County boss pins blame on Boston:
COUNTY boss Jim Gannon shrugged off the anger of Boston United, claiming they “only had themselves to blame”, as The Hatters salvaged a dramatic 97th minute draw at the Jakeman’s Stadium.
The home side were left seething as Jimmy Ball headed home a leveller, two and a half minutes over the allotted minimum of five minutes stoppage time with the Pilgrims clinging onto a 2-1 lead.
But Gannon, who
‘I’ve never seen such a big, physical team go down so easily’
further enraged the home support following Ball’s equaliser by dropping to the floor clutching his leg in a repeat of what the Irishman described as the hosts “time-management”, claimed Karl Hawley’s strugglers “were the only ones at fault” as their “repeated time-wasting” came back to haunt them.
“As I was explaining to the fans behind me, it’s a minimum of five minutes stoppage time. Then within that five minutes, they were kicking balls out of the stand, they were going down injured – and a strong enough referee has seen what they’re trying to do,” Gannon said.
“Some managers think that trying to kill time is crafty, but the time just gets added on and they’ve ended up missing out on two points and are now in the relegation zone. They’ve only got themselves to blame; I’ve never seen such a big, physical team go down so easily.”
Gannon also took aim at the home side’s usage of a mammoth long throw utilised throughout the affair by Pilgrims’ full-back Sam Muggleton – with both of the hosts’ goals coming directly from throw-ins into the area as Hawley’s lowly side raced into a twogoal lead.
The Hatters chief, who had discussed the threat of Muggleton prior to the National League North tie on Saturday, admitted the home side caused County “no end of problems” – but claimed the authorities “should be doing more” to make the game easier for defenders against a long throw.
“I’ve always thought that throw-ins shouldn’t be a part of the game. I know people will say kickins would just be like a set play, but that’s got to be better than the alternative.
“Most of the game was spent watching their lad chuck the ball into the area time after time – and there’s no offside, so it’s impossible to hold a line.
“It’s obviously an asset to Boston and makes them dangerous, but we want to promote the skill of the game,” said Gannon.
“It’s a nonsense of the game - skill and technique should be promoted, but instead we’re encouraging players to launch a ball in with their hands and just let the big players get a touch on it, with the goalkeeper helpless because there’s a wall of bodies blocking him off.
“But, it was a tough physical game and I’m delighted we did all we could and were professional and resilient enough to get something.”
Matty Warburton curled home a wonderful freekick low past Boston stopper George Willis, before The Hatters – off-colour throughout the scrappy, blustery outing – salvaged a point deep into stoppage time with a powerful Ball header in front of the jubilant travelling supporters.
And Gannon, who admitted his side had been “flat” for most of the tie against a side who were quite visibly playing for their caretaker manager Hawley, heaped praise on the “resiliency” of his players for getting something out of the long journey into Lincolnshire.