Boston United 0-1 Stalybridge Celtic

Andy Owens fired Stalybridge Celtic in front after 16 minutes and the visitors never relinquished their lead despite playing over a third of the match with 10 men following Aaron Chalmers' dismissal for two yellow cards.

Lamin Colley was denied from the spot by Tony McMillan, while Jay Rollins, Jason St Juste and Waide Fairhurst all went agonisingly close for the Pilgrims after the break.

Eight of United’s starters made their league debuts for the club while there was a return to action at right-back for Ollie Price, fresh from spending a year playing in America, but the Pilgrims soon found themselves chasing the game.

Herve Pepe-Ngoma, faultless otherwise, misjudged a seemingly harmless punt forward and OWENS galloped clear to finish beyond Christian Dibble and into the far corner of the net.

The Pilgrims were afforded a great chance to restore parity when Colley tumbled under Nick Ryan’s challenge in the box. Referee Daniel Middleton pointed to the spot but then took over four minutes to allow the spot-kick to be taken and Colley fluffed his lines by firing tamely to McMillan’s right and allowing the veteran stopper to gather with ease.

United upped the ante after the break, with Rollins seeing a fierce drive charged behind and St Juste overhitting a cross with Rollins completely unmarked on the penalty spot.

The home side’s afternoon seemingly took a turn for the better when Chalmers hacked down Marcus Marshall to receive his second yellow card, but the dismissal only made Celtic even more resilient.

Colley soon headed over from a St Juste cross while Fairhurst narrowly cleared the crossbar and St Juste drilled fractionally wide across the face of goal.

Fairhurst went close again when he whistled another effort marginally over the bar from 12 yards. He then smashed one wide via a deflection and McMillan excelled to claw a Rollins drive behind as Celtic courageously held firm.

Boston (4-4-2): Christian Dibble; Ollie Price (Grant Roberts 63), Joe Maguire, Herve Pepe-Ngoma, Kalern Thomas; Marcus Marshall (Waide Fairhurst 65), Callum Chippendale (Liam Adams 86), Lewis Hilliard, Jason St Juste; Lamin Colley, Jay Rollins.

Stalybridge (4-3-3): Tony McMillan; Aaron Chalmers, Matty Hughes, Nick Ryan, Danny Wisdom; James Ball, Kristian Platt, Liam Hynes; Adam Farrell (Henoc Mukendi 68), Andy Owens (Kurt Sherlock 84), Danny Pilkington (Peter Wylie 58). Subs (not used): John Shaw, Steve Tames.

Referee: Daniel Middleton.

Attendance: 1,023 (7 visitors).