Boston Town roared back to goalscoring form in their first action of 2026.
They pulled off an eye-catching 4-1 victory against in-form Belper United, thanks to a dominant first half.
This valuable win gave the Poachers further daylight at the top of the United Counties League Premier North table.
Belper had moved into the play-off places on the back of three wins in a row and three clean sheets since Christmas.
But they were blown away by a blistering opening 45 minutes by Chris Funnell’s side.
Jack Gurney, making his first start for two months, slotted into the right hand side of the goal to put them 1-0 up after 15 minutes.
He then whipped the ball into the box from a corner after 31 minutes and Luke Wilson rose the highest at the back post and headed into the top left corner to double their lead.
The game was as good as over when the hosts added two more goals on the stroke of half-time. First, Matt Cotton extended his goal tally for the season to 27 after 45 minutes. And there was still time for Harry Limb to grab his first goal since early October in the third minute of first half stoppage time.
Belper pulled one back from the penalty spot with 11 minutes left, the first goal the Poachers had conceded since late November.
Boston Town are now four points clear at the top of table. Sherwood Colliery were in FA Vase action while promotion rivals Newark Town and Grantham Town both dropped points in a 3-3 draw.
Town: Portas, Burdass, Smith, Tate, Ford, Wilson, Munton (Bayliss), Maddison (Priestley), Gurney (Nuttell), Limb (Hudson), Cotton
Photo: Joshua Hallam
Words: Simon Ashberry
