Boston Town are back in the FA Trophy for the first time in 43 years.
Our tie at home to Nantwich Town at the weekend sees the Poachers return to a competition we last entered in 1983.
The club have had many memorable moments in the FA Trophy, most notably when we knocked out the holders Stafford Rangers in January 1980.
Stafford had lifted the cup at Wembley eight months earlier by beating Kettering 2-0 in the final in front of a crowd of 32,000. But after a 1-1 draw in the first game, goals by Mark Cox and Nick Mallinder were enough for a famous upset in the replay.
In that same giantkilling run we had also previously beaten Alliance Premier League side AP Leamington and Isthmian League Oxford City.
The Poachers were knocked out after a replay in the next round by Mossley, who themselves went on to reach the Wembley final, where they lost 2-1 to Dagenham.
We’ve also played other non-league big guns in the FA Trophy, including Wealdstone, who beat Boston United in the final in 1985.
The competition was launched in 1969 and its first season saw Boston FC (as were then known) beat Ely City after a replay. In the next round we headed to Guildford where we lost 3-0 in front of crowd of 1,605, at the time the biggest crowd the club had ever played in front of.
There was another glamour tie when we travelled to APL high-fliers Northwich Victoria in November 1980. Just a week after Northwich had held Huddersfield Town to a draw in the FA Cup on the same ground, they had to fight tooth and nail to edge past Bob Don-Duncan’s side 2-1 in front of a crowd of nearly 1,000.
This Saturday’s tie against Nantwich kicks off at 3pm at the Mortgages For You Stadium, the first time the two clubs have ever met. Nantwich are currently 19th in the Pitching In Northern Premier League West table.
Many thanks to Newton Fallowell Lettings for being our match day sponsor. The first 100 Club draw of the season will take place in the clubhouse after the game. Please make sure you’ve paid for your ticket before the draw takes place.
Boston Town FC 