Real Bedford Lose Unbeaten League Record at Home to St. Panteleimon
The Pirates experienced their first league defeat of the season on Saturday, falling 4-1 at home to St. Panteleimon. An own goal from the visitors wasn't enough to keep Bedford in the fight, as two late goals punished Rob Sinclair's men in a cagey affair.
The Pirates experienced their first league defeat of the season on Saturday, falling 4-1 at home to St. Panteleimon. An own goal from the visitors wasn't enough to keep Bedford in the fight, as two late goals punished Rob Sinclair's men in a cagey affair.
St. Panteleimon only took 8 minutes to get on the score sheet. Courtney Massey intercepted a loose pass at the back from Luke Knight and took his time to line up a powerful shot, beating Tyler McGregor to fire the away side into an early lead.
Four minutes later, the Pirates were back on level terms. Goalkeeper Tyler McGregor quickly launched a counterattack following a St. Panteleimon corner, and after some well worked hold up play from Mo Ahmed, the ball was sprayed out wide to Ben Stevens. The winger delivered a cross, which was met by the head of the Saints defender Renzo Alves, misdirecting the keeper as the ball flew into the back of the St. Panteleimon net.
St. Panteleimon didn't take long to restore their lead. A direct run into the area from Flavio Gyanu resulted in a shot parried by Tyler McGregor only as far as Javarn Bernard, who was then taken down in the area by Luke Knight, resulting in the referee pointing to the spot. Courtney Massey dispatched the spot kick despite McGregor's best efforts, putting the away side back into the lead before the break.
Second Half
Bedford seemed to start the second half with fighting spirit, leading to their first chance of the half just four minutes after the restart. A strong run from James Ducket down the flank put Mo Ahmed in space, who crossed to Archie Jones, who hit the target but not with enough force to test Lincoln Marques in the St. Panteleimon goal.
Bedford were soon in again, this time off a set piece. A quick corner from Lee Watkins left Ben Stevens with time to pick out a cross toward the Saints box, finding Lewis Burgess, whose header struck the crossbar, leaving Real Bedford fans with their heads in their hands. The chances kept coming for The Pirates, and moments later, James Ducket's header was inches away from finding the target off of another well-worked Bedford move.
However, St. Panteleimon absorbed the threats well and were clinical in attack, and a swift counterattacking play saw Hamza Miezou and Flavio Gyawu link up, with the latter smashing the ball past McGregor at the second time of asking to double the visitor's lead.
The final goal was to come late on in the game, as Real Bedford desperately pushed for a goal to drag themselves back into the game. On another counter, Joao Praes took a gamble at the other end of the pitch, hitting a long-range shot from outside the area, which flew past McGregor for a spectacular fourth Saints goal.
Real Bedford faces Flackwell Heath on Saturday in an all-important FA Vase clash. Tickets are available here.
RBFC: McGregor, J.Ducket (Corbit 75’), Burgess, Wood, Knight (c), Smith, Stevens (Setchell 70’), Watkins, Evans, Jones, Ahmed
Unused Subs: Gordon, Clifford, Bozward
Real Bedford 1 - 4 St. Panteleimon
9th September, 2023
Kick-off: 3pm
Location: McMullen Park
