Rob Sinclair’s Real Bedford side faced a tough replay to progress through the opening stage of the FA Cup on Tuesday night but passed the test with aplomb as his side dismantled FC Clacton at McMullen Park.
Read: Real Bedford face FA Cup replay but nine-man Kempston through
The second forty five minutes were particularly impressive for the men in orange as they go on to face Milton Keynes Irish – for the second time this season – in the Preliminary Round on Saturday.
The opening skirmishes were fairly evenly matched before Real found their stride, forging openings down the left flank and through Mo Ahmed, fashioning the game’s opening chance.
An Ahmed cross flashed across the face of goal, but no one was on the end of it until the effort was hit straight at the keeper at the back post.
Real could very easily have had a penalty in the opening stages as well, as two separate shouts were waved away by the referee.
Smith class paves the way to scoring spree
After Clacton spurned one of their few openings of the encounter, the game’s opening goal came on the twenty minute mark thanks to a moment of brilliance from Charlie Smith.
A free kick twenty yards out was floated over the wall and into the bottom corner, leaving the Seasiders keeper stranded and from there, Real didn’t look back.
The two sides went into the interval with Real 1-0 up, but that scoreline was generous to the visitors as the Pirates had the majority of the ball and the territory in a fairly one-sided opening half.
That disparity only grew further in the second half, as Bedford found another gear and set upon extending their lead.
The second goal came just before the hour mark courtesy of Ben Stevens; the substitute taking the ball from Joey Evans and placing home via the far post.
Clacton did get a goal back after 70 minutes as Ted Collis pounced on a rebound but any hopes of a comeback were snuffed out quickly as man-of-the-match, Josh Setchell scored the first of his two goals almost immediately from the returning kick off.
A couple of smart saves from Tyler McGregor did keep the visitors out as they pushed to get back into the game, but a second from Setchell put the tie to bed late on as Real Bedford came away 4-1 winners.
“We tore them apart in the second half”
In truth, Real Bedford never truly got out of second gear in dominating the replay that sees them progress in the FA Cup for the first time since Peter McCormack took over and revolutionised the club.
The thirteen FC Clacton fans who made the long trip from the coast on a Tuesday night to support their team were fairly vocal in the opening stages but were quickly silenced as their team could not find a foothold in a game where Real had the majority of the possession.
“We tore them apart in the second half”, said Josh Setchell, awarded man-of-the-match after the game for his two late goals that sealed the tie.
Real could have scored seven or eight, but missed chances late on as Clacton pressed to get back into the game but the final scoreline matters not as Sinclair’s side move on to the Preliminary Round, and now five ties away from the big time.
That Preliminary Round tie takes place this Saturday, once again at McMullen Park where Real will hope for a repeat of the league fixture at the beginning of the month where they ran out 1-0 winners against a strong MK Irish side.
