Bedford Town pulled off the ultimate smash-and-grab in front of a densely packed 2,000 fans at Latimer Park on Saturday (16 November), snatching a last-gasp 2-2 draw through Carl Mensah to deny league leaders, Kettering Town.
Although Kettering – the club of the moment after a wonderful FA Cup run – will take solace in the fact that they are still four points clear at the top of the Southern League Premier Division Central, they will feel they have dropped two.
Before this weekend’s action, the Eagles sat in eighth, eight points behind their high-flying opponents Kettering. They needed a convincing response after an uncharacteristic 3-0 defeat to a St.Ives side currently languishing in mid-table.
Kettering Town are a team who have not dropped points at home since August, and once you step foot inside Latimer Park, it is easy to understand why.
It is an intimate yet atmospheric ground with the highest average attendance of any team in the league, and with an FA Cup second-round fixture against League Two Doncaster Rovers looming large, the Kettering faithful were especially spirited.
Shock lead
As anticipated, The Eagles came out to defend, inviting on Poppies pressure in the opening quarter of an hour and looking to pounce on the counter attack where possible.
After nineteen minutes of absorbing threatening Kettering attacks, pounce is exactly what they did.
Following some expert hold up play, Leon Lobjoit laid the ball off for the onrushing Gyamfi. He fed the run of Ryan Blake who kept his composure and slotted it past Jezeph to give Bedford Town a shock lead.
Unfortunately, It would be a lead they would hold for just seven minutes, as the will of the unrelenting home crowd was finally foisted upon the Eagles. Isaiah Noel-Williams was the man to deal the damage and he did so in emphatic style.
Following a throw-in on the right flank which Bedford failed to clear, Noel-Williams lashed in a half-volley from the edge of the box to please the increasingly impatient home support.
Bar the two goals, the first half offered precious little in the way of goal mouth action; a surprise considering Kettering and Bedford are the first and third highest-scoring teams in the league this season.
At half-time, an injured Leon Lobjoit made way for debutant, Ed Panter, a quick frontman who Bedford signed in the week from Biggleswade Town.
His intensity brought a new dimension to Bedford Town’s press, though attacks were still few and far between for the visitors.
The game was by no means tepid with challenges flying and tensions flaring as November’s mid-afternoon darkness settled over Latimer Park, but up until the final fifteen minutes, both sides lacked a certain killer instinct.
Nile Ranger’s departure from the field of play meant that there were no established goalscorers left on for either side, meaning that if there was a winner left in store, it would have to come from somewhere else.
Mensah pounces
In the 77th minute, the would-be winner for Kettering arrived.
It was Andi Thanoj, who after striding on to the loose ball outside the penalty area, wasted no time in finding the bottom left corner, beating a rooted Harrison.
Although the rapturous reaction from the home end undoubtedly irked the Bedford Town players, it also appeared to fuel them.
In almost stark contrast to their performance from the first 77 minutes, Bedford began mounting a serious and consistent threat on the Kettering goal.
With five minutes to go, the away contingent fans saw a Carl Mensah header crash back off the crossbar and perhaps contemplated the idea that it was not to be their day.
With fans of both teams beginning to filter out, a 96th-minute free-kick won by the persistent Panter presented a final chance of the game for the Eagles, who had been most definitely worthy of a draw.
In a truly suspense-building fashion, Bircham saw it fit to substitute Rob Hall on for the sole purpose of taking it.
It was a decision the Eagles manager would not come to rue.
Hall swung it in with speed towards the penalty spot where Jezeph was lurking to beat it away. The returning loanee, Josh Mullins kept it alive before Mensah swept it home from close-range to send the away end into a state of pandemonium.
Mensah himself celebrated the goal with some arm movement that was reminiscent of the wind turbines that sat just behind Latimer Park and a knee slide which was over almost as soon as it began.
Tensions boiled over following the full-time whistle with a large brawl breaking out between the two sets of players. Devon Kelly-Evans was shown red by the referee as a result and will now serve a three-match ban.
Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Alvechurch on 23 November who sit just a point above the relegation places which are currently occupied by Royston, Hitchin, Bromsgrove and Biggleswade Town.
A win for Bedford could see them rise as high as third.
