This article is part of the ‘League Preview’ series, in which every day we take a detailed look at one of Aldershot Town’s 23 prospective opponents for the upcoming National League season.
Today’s focus hails from deep within England’s East Midlands, 2002 Conference Champions, and founder members of the newly monikered ‘League Two’ in 2004/05, Boston United.
‘The Pilgrims’ enjoyed six seasons in the EFL before internal issues resulted in receiving a near-unprecedented double relegation in 2007. With impressive work behind the scenes achieving stability once more, a 17-year stint outside of the country’s top-five tiers ended in 2024, as the club beat Alfreton, Scunthorpe and Brackley Town on their way to play-off promotion.
With four wins in their final six matches, the club miraculously survived a likely relegation, eventually finishing 19th last term. Entering their second successive step-one season, Graeme Coughlan’s men will be looking to further improve upon their resurgent progression this upcoming campaign.
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Where is Boston?
Not to be confused with its New England namesake (although it is responsible for the city being named as such), the ~45,000 populous town of Boston is the fifth largest settlement in Lincolnshire, straddling England’s East Coast. Approximately 147 miles from the EBB Stadium, the 3h 15m journey will mark Aldershot’s 11th furthest away journey of the upcoming league season.
The Pilgrims are one of four professional teams in Lincolnshire, alongside FL72 members Lincoln City and Grimsby Town, as well as fellow Enterprise National League member, Scunthorpe United. However, with the county being the 2nd largest by area in the country, this aforementioned ‘local derby’ remains almost two hours away by car.
Outside of the town itself, the club currently serves as the closest place to watch step-one football or higher for the towns of Skegness (~25,000 pop.), Spalding (32,000) and most notably, King’s Lynn (46,000).
Boston United play their home matches at the Jakemans Community Stadium (also known as the Boston Community Stadium). Opening its doors in December 2020, the 5,061 capacity ground is the second newest in the division, after the eponymous ‘York Community Stadium’ (February 2021). The ground saw its record attendance achieved in recent months, as a crowd of 3,865 watched Frankie Maguire’s brace prove the difference in a relegation six-pointer versus Wealdstone in April.
Boston finished 2024/25 with an average league attendance of 2,126, the 13th highest among teams in this season’s competition. However, in terms of percentage of capacity filled, the club’s figure of 42% takes them up to 9th in league standings.
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Recent history and club highlights
Following a modern nadir that saw the club fall as far as the seventh-tier between 2008 and 2010, Boston United spent 14-straight-seasons as National League North heavy-hitters. However, despite regular strong finishes in the division, the club would suffer as many as five unsuccessful play-off campaigns, including two finals, before finally returning to the summit of non-league in 2024.
2024/25 – National League (19th)
2023/24 – NL North (6th, Promoted via play-offs)
2022/23 – NL North (15th)
2021/22 – NL North (7th)
2020/21 – NL North (N/A)
2019/20 – NL North (3th)
2018/19 – NL North (11th)
2017/18 – NL North (9th)
2016/17 – NL North (15th)
2015/16 – NL North (5th)
As previously mentioned, the club’s greatest period in terms of league finishes came in the early-to-mid 2000’s. In the same year that the side went fully professional, the Pilgrims secured the 2001-02 Conference title, beating Dagenham & Redbridge on goal difference, winning 2-0 away to Hayes and Yeading to secure the title. The promotion was met with controversy, after a four-point deduction for incorrect player registration was distributed to a previous season, rather than the current one.
Their performance in the Football League was respectable, twice finishing 11th in 2003/04 and 2005/06, their highest league finishes to date.
Outside of league action, Boston United proudly boast a piece of FA Cup history. In December 1955, they defeated Derby County 6-1 in the second round, this remains the largest victory by a non-league side against football league opposition.
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Pre-season, incoming transfers and other news
At time of writing, Boston have made 13 first team signings.
| Player | Pos. | Age | Arriving from… | Highest level played |
| Manni Norkett | CF | 20 | Not. Forest U21 | League Two (Cheltenham) |
| Lenell John-Lewis | CF | 36 | York City | League One (Shrewsbury) |
| Greg Sloggett | CM | 29 | Hartlepool | League One (Cheltenham) |
| Rhys Lovett | GK | 28 | Welling United | League Two (Cheltenham) |
| Jordan Cropper | RB | 25 | Barnet | League Two (Grimsby) |
| Liam Waldock | CM | 24 | Alfreton Town | NL North (Alfreton) |
| Bobby Jones | GK | 23 | Curzon Ashton | NL North (Curzon) |
| Arjan Raikhy | CM | 22 | Leicester U21 | Championship (Leicester) |
| Michael Kelly | LB | 27 | Scunthorpe Utd | League One (Bristol Rovers) |
| Kieren Donnelly | CF | 24 | Halesowen Town | Southern Prem (Halesowen) |
| Alex Lankshear | CB | 22 | Blackpool U21 | Championship (Blackpool) |
| Ben Grist | CB | 20 | Leicester U21 | N/A |
| Rocco Coyle | CM | 18 | Hull U21 | N/A |
In what has undoubtedly been one of the busiest the busiest offseasons in the division thus far, a mixture of youth and experience will be tasked with taking a new-look Boston side to new heights.
Boston United’s current pre-season schedule, which includes a home tie against the League One Peterborough United, is as follows:
Lincoln United 0-2 Boston United (12/07)
Boston Town 2-2 Boston United (15/07)
Boston United vs Peterborough United (23/07)
Peterborough Sports vs Boston United (26/07)
Cleethorpes vs Boston United (29/07)
After preparations finish with a visit to neighboring Cleethorpes, the Pilgrims are due to commence their campaign at home to freshly relegated Morecambe on the 9th of August.
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When will Aldershot and Boston United play each other?
Following the release of the National League fixture list, Tommy Widdrington’s men will be among the first to test Graeme Coughlan’s heavily tweaked side, as they are scheduled to be the EBB Stadium’s first league visitors on Saturday 16th August. The Shots will travel to the Jakemans Community Stadium on Saturday 20th December, kickstarting an unconventional Christmas schedule for the side.
Staggeringly, despite both having experienced Conference success in the early 21st century followed by an extended stay in the Football League, the two clubs have somehow managed to completely avoid each other over the years, having only first met in September just gone.
This divisional avoidance was at its most unlikely in the Shots’ famous title winning 2007-08 season. The Pilgrims, relegated from the fourth-tier the previous campaign, were handed an unprecedented double relegation due to financial issues, thus failing to meet the Hampshire club whatsoever on their way down.
In the maiden meetings of 2024/25, Boston would come out on top overall, as a 1-1 draw played out in Lincolnshire before the Pilgrims won 2-1 at the EBB Stadium in April, the Shots finding themselves caught in the crossfire of the club’s miraculous late-season escape.
Games played: 2
Aldershot wins: 0
Boreham Wood wins: 1
Draws: 1
Aggregate score: 2-3
Record Shots victory: N/A
Record Boston victory: 2-1 (National League, 24/25)
While supporters will always be desperate to start their home campaign with three points, the promise of a first ever win against their opponents on the day should make this mid-August meet an incredibly interesting affair.
