The Pirates Complete a League & Cup Double Beating Elstow Abbey 6-0 in the Beds County Cup Final

Match Report

21 Apr

Real Bedford completed a league and cup double, beating Elstow Abbey 6-0 in the Beds County Cup, Senior Trophy Final. Making the short trip to the Eyrie, the Pirates packed out the stands to watch Luke Knight lift Real’s second piece of silverware in a week.

It was a confident victory for The Pirates that saw them lift their second trophy in a week. The Spartan League Division One champions managed to put six past Elstow, including a rate hat-trick from Matty Clifford from left-back.

The game settled into a consistent pattern from the opening whistle, with Real dominating possession but unable to find a clear opening. Elstow, almost unbeaten at Step 7 this year, used their size and presence to thwart attempts into their box and hit back on the break.

Ten minutes into the game and Bedford thought they had taken the lead. McGrath’s header in midfield found Jordan Brown through the middle. The striker picked his spot well, only to be brought back for a tight offside.

Next, Tom Hitchcock had a crack at goal, but his deflected shot went out for a corner before Jordan Brown was brought down a few metres from the penalty area after running at the Elstow defence. Luke Knight and Matt Clifford stood over the ball, but the wing-back stepped up and bent the ball around the wall. The ball, fumbled by Pell in goal, went under his body and into the net, sending the Pirates fans behind the goal into delirium.

And it didn’t take long before they were celebrating again, albeit momentarily. Another Matt Clifford free kick was met by the head of Hitchcock and landed at the feet of Tom Wood. However, the linesman raised his flag, denying the defender his goal to double Real Bedford’s advantage.

Bedford kept pushing and got their second goal just before the halftime whistle. Curtis Hartley picked up the ball out wide, evading defenders with ease and curled in an inch-perfect cross towards Tom Hitchcock, who headed it home to complete a well-worked Pirates move, sending them into the break with a clear advantage.

Second Half

Elstow came out the blocks for the second half with a new intensity, pressing the Real goal without testing Tyler McGregor, who kept his 20th clean sheet of the campaign. But 10 minutes into the second period, things were starting to look bleak for Elstow, as defender Justin Newman looked liked he was going to be sent off for a blatant foul Jordan Brown inside the box left. The referee had no choice but to point to the spot, but to the surprise of everyone, including Newman, he only awarded him a yellow card. Bedford'd campaign, Luke Knight, stepped up and slotted it into the bottom left before heading over to hug chairman Peter McCormack behind the goal.

Things only went from bad to worse for Newman, as moments later, he finally saw red for a wild swing at Tom Hitchcock. The referee gave him his second yellow and sent him for an early shower, reducing Elstow to 10 men for the remaining 30 minutes.

With this in mind, Real started to open up and create some free-flowing attacking moves leading to Jordan Brown inevitably getting on the score sheet. A slide-draw pass from James Ducket found Brown in a Newman-shaped hole, and the striker glided through the Elstow defence before toe-poking it past the keeper to record his 29th goal of the season.

Soon after, it was Matt Clifford who bagged his brace. Claston Gordon, with some space out wide, found a perfect cross into the area, which Clifford sidefoot volleyed past Pell in goal to make it five goals with five minutes to play.

However, Clifford was keen to round off the night with a hattrick, and when a free-kick was presented to Bedford on the edge of the area with the clock in the red, it seemed inevitable that Matt Clifford would be taking home the match ball. The wing-back lifted the ball over the wall into the top corner, giving the Pirates the icing on the cake in a dominant display.

Real has one final game left this season, an away tie at Winslow United. If The Pirates avoid defeat, they will have gone the entire season unbeaten away. Join us this Saturday, 22nd April, at Winslow or follow the live stream.

RBFC: McGregor, Hartley (R. Ducket 81’), Clifford, Knight ©, Wood (Uttridge 76’), J. Ducket, Gordon, McGrath (Owusu 65’), Hitchcock, Culley, Brown.

Unused subs: Burgess.