MATCH SPONSOR - PUBKEY.

A dominant display saw The Pirates put four past FC Clacton at McMullen Park. The result sees Bedford play MK Irish on Saturday in the next round.

After a well-battled draw in the first game, there was tension in the air as the FA Cup tie had to be decided at the home of The Pirates. The game didn't disappoint and got off to a frantic start, with both sides pushing for the first goal in an end-to-end opening 20 minutes.

Both sides had chances to show their attacking prowess, but Bedford came closest to opening the scoring at the 10-minute mark. After finding space down the left, Mo Ahmed put in a low cross for Joey Evans, which he narrowly missed with his outstretched leg, but the ball fell to an onrushing Claston Gordon at the back post, whose first-time shot was saved by the right foot of Luke Avenell.

It wasn't long before FC Clacton were posing their own threat, and a well-worked corner gave Mekhi McKenzie a header towards goal; however, in contrast to the reverse fixture, he couldn't find the back of the net.

Moments later, Bedford found themselves on the counterattack, with Ahmed fouled on the edge of the area, giving Charlie Smith a chance to line up a free kick in a dangerous position. Which he converted in style, opening the scoring to the delight of the McMullen Park faithful.

After the goal, Bedford took control of the game without creating another clear-cut chance, so both teams headed into the break with all to play for.

Second Half

Mo Ahmed was forced off with a minor injury at the break, which saw the introduction of Ben Stevens, who made an immediate impact. A strong run from Joey Evans saw his shot blocked by Michael Okafor, but Stevens was on hand to bury the rebound into the back of the net with a clever finish off the inside of the post, doubling Bedford's lead.

With a clear lead, Bedford retook control of the game, but the next goal fell to FC Clacton against the run of play. Good interplay between Charlie Collis and McKenzie in the Clacton attack gave Jack Marshall a chance to get a shot on target, which was initially parried by McGregor but only as far as an opportunistic Teddy Collis, who smashed the ball into a vacant net to half the deficit between the two sides.

The goal gave Clacton a new dose of energy, with the team firing out from the restart and pressuring the Bedford players for the ball. The atmosphere changed, and it felt like Clacton may have the opportunity to equalise, but two minutes later, the home side restored their two-goal lead. With good pressing work up the field, Evans intercepted a Clacton pass before threading a pass through to Josh Setchell, who placed a composed finish under the keeper's legs in a similar fashion to his equaliser in the reverse fixture.

Moving into the last ten minutes of the game, Clacton then looked for their own response. Another corner proved tricky for The Pirates, as Oli Lamb's header forced an excellent save from Tyler McGregor in The Pirate's goal.

Soon after, Real put the game to bed with a second goal for Setchell. A perfectly weighted through ball from Lee Watkins found Jordan Brown on the flank, who drilled the ball back in-field towards an awaiting Josh Setchell, who in turn smashed the ball past Avenell in goal for his brace and Bedford's 4th of the evening and earning him the man of the match champagne.

The victory means that The Pirates will be back in action this weekend to face MK Irish in the next round of the Emirates FA Cup at McMullen Park. Tickets are available in advance on the website.

RBFC: McGregor, Gordon, Burgess, Wood (c), J.Ducket, Smith, Setchell, Corbit (Brown 80’), Evans, Hitchcock (Watkins 65’), Ahmed (Stevens 45’)

Unused Subs: Bozward, Hartley, Clifford, Taylor