Pilgrims 6-1 Forest Green Rovers

Nationwide Conference

by Barbara Singleton

Six of the best yielded table-topping delight for Boston United. The Pilgrims climbed back into Conference pole position after an emphatic destruction of Forest Green Rovers - with every goal netted by a different player. Besides restoring United to the power slot, this demolition job also consolidated Steve Evans' team's standing as top scorers in non-league's top flight (52 goals) and with the added bonus of having the best defensive record as well. Today Boston stand two points ahead of main rivals Dagenham and Redbridge, whose manager Garry Hill was among the 2,000-plus crowd looking on as the Pilgrims registered their biggest win of the season. Evans was delighted by the result. He said: "It was certainly a big help that we got some early goals and particularly pleasing that all our strikes came from different people. It's always an important factor when we can score from all departments. From our point of view, we simply need to carry on trying to pick up as many points as possible." Strangely, the one-sided scoreline showed no real sign of materialising in the first quarter-of-an-hour when neither side showed any semblance of a cutting edge. However, spot on 15 minutes the avalanche began. Paul Ellender was tripped by Kevin Langan.

And from Simon Weatherstone's resulting free-kick, Elding headed across goal and Dion SCOTT - back on loan from Walsall - swooped at the far post. Ten minutes later the lead was doubled when ELLENDER grabbed his first goal in Boston colours, heading in from a Simon Weatherstone corner. Then, in the 30th minute James GOULD blasted in after keeper Steve Perrin had blocked a Daryl Clare shot. The visitors' first tentative goal effort took 40 minutes to arrive. But then a Carl Heggs shot bobbled wide followed moments later by another tame finish from Alex Meechan. The second half was only four minutes old when Boston went 4-0 ahead with SIMON WEATHERSTONE netting in off a post from an acute angle after Clare had helped on another Clifford centre. The 65th minute brought Rovers' only moment of comfort from the match when LANGAN swept home from six yards after Bastock and his central defenders had failed to combat a corner curled in by the visitors' best player Martin Foster. Boston hit back in the best way possible - by grabbing two more goals in the dying stages. First, on 79 minutes, substitute Jamie COOK got on the end of an Elding through ball and dashed through to cleverly chip over the advancing Perrin. Then six minutes from time, Mark Angel crossed from the right and CLARE nipped in to send a looping header beyond the visitors' stranded keeper.

Boston team: 1. Bastock, 2. Clifford, 3. Scott, 4. R Weatherstone (Cook 74), 5. Monington (Rusk 46), 6. Ellender (Costello 62), 7. Gould, 8. Elding, 9. Clare, 10. S Weatherstone, 11. Angel. Subs (not used): Brown, Newton (gk).