The Pirates put four past third-placed St Panteleimon
Two goals in each half were enough to see Real Bedford avenge their only league defeat this season, beating St. Panteleimon away from home after losing in the reverse fixture.
The visitors boasted the lion's share of possession and chances. The first chance came after some good interplay between Ben Stevens and Mo Ahmed on the left flank, which allowed Stevens to cut in and release a shot. After taking a heavy deflection off Joib Adeyemi, St Panteleimon's shot stopper, Layton Marques, was on hand to collect the chance.
Ben Stevens continued to cause problems for the hosts, stealing the ball in the final third 5 minutes later. This time, he found Joey Evans, who weaved away from defenders to create a chance on the edge of the area, but Marques was again on hand to parry it away for a corner.
St. Panteleimon's best chance of the half came off of set piece. A free kick on the right wing whipped in by Walid Hirsi found Clayton Afonso in the box. His header was comfortably collected by Tyler McGregor, who managed to keep his 15th clean sheet of the season.
Up the other end of the field, Real Bedford finally found the back of the net just after the 30-minute mark. After Drew Richardson won a header in midfield, the ball fell to Joey Evans, who predicted the ball's bounce, deceiving St. Panteleimon defenders and allowing the striker to get in behind the defence. Evans then found Jones in the box, whose scuffed shot glanced inside the post before crossing the line and giving The Pirates a first-half lead.
In unusual circumstances, The Pirates doubled the lead just before the break. After relentless pressure from the Real Bedford attack, Joib Adeyemi passed the ball back to Linkon Marques, who picked it up, triggering the rarely spotted 'back pass' rule and an indirect free-kick for The Pirates 5 yards from the St.Panteleimon goal. After some conferring, Ben Stevens rolled the ball towards Joey Evans, who smashed it home despite the 11 St. Panteleimon players on the goal line.
Second Half
Real Bedford dominated the second half, keeping the ball inside St. Panteleimon's half. Luke Knight set up Joey Evans early on in the half, forcing a superb save out of Marques. Josh Setchell was also proving to be a constant menace for the hosts and, on multiple occasions, managed to weave his way towards the by-line.
Just after the hour mark, a good run from Setchell allowed him to cut the ball back to Ben Stevens, who was unmarked on the penalty spot. The midfielder stroked it home for his 30th goal of the campaign. Those two linked up once more five minutes later, this time Setchell putting in a floated cross towards the head of Stevens, but he couldn't find a brace, with the ball glancing wide of the post.
However, Bedford did get a fourth goal late on and again, in unusual fashion. After a lovely floated pass from Charlie Smith found Josh Setchell on the edge of the area, Mo Ahmed was brought down by Clayton Afonso in the box away from the ball. The St. Panteleimon captain smashed Ahmed off the ball and proceeded to go down, injuring himself. Nevertheless, the referee pointed to the spot, giving Luke Knight a chance to add to his tally from 12 yards. Real Bedford's captain smashed it top left to confirm all three points would be leaving North London.
Real Bedford face Dunstable Town next in the league. Tickets are available here.
RBFC: McGregor, Wood, Burgess, Richardson, Knight ©, Smith, Setchell, Jones (Corbit 87’), Stevens, Evans, Ahmed (Gordon 87’)
Unused Subs: Walsh, Bozward, J.Ducket
St Panteleimon 0 - 4 Real Bedford
13th January, 2024
Kick-off: 3pm
Location: Potters Bar Stadium
