Real Bedford BACK TO WINNING WAYS WITH VICTORY OVER NORTHWOOD
Real Bedford stayed within a point of league leaders Berkhamsted, beating Northwood 3-1 at the Skyline Roofing Stadium. Goals from Ben Stevens, Tom Hitchcock and Josh Setchell maintained the Pirates’ 100% away record in the Pitching In Southern League Division One Central.
Northwood came into the match after four wins in their last seven league matches, but the Pirates still dominated the early stages. After only five minutes, Bedford found themselves ahead through Stevens. A perfectly weighted ball from Lee Watkins found Setchell on the right wing, whose cutback to the middle of the box was calmly finished by Stevens.
Bedford doubled their lead five minutes later. Setchell put Callum Nicolson through, and his low cross was poked home by Hitchcock for his second goal in 2 weeks. Bedford continued to dominate possession after the second goal, with Setchell providing a constant threat down the right-hand side. It wasn’t until the 34th minute that Northwood registered their first shot on target as Cassius Joseph’s low shot was easily saved by Tyler McGregor.
Despite the home side coming back into the game, Bedford extended their advantage eight minutes before half-time. After a string of passes in the middle of the pitch, Hitchcock laid the ball to Stevens, whose shot struck the post. The rebound fell to Setchell, though, who scored from close range to put Bedford 3-0 up at the break.
Second Half
Bedford’s superiority continued after the interval, with Drew Richardson dictating the play in front of the defence. Richardson was awarded man of the match for the second week in a row following his impressive performance against Hadley last week.
Chances for the Pirates were largely coming down the left-hand side with Eniola Agemoh-Davies testing Northwood’s backline. Just before the hour mark, the left wing-back’s cross just evaded the head of Hitchcock as Bedford continued to control the match.
The Pirates struggled to create any clear-cut chances as the half continued, and a counter-attack in the 78th minute saw Northwood’s Nnaemeka Anyanwu awarded a penalty after he was tripped by Jack Morrell. Troy Perez-Duah slotted the spot-kick down the middle of McGregor’s goal, ending any hopes of a clean sheet on the road.
The match ended 3-1 to Bedford, a result that leaves The Pirates in second place behind Berkhamsted ahead of next weekend’s top-of-the table clash at The Ledger Stadium.
The Pirates host Berkhamsted in the league on Saturday 7th December. Tickets for the match are available here.
RBFC: McGregor, Morrell, Soile, S. Ward, Richardson, Agemoh-Davies (Galliford 84’), Nicolson(Ward 84’), Watkins (Jones 73’), Stevens, Setchell, Hitchcock (Evans 73’).
Unused subs: Longden.
Northwood 1 - 3 Real Bedford
30th November, 2024
Kick-off: 3pm
Location: Skyline Roofing Stadium.
