Bedford Pass Another Tough Test Winning Away at Amersham Town
Real Bedford maintained their 100% record in the league in September with an impressive win at Amersham. With other league contenders playing cup matches, Bedford opened a five point lead at the top of the table.
Having beaten third-placed Moulton on Tuesday, Real Bedford faced another challenging game on Saturday against a strong Amersham. Just four days apart, these two fixtures were a real test for Rob Sinclair’s side, and despite Dan Walker still sidelined through injury, Bedford followed the Moulton victory with another three points.
Amersham entered the game unbeaten in the league, having picked up four wins and two draws. With Lewis Putman already on ten goals for the season, Amersham signalled their intention for the league, announcing three new signings before the game.
On a much-improved Spratleys Meadow pitch since Bedford’s last fixture against London Tigers, the away side nearly opened the scoring in six minutes. James Ducket floated a ball into the Amersham box, which Kevin Owusu brought down and squared to Tom Hitchcock, whose shot struck the inside of the post and rebounded across the goal line.
With both teams eager to claim dominance, the game developed into a midfield battle with tackles flying in and both sides receiving bookings.
With few clear-cut chances, it took until the 37th for the deadlock to break, with Jordan Brown adding to his tally. A cross cleared from the Amersham box was headed down by Eddie Corbit to Owusu, who floated a ball over the defence for Brown to slot under the keeper from six yards.
With Bedford looking like taking the lead into half-time break, Amersham dragged themselves back level with a wonder strike from Lewis Putman. Jack Smith picked up a loose ball on the halfway line and played a first time ball to the edge of the Bedford box where the prolific Putman followed the ball over his shoulder and hit a first time half volley over the Bedford goalie Tyler McGregor.
Second Half
Both teams came out in the second half looking to take control of the game and it was Amersham nearly took the lead early on 47 minutes. Lewis Putman went for goal with a free-kick awarded 10 yards outside the Bedford box; the effort lacked power but bounced uncomfortably in front of McGregor, bouncing off his arm onto the bar and back into his hands.
With the game in the balance, returning captain Luke Knight scored his first goal of the season and put Bedford back into the lead. With Eddie Corbit fouled in the middle of the park, the ball broke loose to Owsus, and the referee played advantage. Owusu played the ball to the left-hand side of the box to Jim Burnside, who cut back and passed to Knight in the middle of the pitch. Thirty-five yards out, Knight, missing from the previous two games through suspension, drilled the ball past the Amersham goalie and off the underside of the bar.
While Bedford had the lead, Amersham remained a threat and could have been level again on 77 minutes, but Smith's shot lacked power and went straight into McGregor's arms.
With Putman continuing to pose a threat, Bedford ended any hope of an equaliser with Jim Burnside continuing the impressive start to his Real career, finding his third goal in three games. A long ball from James Ducket found Burnside clear of the home defence; his shot struck the foot of Amersham's Jonny O'Sullivan and looped over the goalie.
While Bedford took all three points, Amersham showed the quality that will cause other teams problems, with stand-out performances from Putman, Barton and Brennan. For Bedford, taking all six points against Moulton and Amersham retains their position at the top of the table with 24 points.
Tuesday (27th September 2022) sees Bedford return to Spratleys Meadow to face London Tigers in the cup. We aren’t streaming cup games this season, but updates will be available on our Twitter feed.
RBFC: McGregor, R. Ducket, Owusu, J. Ducket, Wood, Clifford, Corbit, Knight, Brown, Hitchcock (McGrath 82’), Burnside.
Unused Substitutes: Coyle, Sinclair, Culley, Uttridge.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Amersham Town 1 - 3 Real Bedford
Date: Saturday 24th September, 2022
Kick-off: 15.00pm
Location: Spratleys Meadow
