Railway Athletic 2 v 1 Sibsey

Saturday 18th September 2021, Kick-off 14.00
Sharman Burgess Sports Cup Round One

York Street, Boston
Admission: Free (Donations accepted)
Programme: None
Attendance: 65 (estimate)

There was something gloriously bizarre and surreal about today. Travelling nigh on 400 miles round trip to watch a cup game between clubs below the National League System, but this was not a typical venue to watch grassroots football being played at. Rather than some council owned open recreational field, this match  would take place at a stadium that hosted Football League matches for five seasons between 2002 and 2007. This was a trip I was very much looking forward to, with an intense sense of relief and happiness. It certainly did not disappoint.

When it was announced that Boston United would be leaving York Street after 87 years at the end of the 2019-20 season due to the expiration of their lease to play there, with the presumption that the stadium would be bulldozed soon afterwards, I planned to visit one of their last games on March 21st 2020. As it turned out, that date came a week after the country was plunged into Covid lockdown, and to say I was absolutely gutted to have seemingly missed out on visiting York Street forever would certainly be an understatement, and with it the opportunity of visiting a beautifully old-fashioned and historic stadium. But then suddenly, at the beginning of August this year, Railway Athletic, of the Boston & District Saturday League, announced that they had struck a deal with the ground's owners, the Malkinson family, to play their home fixtures at York Street this season. Frankly, it scarcely seemed believable, but looking at the club's fixtures, I planned to take advantage at the first available opportunity, booked my train tickets, taking advantage of a LNER rail sale to keep costs down, and anxiously counted the time down, very much keeping my fingers crossed that there would be no last minute snags to get in the way of this game going ahead.

York Street is about a 15 minute walk from Boston train station, through the town centre en route, and seeing the old fashioned floodlight pylons standing out in the distance on my approach certainly made for a heart-warming sight. Although all of the stands and buildings remain intact, unsurprisingly much of the signage has been removed, mostly auctioned off by Boston United to raise funds I believe, but Railway Athletic have installed a large welcome sign to the outside of the York Street stand. It is a very nice addition, giving the club some identity at the stadium. A fair sized car park is located in front of the York Street stand and to one side there is a standalone building which used to house The Pilgrim Lounge, but is no longer in use. These days, spectators enter the stadium through a gate in one corner of the ground, leading onto the Spayne Road stand, a 13 step covered terrace stretching the entire length. Spectators are permitted onto the large terrace behind the far goal, the Town End, which is mostly covered, apart from areas stretching either side from the lower half. The other two stands are inaccessible these days - the Main Stand running along the length of the pitch and containing seven rows of seating from an elevated position, and the York Street end contains wooden seating above a wall, with a small amount of terracing at ground level. A tea bar hatch is in operation these days, located just inside the entrance, serving hot and cold drinks and snacks, with pin badges also available, as is a bucket for any donations. In some ways, it is slightly sad to see the stadium rather rough around the edges, and a football pitch that is currently not in the greatest condition to say the least, which is inevitable for a ground that lay abandoned for well over a year. But never mind, it is absolutely fantastic to see such a historic stadium remaining in use, and very well done to Railway Athletic and all those involved for the hard work in making that happen. I am sure that there are many people like me who will be eternally grateful!

It is fair to say I knew next to nothing of the Boston & District Saturday League, and information about it online is rather sketchy. However in terms of league status, to an outsider, this cup game seemed like it would be something of a mismatch, with Railway Athletic in the Premier Division and today's visitors Sibsey three divisions below, in Division Three. Railway Athletic started their campaign with a 3-0 away defeat, while Sibsey won their opening game of the season 0-1 away.

On a warm and mostly sunny afternoon, it was Sibsey who started the stronger, and with barely a minute on the clock, they saw a shot from just outside the area blocked by the keeper, but the referee blew for a foul just outside the area, which was fired just over the bar. They had another great chance three minutes later when the Railway keeper was drawn out to the right of his area, and a cross took a deflection, and the Sibsey forward lurking behind couldn't adjust quickly enough to get his effort on target with the net unguarded. But on 14 minutes, Railway Athletic took the lead, Steve Appleby running through on goal from a slight angle and although he stumbled as he was closed down, he still managed to retain possession, getting to the byline before passing the ball low into the six yard box, only for a defender to stick out a boot to divert it into his own net. On 33 minutes, Sibsey grabbed a rather fortunate equaliser, when a corner seemed to be punched into his own net by the Railway keeper. Unfortunately for the underdogs, after receiving something of a gift, they presented one themselves within a minute when, following a low ball forward by the hosts, the keeper didn't manage to connect properly as he tried to take the ball past the advancing Railway player, it spilled to 54 year old Appleby, and he showed good composure to gently float the ball from just inside the area, over a couple of players, and into the empty net. The game then settled down to pass without much further incident in the remaining minutes of the first half, and with all to play for after the break.

The second half saw Railway Athletic have more of a measure of control on the game, creating some decent chances, although Sibsey finished quite strongly, themselves coming close to levelling the scores on a couple of occasions. But in the end, despite Railway having Ryan Leggett sent off for a second yellow card in the final minute of normal time, the second half brought no further scoring and so it was Railway Athletic who progressed to the next round, although full credit to Sibsey who put in an excellent, battling performance and were probably slightly unfortunate to lose. 

This was a thoroughly enjoyable day out, just the sort of quirky, slightly bizarre day out that makes groundhopping so enjoyable, and I will certainly be keeping an eye out for the fortunes of Railway Athletic, a very friendly and welcoming club who I wish all the very best to and I would certainly not rule out a return visit to York Street in the future, should the opportunity arise.