Leverstock Green End Real Bedford's Unbeaten Away Record
The Pirates experienced their first-ever away loss in the league on Saturday with a narrow defeat to promotion-pushing Leverstock Green. The hosts did most of their damage in the opening few minutes, scoring two early goals to stun Bedford.
The first goal came from an in-swinging corner where the hosts found Stefanoaica at the back post, who headed the ball towards goal. McGregor managed to get a decent hand to the chance, but only as far as Luke Beckwith, who tapped it home from point-blank range for the opening score at Pancake Lane.
Five minutes later, The Pirates registered their first chance. A good block from Archie Jones on a clearance kick from Rio Beach ended up at the feet of Joey Evans in the area; the forward struck it well on the half-volley but couldn't find the target.
Ten minutes later, the visitors found themselves 2-0 down. Drew Richardson had the ball swiped from underneath his feet by Rawn Seale, who in turn found Luke Beckwith, who raced down the by-line before clipping the ball over Bedford defenders towards Stefanoaica at the back post, who doubled Leverstock Green's advantage inside 30 minutes.
Despite this double blow, Real Bedford continued to grow into the game. Tom Wood's direct pass from the back unlocked space for Joey Evans, who initially flicked it on into the area for Setchell; however, heavy traffic in the box prevented the winger from gaining possession, and the ball instead found Stevens. After evading defenders in tight spaces, Stevens managed to get a shot off, which fired past Bowler to half the deficit before the break.
It could've been more as seconds before the whistle, Evans was in again. This time, Stevens set him up, and despite being surrounded by Leverstock defenders, Bedford's top goal scorer managed to get a shot away, which was inches from finding the top right.
Second Half
Leverstock managed to deter Bedford from getting a hold of the second half despite having most of the ball. The hosts' first real chance on goal came as substitute Ethan Mooney produced a wonder strike from just outside the area, forcing McGregor to produce a wonder save to keep his team in the match.
Heading into the last 10 minutes, The Pirates came close to an equaliser. A free-kick from Charlie Smith was headed towards goal by Luke Knight but agonisingly trickled around the post. Similarly to the end of the first half, Evans had a golden opportunity to level the game with seconds left on the clock after Ben Stevens found space in the area and squared it to the striker. However, heroic defending from Rio Beach blocked the shot on goal.
The visitors were, therefore, dealt their first-ever loss away from home in the league. We now turn our attention to the League Cup next weekend as Dunstable Town hosts Real Bedford at Creasey Park.
RBFC: McGregor, Wood, Knight ©, Watkins, Richardson, Smith, Setchell (Bangura 62'), Jones (Corbit 66'), Evans, Stevens, Ahmed
Unused Subs: Hitchcock, Agemoh-Davies, Burgess
Leverstock Green 2 - 1 Real Bedford
3rd January, 2024
Kick-off: 3pm
Location: Lords Builders Merchants Stadium
