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Mansfield Town Under 19's (3) 3
Jack Hawkins 8, Joel Holland 30, Blake Vincent 44
Boston United Under 19's (1) 1
Admission £2, Attendance 141
Do not adjust your sets, that is not a mascot stood to the left of Stags keeper Scott Rogers ... Jack Hawkins (the next Ryan 'Rhino' Williams) is a few inches shorter than the other lads.
But if you're good enough, you're big enough ... and young Jack opened the scoring and was man of the match at Field Mill tonight.
The game was 8 minutes old when Jack Hawkins fired the home side ahead.
Boston United went straight in search of an equaliser and Scott Rogers had to be alert and pulled off a fine save just a minute after the young Stags had gone ahead.
On 30 minutes the Boston keeper ran from his line to kick the ball away from danger, but Joal Holland anticipated well and charged down the clearance before rounding the keeper to knock the ball into an unguarded net from an angle.
But Boston are a resilient, half decent team ... and once more, straight from the restart, they took the game to the Stags U19's. On 32 minutes they were back in the game ,through a well hit shot that bulged the net from the D on the edge of the box.
Right on the stroke of half time, the Stags number three Blake Vincent blasted a free kick straight into Boston's defensive wall, the ball cannoned back to him and he hit an unstoppable shot past the broken wall and into the back of the net.
It's been stuck up there since the Bath City game on Saturday
Both sides performed well during a goalless second half in what was a very entertaining game.
The Sandy Pate bar was open after the game ... maybe next time they'll sell a few more beers if they're not shut before the game, just a thought ;-)
The barbecue that was on the go throughout the game was a great idea, loads of people succumbed to the aroma and enjoyed a late tea of freshly cooked sausages and burgers, whilst I nibbled contentedly on my bagged mixed leaved salad from the Sainsbury's up the road.
On Sunday the Stags Under 19's are away at Newark Town (2pm - venue tbc) and then they're playing against Blidworth Welfare in midweek.
It's going to be very interesting to see which of these lads get signed on, because they've got a good crop of youngsters at Field Mill this season and the competition for places is going to be red hot.
The Sandy Pate bar was open after the game ... maybe next time they'll sell a few more beers if they're not shut before the game, just a thought ;-)
The barbecue that was on the go throughout the game was a great idea, loads of people succumbed to the aroma and enjoyed a late tea of freshly cooked sausages and burgers, whilst I nibbled contentedly on my bagged mixed leaved salad from the Sainsbury's up the road.
On Sunday the Stags Under 19's are away at Newark Town (2pm - venue tbc) and then they're playing against Blidworth Welfare in midweek.
It's going to be very interesting to see which of these lads get signed on, because they've got a good crop of youngsters at Field Mill this season and the competition for places is going to be red hot.
Tomorrow - I'm Essex bound, for Braintree Town v Mansfield Town in the Blue Square Bet Premier division, a new territory for me.
