The short, but usually enjoyable trip to Boston Spa beckons
for the Driffield Men this weekend. Nestling on the banks of the River Wharfe, and
just a short pub crawl away from the famed Tadcaster Brewery, Boston Spa has
been a happy hunting-ground for Driffield in recent times.
Apart from the odd cup thrashing, matches between these two
old foes have been very tight. Last season Driffield had to come from behind to
win 5-3. In what proved a controversial end to the match, Boston Spa attempted
to substitute their goalkeeper back into play for a player with goalkeeping
privileges. The rules are unclear on this type of substitution and the umpire
decided time wouldn’t be stopped. Some quick thinking by Driffield saw the
decisive goal scored as the goalie was running back onto the pitch. The snow
and the dead rubber nature of last year’s delayed fixture meant both sides
settled on a 0-0 draw instead of forcing each other to play the match.
The 2011/12 season saw another close encounter, ending 4-2
in Driffield’s favour. The match featured heavy challenges, penalty flicks and
cards a-plenty.
Driffield go into the match with a slightly weakened attack.
Ed Cherry is still out with ligament damage (although I did see on Facebook
that he had been out dancing the other night) and James Levitt is a long term
absentee with a broken collar bone. Driffield will have to be on their mettle
to avoid a repeat of last week’s disappointing last 10 minutes which saw them
concede twice, ultimately dropping 2 points to a beatable Sheffield Uni side.