WARD FIRES A WARNING!

KEATON Ward's early strike took Boston United took within two points of safety at the expense of Braintree Town, who themselves are still looking over their shoulders.

- By Tom Norton

Ward took advantage of a lucky deflection to settle the game on 16 minutes and earn the Pilgrims a third win from five unbeaten matches.

It was also a fourth straight away success for United and boss Graham Coughlan beamed: "It was a really good result.

"The performance was strong and competitive, which we knew it had to be.

"It wasn't the best pitch to play football on, and it was a battle. We showed character. We showed resilience, and we showed a different side to our game.

That's really pleasing.

"It's our biggest win of the season, to be honest, because we've not had to do that in too many games.