April sees the end of the football season and Step 6 team Real Bedford look nailed on to win the league. With seven league games remaining, three wins will be enough for Bedford to lift the title. And with 27 wins from their 31 league games, it would take some unforeseen disaster for the club, who have sat at the top of the table all season, to be knocked off the top spot.
The game against second-placed Rugby Borough on 25th February, was make or break for Rugby. Win and they could potentially overtake the league leaders – and after a poor fun of form for Real Bedford with shock defeats to lowly Langford and Wellingborough Whitworth, and a draw against Amersham – it certainly looked possible.
Rugby are one of only three teams to beat Real Bedford this season and if they managed to do the double over Bedford then they would have been still in with a chance of pipping them to the top spot. A Real Bedford win, however, would create a nice-point gap between the first and second placed sides. A tough mountain to climb.
The game was a tight affair with plenty of action as the two strong sides cancelled each other out for much of the afternoon. Bedford held on to the possession for much of the game but it was Rugby who had the better of the chances in front of goal. Rugby twice hit the woodwork and Hitchcock and Walker both missed chances for Bedford. But in the final minutes of the game, Tom Hitchcock put a fantastic ball to Jordan Brown down the left side, who controlled it magnificently, racing past the Borough defence before squaring to Eddie Corbit, who smashed the ball home from just three yards.
Just a minute later Corbit was back in action again but brought down in the box, and captain Luke Knight converted the penalty making it 2-0 to the visitors. A huge victory for Bedford and a devastating loss for Rugby.
Real Bedford were back at home the following Tuesday night and put six past visiting Buckingham Athletic. Curtis Hartley got his first goal in Real Bedford colours when he expertly headed in a pinpoint corner from Luke Knight on the 12-minute mark. Bedford’s strikers were shooting on site, peppering the keeper who made a number of excellent saves but he couldn’t stop a sliced volley from Kevin Owusu from finding the back of the net, as the winger netted a rebound from Tom Wood’s strike.
An own goal made it three, as Luke Knight’s corner was clattered into the back of the net by a Buckingham defender. Just before half time some fantastic Bedford interplay saw Tom Hitchcock finding Jordan Brown who raced down the wing and found Eddie Corbit, who delicately backheeled the ball into the path of Hitchcock, who picked his spot in between Buckingham defenders to find the back of the net.
The second half was a quieter affair but Buckingham never gave up and pushed to get back in the game but it was Bedford again who added to their already hefty score line. After Jordan Brown had a goal wrongly chalked off as offside, minutes later he tapped in a goal on the back post following a superb cross from winger Claston Gordon. It was Brown again who put the nail in the coffin, picking up a marvellous cross from Archie Culley to shoot past the keeper and end the game with a 6-0 victory.
After struggling in January and early February Real Bedford were back on the trajectory they started earlier in the season and smashed Holmer Green at McMullen Park 7-1. Jordan Brown once again got the first goal, following a lovely threaded ball from Eddie Corbit. Only a minute later Andy Sinclair connected with Luke Knight’s corner to head in the ball to the top corner making it two. Eddie Corbit ran through the Holmer defence to fire a ball directly at the goalkeeper only for it to go through the young keeper’s legs.
The second half saw Holmer come out guns blazing and caught Real Bedford napping as Kobi Ambrose found the back of the net with a half-volley deflected shot. Only ten minutes later and Bedford were back at it, with Archie Culley finding the net from a rebound after the keeper had parried away a Jordan Brown shot.
Dan Walker got on the score sheet as he stole the ball from the keeper and fired the ball home, and finally defender Tom Wood’s netted an almost identical brace in the final five minutes of the game. Scoring with his head both times from two Luke Knight crosses.
Visting Burton Park Wanderers couldn’t have picked a worse time to visit McMullen Park as Real Bedford really started to hit their stride. Although Burton have climbed from the bottom to the mid of the table thanks to a newly refreshed team line up, it was no match for the in-form Bedford. The Wanderers made some magnificent saves as their defenders put the body on the line in the opening stages of the match but Brown once again broke through the defences and let Tom Hitchcock take the glory with the opening goal.
Lewis Burgess, a new addition to Real Bedford’s defence, launched a long throw into the box, which was met square on by Tom Wood’s head, bringing the defenders tally to three goals in two games. However, it was Burton who nicked the next goal, Josh Drain beating James Ducket before slotting past Bedford keeper Tyler McGregor.
With only a one goal lead, Bedford came out in the second half guns blazing and it was Jordan Brown’s by-line cross to the awaiting Eddie Corbit, that give Bedford a two-goal cushion once again. Next up was Archie Culley who headed a Luke Knight set piece into the top corner. Not content with making two of the goals, Jordan Brown took the last goal as his own, running at the keeper and having no problems in slotting past him to end the game 5-1, and taking his league goal tally to 26.
Real Bedford visited Rushden and Higham for the first of five away games on the trot but being the away team did little to slow their goalscoring prowess. Ben McGrath rose up to head in Eddie Corbit’s pinpoint cross from the left and knock the ball into the top corner on the 15th minute mark. Five minutes later it was the same move but down the right and Dan Walker providing the ball and Tom Hitchcock providing the head.
The second half saw plenty of chances for Corbitt, and Walker but it was Hitchcock again who received a great through ball from and Corbitt who turned on the spot, and slotted it home into the bottom corner. Substitute Kevin Owusu was next on the score sheet, picking up a loose ball from a defender to half volley into the goal from just inside the area, with his first touch of the game. The final minute saw the final goal as an attempt from James Ducket that deflected off the cross bar fell to the feet of new signing Ben Fitzjohn who had no problem turning into the net from close range and getting his first goal for Real Bedford.
The games continue to come thick and fast as Real Bedford travelled to high-flying Northampton Sileby on Tuesday 21st March and managed to come home with all three points. A superb cross from Dan Walker was headed in perfectly from Tom Hitchcock on the 15 minute mark before Walker himself doubled the lead on the stroke of half time with a wonder strike from the edge of the box. Bedford played some of their finest football in the second half, with excellent one-touch football and link-up play, stifling the best efforts of Sileby. But the game was put to bed in the last minute with an incredible goal by Luke Knight direct from a corner.
Real Bedford will play Elstow Abbey in the final of the Bedfordshire FA Senior Trophy at the Eyrie on Wednesday 29th March. Real Bedford will be hoping to lift their first piece of silverware of the season at their neighbour Bedford Town’s home ground. As the club sits a comfortable twelve points clear with a game in hand of the chasing pack, Real Bedford hope to have the league sewn up before their home game against Ampthill on April 10th.
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