Bedford Town tightened their grip on top spot in Southern League Premier Central, toppling old rivals Kettering Town 3-1 in front of almost 2,000 fans at a bouncing Eyrie on Friday night (21 February).
Two sublime goals in two early first half minutes from former Kettering frontman, Bruno Andrade fired the Eagles into a shock lead with Leon Lobjoit scoring a third for Bedford, before Kelly-Evans clinched a consolation goal for the Poppies.
In the lead up to this week’s promotion six-pointer, Kettering and Bedford had identical form sheets, with two losses and three wins in their last five respectively.
Bircham’s players have undergone something of a resuscitation since their 6-2 drubbing away at Telford, picking up nine points from their previous four games.
Following a formidable first half of the season, the visitors Kettering Town were beginning to show signs of fragility, picking up just three wins from seven games since the turn of the year.
Despite their patchy form, they sat just three points behind first-placed Bedford with four games in hand.
Andrade double sets the tone
The Eyrie was packed to the rafters in both the home and away end for a Friday night under the lights, making for an inescapably boisterous atmosphere. Noise billowed out from the away end long before a ball had been kicked, setting the tone for a lively affair.
Once underway, however, the travelling Poppies contingent were soon silenced, and by none other than Bruno Andrade, a player who donned Kettering red and black for the first half of this season.
Just six minutes in, The Portuguese winger skipped past his former teammate Connor Johnson on the edge of the penalty area before lashing his shot over Jezeph and into the roof of the net, providing Bircham’s side with the start of dreams.
The Poppies had barely kicked back off before Andrade was at it again.
This time, Leon Lobjoit lofted a hopeful ball over the Kettering backline and having wriggled free from another tussle with Johnson, Andrade found himself bearing down on goal.
The former QPR man finished the opportunity assertively, slotting it past Jezeph with aplomb to send his side into a two goal lead which he was all but single-handedly accountable for.
Inevitably, there was a response from the Kettering players who had been startled into life by Bedford’s unforeseen fast start to proceedings.
Two golden opportunities to reinvigorate Kettering fell the way of Terell Pennant in the ten minutes following Andrade’s second, both of which he spurned.
The Eagles’ counter attacks for the remainder of the half were sporadic at best, with their best chance falling the way of Lewis Hilliard. Unfortunately for the Bedford midfielder, Jezeph was equal to his effort.
Lobjoit third puts Eagles out of sight
While many might have expected a more subdued second-half performance from the Eagles as they looked to hold on to their precious two-goal lead – and an even more precious three points – they began with energy once more.
Andrade wasn’t done taunting his former suitor as he turned provider for Bedford’s third.
He played a perfectly weighted through ball to Lobjoit who made the finish look elementary, passing the ball into the bottom right hand corner beyond a helpless Jezeph.
That goal puts Bedford’s talisman up to 20 goals for the season, just one behind the division’s outright top scorer this season, Telford’s Matthew Stenson.
If there was to be so much as a sniff of salvation for the visitors, they would require a response almost immediately. Just eight minutes after Lobjoit’s goal, Kelly-Evans gave the travelling fans hope in an unlikely revival.
Sam McClintock, who had been Kettering’s brightest player since coming on at half-time, played an inch perfect pass to unpick Bedford’s backline before Kelly-Evans slid the ball past Jameson Horlick.
To add fuel to the Kettering fire, Carl Mensah saw red with thirteen minutes remaining for a clumsy challenge on the edge of his own area which lead to his second yellow card and subsequent dismissal.
Although that riled up the Poppies fans in closing stages, they never looked like scoring another.
The Eagles defended resolutely, similar to how they had done in the first half, frequently hurling bodies on the line to block Kettering’s advances.
In fact, the biggest chance in the closing half an hour fell to Ryan Blake as he saw his whipped effort rattle the underside of the crossbar.
The home supporters’ cheers at full-time were immense, signifying just how much the win means for Bedford as we approach the business end of this campaign.
“It didn’t feel like panic stations”
Speaking to Bedford Independent after the game, Bedford Town manager, Lee Bircham praised his side’s performance in beating league favourites, Kettering.
“It had everything didn’t it! We’ve done attack against defence in training for months now, and as for Bruno, I’m really, really pleased with him.
“I’ve tried to sign him a lot of times [in my career] but I finally got him in, and he’s brought into this group. He was brilliant today; two great finishes and could have had a hat trick, but he’s a great kid.
“I’m proud of all of them and they give me everything.
“Even when we went down to ten men, it didn’t feel like panic stations. We probably had a couple of chances on the counter attack as well.
“But that’s another game this season that will live long in the memory of Bedford Town fans.”
Next up for Bircham’s side is a home fixture against Alvechurch on 1 March, one of the many sides with an outside chance of a playoff spot.
For now, the weekend has barely even started and Bedford Town are able to celebrate being four points clear at the summit of Southern League Premier Central.
