Real Bedford Close in on the Title with a Convincing 3-0 Away Win at Northampton Sileby Rangers

Match Report

23 Mar

A near-perfect performance from Real Bedford ensured a confident victory under the Tuesday Night Lights at Northampton Sileby Rangers. The Pirates put Sileby to the sword producing “one of our greatest performances of the season”, according to Rob Sinclair, in a 3-0 victory over the 5th-placed Northampton outfit.

Bedford displayed their dominance right from the outset with an opening goal courtesy of Tom Hitchcock. The striker, who is in fine scoring form, met a perfectly placed Dan Walker cross with an equally strong header, rooting the ball into the bottom right of the net to open Real Bedford’s account after just 9 minutes.

The chances continued to pour in for the away side as Northampton failed to record a shot on target throughout the whole 90 minutes. Dan Walker came close with a few chances on the edge of the area, and another Tom Hitchcock header troubled the Sileby defence; however, he could not record a second goal.

The next chance fell to Luke Knight, who managed to release a shot from range which, if it wasn’t for a deflection off the hand of a Northampton defender, was heading towards goal. The subsequent free-kick from Knight on the edge of the area was equally dangerous. Bedford was in complete control and unlucky not to be up by more.

With a few chances going awry throughout the first half, Dan Walker desperately wanted a goal, which came just as the whistle blew for the half. Picking the ball up on the right-hand side of the pitch, he cut in and unleashed a powerful shot into the bottom left of the goal, which was unstoppable for the Sileby keeper, doubling Real Bedford’s advantage heading into half-time oranges.

Second Half

Bedford started with the same intensity in the second half, and Claston Gordon was gifted a one-on-one opportunity with Northampton's keeper, which he, unfortunately, put wide. Moments later, it was Walker who came close to scoring again, and his effort was cleared off the line by a scrambling Sileby, who seemed out of ideas heading into the game's latter stages.

Lewis Burgess' throw-ins were also causing headaches; his long balls into the area frequently met by the head of Tom Wood and Tom Hitchcock tested the keeper from all angles.

With time slipping by, the Pirates added a final nail in the coffin score courtesy of the captain Luke Knight. His corner whipped around into the box and landed perfectly in the top right corner of the goal, a moment of magic from the skipper, who celebrated his 10th league goal of the season in style.

It was a monumental result for Real Bedford, who maintain their position as the only club in the country, having won all away games this season. A special note about Ben McGrath who put in a stunning man of the match performance in the middle of the park.

The Pirates continue their run of away games at Lutterworth on Saturday, 25th March. This game precedes their cup final against Elstow Abbey at Bedford Town on Wednesday, 29th March.

RBFC: McGregor, Burgess, Clifford, Knight ©, Wood, J. Ducket, Gordon (Owusu 89’), McGrath, Hitchcock, Corbit (Culley 89’), Walker.

Unused Subs: R. Ducket, S. Sinclair, Uttridge.