The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Boston Town 0
Holbeach United 2
Seb Hayes toasted his 50th victory as Holbeach United boss with a 2-0 derby success at Boston Town on Saturday.
Goals in each half from Josh Ford and Spencer Tinkler secured a second Future Lions UCL Premier Division win of the season for the Tigers – in a game that was hastily re-arranged last week due to both sides being out of the Emirates FA Cup.
Ex-Boston striker Ford opened the scoring when he capitalised on a short back pass and rounded the keeper in the first half.
Skipper Tinkler then clinched the points with a back-post header from a Stacy Cartwright cross at the DWB Stadium.
Hayes wasn’t impressed with Holbeach’s first-half performance, but praised his players for recognising what needed to change during a half-time chat that he dubbed “the best of his time at the club”.
“It was the right result, but not totally the right performance,” said Hayes. “But we showed the battling qualities required to get the win we wanted.
“We started off in a very sloppy manner and Boston had the better of it.
“They were direct and fast and got the ball in behind us at every opportunity.
“We improved after the 25-minute mark and Will Bird had two really good chances.
“But, to be honest, it was against the run of play when Fordy gave us the lead with a scrappy goal that summed up the game.
“What impressed me the most was the fact the lads knew what was wrong themselves at half-time.
“They were honest, pointed the finger at each other and then got a few things sorted.
“Some managers like to rule the dressing room and be the only voice.
“But I’ve been banging on about wanting the players to take on a bit of responsibility for a while now.
“I’ve got so much experience in that dressing room and I’d be mad not to encourage it.
“It worked, as we really put things right in the second half and we were convincing winners in the end – and it was the best half-time of my time as manager here.
“They did have two one-one-one chances and a half chance, but we had six or seven really good chances throughout the game and the result was fair.
“It’s never easy to come to Boston, it’s always a horrible game and you have to battle for the win.
“But for my 50th Holbeach win to be in a derby here is a nice feeling.”
The 50th win of Hayes’ rein as Holbeach boss came in his 81st match, giving him an impressive win ratio of almost 62 per cent.
The Lincolnshire derby was also the Tigers chief’s 250th game in charge of either a Step Five or Step Six side.
Tigers: Drury, T Smith, Cartwright, Braithwaite, Clay, Tinkler, Jackson, B Smith (Whyatt), Bird (Hamilton), Ford, J Smith (Avis).
Attendance: 95.
