the loft last week,' reports Johnny Chapman. 'Unlike Adam I'm not doing it now, as it's more fun to sit in front of the computer following the match.'

66 mins - Penalty shout for Boston! But the referee fails to give it, and gets Chris Cook raging in the process. 'Hellfire man! He held his arm!' he yells, turning over the desk, hurling a monitor and punching Dalton in frustration.

62 mins - Crawley, we note, are now losing three nil. That's a lot of individual errors.

60 mins - Corner for Boston - Talbot's volley is cleared. Boston keep the pressure up, but are struggling to create any genuine chances.

56 mins - Much brighter stuff from Boston. Lee Thompson makes way for Leabon. And here's a photo from Mark Isaac's front room, in a break in play:


52 mins - Attendance 2203. 137 from Boston, reports Bob Nudd.

49 mins - Galbraith has a shot (possibly Boston's first of the afternoon) but it is held comfortably by Young.

48 mins - Clarke is put through by ex-Busted star James Bourne, but he can't really compose himself enough to get a shot away and with a defender snapping at his heels the chance is gone.

48 mins - Ken helpfully points out that Steve Evans did indeed lose at Telford. Although in our experience of the Steve Evans die hards, this game will have been faithfully struck from the official annuls of Pilgrims history. And while we're at it, Crawley are now two goals down at Salisbury.

47 mins - More images flood in from Telford:

'OAP fans watching Boston'

45 mins - The second half kicks off.

Half-time #3 - How long, we wonder, until cries of 'Steve Evans wouldn't have lost at Telford'? Assuming we lose, of course. There's still 45 minutes to go.

Half-time #2 - Another picture from Bucks Head:

'Tony Crane can be seen crushing Chris Wright at the tinpot ground of AFC Telford United! I see that he has his blue away shorts on. There's a good boy!' says Pat.

Half-time #1 - Another picture from Bucks Head:

'Angry looking random Boston fan' offers Bob. 'Bob Nudd predicts a Telford rout in the second half.... glad he now backed them to win the league at 13 to 1.'

45 mins - Peeep peeeep peeeeep! And half time is called. Disappointing. Taylor will be delighted that (a) it's only 1-0 and (b) Tony Crane didn't snap Chris Wright in two. Much better required in the second half, or this might turn ugly.

43 mins - Crane is booked!

41 mins - CHANCE! AND A FIGHT(ish)! Reynolds latches onto a dreadful Crane backpass and, having rounded Chris Wright, takes the ball too far and somehow fails to stick the ball into the net. An apologetic Crane then assaults Wright, shoving him halfway across Shropshire. That's one way of admitting your mistake, I suppose.

39 mins - Dwayne Clarke has been fairly anonymous. And by saying that we're hoping to prod fate into providing us with a moment of magic from ol' Twinkle Toes.

36 mins - Boston have barely threatened the Telford goal. In fact, they haven't threatened Young once. A corner for the Pilgrims is easily cleared...

32 mins - Telford are now officially battering Boston.

31 mins - CHANCE! Vaughan squanders a free header, having evaded ex-Busted star James Bourne.

30 mins - Salisbury 1, Crawley 0. Oh yes. And Crawley are down to ten men. The shock!

29 mins - CHANCE! And Jagielka sees a decent chance go begging... It's like Harrogate all over again, as United just cannot impose themselves on the home side at all.

27 mins - Bit of a scramble in the Boston box - but the ball is hoofed clear. It'd been pumped in there by Turner, who is having lots of joy against ex-Busted star James Bourne.

24 mins - Nothing to report....er, except Rochdale beating Chester? No?

19 mins - Another chance for Telford, but Bloomer's late challenge sees the effort blasted over the bar. Boston are struggling.

17 mins - 'Telford number nine jumps into Ellie,' reports Bob Nudd, 'and comes off worse. Trainer on.'

14 mins - Spurs 3, Derby 0. After 14 minutes. As a resident of Nottingham, can I just say how much that scoreline doesn't at all upset me.

12 mins - Oh dear. As much as we dearly love Crane, we're slightly concerned about the lack of pace at the back.

10 mins - GOAL!!! Lee Vaughan gets away and streaks clear of the lumbering Boston United defence before pinging the ball past Wright into the top corner. Telford 1, Boston 0.

8 mins - Having earlier noted my dearth of interesting facts about Telford, Hugo Scheckter writes: ''Exciting fact about Telford: Steve Jagielka is in fact brother of Phil Jageilka of Everton FC!!'

6 mins - Very quiet opening period, with no chances of any note. 'Hurrah!' yelps SCUF. 'Stuck at work, no access to radio or RadLincs online (as the IT bastards here have the servers set to block realplayer). Thank feck for impsTALK min-by-min..... I can still I can follow Upsall's bathroom progress. Yeyyyyyy!'

4 mins - Telford are making the running in the opening moments of the match. The first photo of the afternoon arrives, courtesy of Bob Nudd.

'Bob Nudd with Drew, behind the goal ready to get hit by a skyward Froggatt shot'

2 seconds - Lincoln City take the lead against Mansfield.

Kick-off! Telford kick off to get the game underway. About 150 Boston fans have made the trip.

Team news - Boston: Arsenal legend Chris Wright, Bloomer, The Amazing Crane, Ellender, ex-Busted star James Bourne, Thompson, Nicholls, Talbot, Galbraith, Froggatt, Clarke
Subs: Matthews, Nicholson, Quistin, Medine, Leabon

2.45pm - Team news - Dwayne Clarke starts, while Tom Matthews is dropped to the bench. And first e-mail of the day comes from impsTALK hack Adam Upsall: '...pretty much all of the tiles are now in place, grouting to commence probably mid way through the first half and the new extractor fan to follow. Sorry you did want 'Upsall's bathroom DIY min-by-min updates'?"

Preamble
Having put Workington to the sword last Saturday, fans departing York Street had every right to feel that euphoric, jubilant high you get having been handed good news where you expected bad. Contrary to the cautious notes struck by Tommy Taylor, the Pilgrims looked the real deal: solid in defence, sprightly up front (if lacking that physical battering ram quality) and boasting a midfield to die for. And backed by 1800 vocal fans!

But the warm fuzzy feeling lasted all of three days, as the Pilgrims travelled to Harrogate and had their arses well and truly spanked by, well, Nathan James mainly - a real eye-opener for any delusional fans seriously expecting United to Piss This Tinpot League™. Boston certainly made a good fist of it but at times Harrogate were running embarrassingly rampant and, had it not been for the magnificent ex-Arsenal legend Chris Wright, might well have reached quadruple figures by the half hour mark. Still, today gives Taylor’s charges a chance to forget their midweek defeat. With a trip to Telford. Ah. A bit like Derby County rolling up to the doors of Old Trafford, they might take some persuading to get off the coach.

Hey, look. Perhaps we're overreacting to the Harrogate game. Possibly. We expect that this season will be peppered with excellent performances and emphatic tonkings in equal measure. It will take an excellent performance today to prevent that emphatic tonking – but nothing is guaranteed at this level. We might stuff ‘em by seven, and lose at home to Hinckley next Saturday. Let’s just see.

T'other lot
Formidable. Under the steady hand of TUST, Telford – formed from the ashes of Telford United, who folded four years ago - have assumed model club status for languishing lower-league big guns looking to progress through the pyramid. Without losing their community focus, Telford have managed to combine impressive on-field progress with the construction of a stadium and club that could easily accommodate League football – and all without overstretching themselves like their predecessors. The bastards.

Mind you, life in the Unibond last season wasn’t the bed of roses you might have imagined. The Bucks suffered a sudden and unexpected mid-season slump that saw them stagger over the line third, two points behind Burscough. Despite the disappointment, Telford held their nerve to win promotion to the Conference North after defeating the not-at-all-bitter Witton Albion (remember them?) 3-1 in the play-offs, having dispatched Marine (remember them?) in the semi-final.

Two wins out of two already in 2007/2008, Telford are hot tips for yet another promotion in May.

The town
Try as I might, I couldn’t find a singe interesting fact about the town of Telford. Not a thing. I’m sure there’s a least ONE slightly eyebrow raising nugget of information. Sadly, it has eluded me.

Predictions?
Alas, we cannot see past a defeat for Boston today. A point or more would indeed be a marvellous achievement. 2-0 to the Bucks. As ever, we hope we are very, very wrong (which is quite often).

Links
Telford United official website
Telford United Trust
Telford United messageboard: Bucks Chat

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