3 POINTS AND 3 GOALS AS THE PIRATES CONTINUE TO CLIMB AT THE TOP
By Will Murray
Real Bedford moved three points clear at the top of the Southern League Division One Central table, beating North Leigh 3-0 at Eynsham Park. Drew Richardson, Jack Morrell and Isaac Galliford scored the goals for the Pirates in a controlled away performance.
In the opening half, the Pirates were shooting downhill on a pitch with a notable slope. Rob Sinclair’s side took advantage of this, creating a number of early chances, including a couple of strikes from Joey Evans which narrowly missed the target and a Josh Setchell effort which struck the left post.
The deadlock was broken in the 18th minute through Richardson, who ran onto a low cross from Galliford to tap home from inside the box.
Evans nearly doubled the Pirates’ lead four minutes later, but he was denied by a superb stop from close range by Monty Marriot.
The visitors kept knocking on the door, though, and doubled their advantage in the 24th minute through Morrell. After Ben Stevens’ free-kick from the edge of the box was originally blocked, he fired the rebound goalwards, which was expertly flicked home by Morrell.
Chances kept on coming with Shaheim Ward’s well-saved header from a Stevens corner the best opportunity, meaning the Pirates went in at the break with a 2-0 lead.
Second Half
North Leigh improved after the interval and provided a threat on the counter attack shooting down the slope. Edward Odley saw his right-footed shot go well over the bar in the 50th minute after a period of pressure.
Minutes later, Galliford was on the wrong end of a high tackle by a North Leigh defender that resulted in a booking. The visitors’ number 11 stayed on the pitch and impressively scored the third two minutes after the hour mark. After some intricate passing play, Morrell’s ball into the box eventually found its way to Galliford, who swept the ball home into the bottom right corner with his left foot.
After the third, Sinclair used all five of his substitutes as the away team looked to secure a second consecutive clean sheet.
Brett Longden, who was a solid figure at the back for the Pirates, was nearly punished in the 87th minute after he was dispossessed by Oluwatobiloba Shoyoye. North Leigh’s number 12 shot straight at Tyler McGregor, though, as Bedford held on to the 3-0 triumph.
After the match, Sinclair said:
“Professional away performance, two-hour journey and not easy after a tough game on Saturday and you’ve not been able to train or recover how you want to. I’m happy.
“For 25 minutes of the first-half, it could have been five, six – we did exactly what we wanted to, get the ball wide and get runners in the box. It was 2-0, so it kind of gave them something to scrap for but like I said it was a professional performance and I’m happy with the win.”
The Pirates are next at home on Saturday 15th March hosting Northwood in the league. Tickets for the match are available here.
RBFC: McGregor, Morrell, S.Ward, Longden, Richardson (T.Ward 81’), Jones (Nicolson 67’), Watkins, Galliford (Agemoh-Davies 73’), Setchell, Stevens (Snelus 67’), Evans (Hitchcock 73’).
North Leigh 0 - 3 Real Bedford
11th March 2025
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Location: Eynsham Park
