Pirates held level by Sawbridgeworth in final league match of the campaign
Having won the league in the week against London Lions, Real Bedford were kept to a draw at Crofters End as a relegated Sawbridgeworth side looked to finish their season on a high note.
Bedford travelled with a heavily rotated squad ahead of their Cup Final match with Cockfosters to take place in the week. With both teams seemingly having little to play for, their departures from Step 5 confirmed at either end of the table, the game had little spark throughout the 90 minutes.
The Pirates drew first blood however, after valiant work from Claston Gordon in the final third, the winger managed to pickpocket Sawbridgeworth and deliver a good ball into the area. Joey Evans was on hand to head it home to open the scoring inside 10 minutes.
Ben Stevens then forced a save out of Jack Dickson heading into half-time, with The Pirates looking in prime position to double their lead. However, the home side managed to keep Real Bedford at bay heading into the second half.
Second Half
After the break, Sawbridgeworth struck back inside the first five minutes off of a corner. Lewis Wicker put in a teasing ball into the Bedford box which was met by the head of skipper Marcus Dowdeswell who guided it past McGregor to draw the home side level.
Real Bedford then got their final chance with minutes left on the clock. Ben Stevens once again letting fly from range, with Dickson parrying the ball towards the path of Luke Knight. However, the Bedford skipper couldn’t get to the ball before the Sawbridgeworth keeper smothered it at the second time of asking.
The Pirates now head to Colney Heath on Wednesday as they look to finish their campaign with a win over Cockfosters in the Premier Division Cup Final.
RBFC: McGregor, Corbit, Agemoh-Davies, Ducket, Burgess, Knight ©, Watkins (Richardson 63’), Gordon (Ahmed 72’), Stevens, Hitchcock (Setchell 72’), Evans
Unused Subs: Wood, Longden
Sawbridgeworth Town 1 - 1 Real Bedford
20th April, 2024
Kick-off: 3pm
Location: Crofters End
