Real Bedford beat Harpenden in cold conditions
With heavy fog and a strong breeze, The Pirates secured the away win with 4 late goals at Rothamstead Park.
Real Bedford beat Harpenden in wintery conditions.
With heavy fog and a strong breeze, The Pirates secured another away win with four late goals at Rothamstead Park.
The game started brightly as Rob Sinclair’s men scored within the opening 5 minutes for the second time in a week. Charlie Smith found Eddie Corbit in space on the right flank, where the wing-back cut the ball back into the area towards Tom Hitchcock. The striker could not make contact with the ball. Instead, it found Ben Stevens on the edge of the area, who smashed it home for an early lead.
Real Bedford kept up the domination with the lion’s share of possession. The next chance fell to Charlie Smith off of a free-kick. The acrobatics of the Harpenden keeper denied the midfielder.
More chances fell to The Pirates as Harpenden proved impatient. A late challenge on Eddie Corbit towards the end of the half sparked a dispute between the two sides. The result was a Luke Knight sin bin, which saw Bedford’s skipper spend the rest of the half on the sideline, putting the visitors at a disadvantage.
Second Half
A replenished Real Bedford returned to the field for the second half in search of a crucial goal to extend their lead. Ten minutes after the break, Mo Ahmed was through one one-on-one with the keeper. A heavy touch from the winger invited Eman Olajide to come off his line and collide with Ahmed just inside the area. Despite some consideration, the referee waived away any penalty shouts, to the surprise of The Pirates’ travelling fans.
However, Bedford would soon find their second through Josh Setchell. The former Harpenden Town player put his old team to the sword with two identical goals within 3 minutes of each other. With space provided to him down the left flank, the winger dispatched two finesse goals past the keeper to put the visitors out of sight with 10 minutes to play.
Real weren’t done there, and a few minutes later, Setchell was in again. Olajide saved his shot this time, but the ball fell to Stevens, who poked it home for his brace.
A cameo appearance at right wing-back for Tom Wood also proved fruitful. After fellow replacement Archie Jones hit the woodwork with a one-on-one chance late in the game, Wood followed up with a good effort that flew past Olajide to make it 5 for Bedford on the day.
Real continue their road trip with a visit to Dunstable Town on Saturday.
RBFC: McGregor, Corbit (Wood 85’), Swain, Knight ©, Richardson, Smith, Setchell, Watkins, Hitchcock (Sinclair 89’), Stevens (Jones 81’), Ahmed
Unused Subs: Burgess, J.Ducket
Harpenden Town 0 - 5 Real Bedford
2nd December, 2023
Kick-off: 3pm
Location: Rothamstead Park
