A fitting tribute as 'Bo' is honoured with a big crowd and a win

The Burton Park Wanderers squad were joined by Bo Patricks son and club chairman Mark (far left) as they posed for the camera following their 2-0 win over Sileby Rangers in their first home match since the passing of the club stalwart

An excellent attendance of 545 were on hand to watch Burton Park Wanderers beat Sileby Rangers 2-0 at Latimer Park in their first Future Lions United Counties League Division One home match since the club stalwart’s death last week.

‘Bo’ passed away after illness and left behind a 50-year legacy at Wanderers where he served in numerous roles including chairman, manager, player, coach and groundsman while he also played a pivotal role in the formation of Kettering FC in 2012.

Former players and managers of Burton Park Wanderers, members of the local football fraternity and the Burton Latimer community descended on Latimer Park to pay tribute to the local legend.

The players of Burton Park Wanderers and Sileby Rangers observe a minute of applause for Bo Patrick ahead of their game on Tuesday night

And the game had a fitting outcome as first-half goals from Brian Farrell, with a fine header, and Jurelle Philips gave Wanderers, who were captained by local Burton Latimer boy Sam Hearn, victory.

The club offered free entry and refreshments for all while the Wanderers squad warmed up in t-shirts which had a picture of Bo on there with the words ‘Mr Burton Park’ while the shirts they wore for the match itself contained the wording ‘Bo - 1940-2019’.

It was a special evening and current Wanderers manager Daren Young said: “We didn’t really know what to expect to be honest.

“We knew plenty of people would want to come and pay tribute to Bo but to get the gate we got was great.

“On the pitch, we just wanted to do Bo proud and I think the players thrived on the attendance.

“Bo would have wanted us to go out there and get the points. We did that, we probably could have scored a couple more but we did what we set out to do.

“I think the picture of the players at the end of the game summed it up. There were smiles all-round and that was because we know Bo would have been happy with that result.

“Everyone there would have had their own stories about Bo. But from my point of view, when I first went into the UCL with Peterborough Northern Star, it was Bo who gave me advice about the league and how to deal with it.

“I never forgot that and it was one of the reasons why I came to help Burton out when they needed it. I was just paying Bo back for the help he gave me.”