Warburton strikes for last-gasp win
THE resurgent Hatters made it two wins on the spin with a late Matty Warburton strike to down a miserly Boston Utd side at Edgeley Park last Tuesday evening.
The tie was threatening to be overshadowed by Craig Elliott’s lowly Pilgrims side’s efforts to run the clock down as much as possible, led by pantomime villain goalkeeper Jon Stewart who enraged the home support throughout.
But attacker Warburton struck with four minutes left on the clock to continue Jim Gannon’s side’s recent upturn in form and move County back into the National League North play-off positions.
County took to the field in a 4-2-3-1 formation, and with a starting line-up that was unaltered from the previous two matches. Paul Turnbull, who had not travelled Gainsborough due to a lack of fitness, was named on the bench in place of Gary Stopforth, following the departure of the eccentric midfielder for Colne earlier that afternoon. In the course of a stuttering first half that was frequently punctuated by the award of free-kicks, the Hatters created the bulk of chances without making them count.
The encounter was a largely dour affair mostly in part down to the time-management of the unambitious Pilgrims, who rarely ventured out of their own half as Elliott’s men set up to frustrate their play-off chasing hosts.
Matty Warburton and Jason Oswell both went close early on, but it wasn’t until the 85th minute that substitute Darren Stephenson finally found the key to unlock the visitor’s defence; twisting and turning before teeing up Scott Duxbury for the cross, emphatically rifled home by Warburton at the near post.
“The keeper running all over the place in a hurry is just part of the pantomime,” a delighted Gannon said.
“But we said as with the draw at Boston in October, they’re just damaging themselves and have continually done so with almost no ambition.”
“I’m delighted for the fans who braved the cold. Matty Warburton is crucial to our side and has never stopped working hard - and got his reward tonight. It’s exciting times if we can keep up this little run and keep showing the same purpose and work rate as we have recently. Saturday is huge and we know there’ll be a big turnout.”