The Pirates produce a late winner against 10-man Harpenden Town
Josh Setchell once again found the back of the net against his former side to give Real Bedford all three points in a feisty affair at McMullen Park.
Despite Rob Sinclair’s men securing the win, it was the visitors who went a goal up in the first 10 minutes. After Joey Evans missed a one-on-one chance up one end of the field, a miscommunication at the back caused Brett Longden to play a ball into the path of Archie McClelland who slotted it past Tyler McGregor to give Harpenden an early lead.
Harpenden nearly doubled their lead minutes later, with Tyler McGregor pulling off an impeccable double save to keep The Pirates in the match early on. Bedford soon managed to get some chances going their way but couldn’t find a leveller. A long-range effort from Eddie Corbit and an off-target tap-in from Joey Evans proved little trouble for the Harpenden defence.
Mo Ahmed was soon causing trouble down the left flank. After being brought down by a Harpenden defender in the area, the referee decided against pointing to the spot, to the surprise of many around the ground.
The referee was in the spotlight soon after when a late challenge from Kyle Rahho forced the official to reach for his back pocket, showing a red card to the Harpenden defender, reducing them to 10 men for the remainder of the game.
With time still left in the first half, the Pirates continued to push for the leveller, this time with a man advantage. Joey Evans got two shots on target, troubling Eman Olajide in the Harpenden net but failing to find the equaliser.
With moments left of the half, Real Bedford’s final attack struck gold. Josh Setchell received a deflected pass on the left-hand side of the penalty box before laying it off to Brett Longden, who put in an in-swinging cross towards Joey Evans. Instead, the ball hit the head of Harpenden’s Ben Spranger, evading Olajide and finding the bottom left corner.
The Pirates nearly took the lead before the break as Charlie Smith rattled the crossbar with a thunderous free-kick from 25 yards out.
Second Half
The visitors decided to reinforce their defence with the lack of Rahho in the backline, resulting in Bedford retaining most of the possession throughout the second half as they searched for a winning goal.
Archie Jones made an impact off the bench, replacing an injured Mo Ahmed. The midfielder was awarded a good chance an hour into the match after a Brett Longden through ball. But Jones’ effort only smashed the side netting.
Longden acted as creator soon after, as his floated cross found its way to the back post, where Charlie Smith’s headed chance was inches off target. As the rain started to pour, Bedford had the clock against them in search of a winner. With 9 minutes left of the 90, Ben Stevens managed to play Eni Agemoh-Davies through. After evading one challenge, the substitute produced a wicked shot, with Olajide could only parry into the path of Joey Evans, knocking it into the path of Josh Setchell, who smashed it home at the back post. Setchell bagged his third goal against Harpenden this season, having signed from the club in the summer.
Real Bedford then managed to hold onto the lead, picking up a valuable three points heading into a packed month of fixtures.
The first of which sees the visit of London Lions to McMullen Park on Saturday. Tickets are available here.
RBFC: McGregor, Longden, Corbit (Agemoh-Davies 74’), Wood ©, Richardson, Smith, Setchell, Watkins, Evans, Stevens, Ahmed (Jones 66’)
Unused Subs: J.Ducket, Gordon, Hitchcock
Real Bedford 2 - 1 Harpenden Town
27th January, 2024
Kick-off: 7.45pm
Location: McMullen Park
