Afolabi Obafemi scored the decisive goal after only nine minutes to hand Stortford their first three points of the new season.

The Pilgrims pushed hard to find a leveller but the most damning statistic of the afternoon was that home keeper Luke Chambers did not have a save to make.

Jason Lee had opted to make three changes following Saturday’s defeat to Hinckley United. Gary Silk replaced the injured Conor Marshall, while Ben Milnes and Jason Stokes were preferred to Ian Ross and Kallum Smith.

The early warning signs were there for the Pilgrims when powerhouse Ricky Sappleton held off Nathan Stainfield to advance and curl a drive wide from 18 yards.

United fell behind on the nine-minute mark, although creator Sappleton appeared to be offside. His cross-shot was turned home gleefully by OBAFEMI at the back post as United appealed in vain for an offside flag.

Boston played plenty of neat football throughout the contest, but their final ball was often lacking in crucial areas.

United did carve out three openings before half-time — but failed to hit the target and trouble keeper Chambers.

Gareth Jelleyman’s cross was headed narrowly over the bar by Ben Fairclough, while Matt Wilson nudged Marc Newsham out of the way to nod another Jelleyman cross wide.

Newsham then headed over from a Milnes corner as Stortford took their lead into the interval.

United again dominated possession after the break, but were unable to turn territorial advantage into goalscoring chances.

The Pilgrims thought they had won a penalty on 74 minutes, but referee Ashvin Degnarain adjudged that substitute Smith had dived amid a crowded penalty area.

Dan Haystead made a great double save to keep out Cliff Akurang’s looping header, before sprawling to deny Adam Marriott’s goalbound follow-up.

United had the ball in the net in the dying stages, but Spencer Weir-Daley was flagged for offside on the end of Newsham’s neat assist.

Bishop’s Stortford (4-4-2): Luke Chambers; Jesse Waller-Lassen, Sean Francis, Phil Anderson (David Obaze 85), Johnny Herd; Matt Johnson, Alli Abdullahi, Adam Marriott, Reece Prestedge; Ricky Sappleton (Cliff Akurang 58), Afolabi Obafemi (Steve Cawley 63). Subs (not used): Lewwis Spence, Matt Redgrave.

Boston (4-4-2): Dan Haystead; Gary Silk, Kern Miller, Nathan Stainfield, Gareth Jelleyman; Ben Fairclough, Matt Wilson, Ben Milnes (Ian Ross 71), Jason Stokes (Kallum Smith 66); Mark Jones (Spencer Weir-Daley 58), Marc Newsham. Subs (not used): James Reed, Jason Field.

Referee: Ashvin Degnarain