Real Bedford extended their winning run to eleven games in all competitions by comfortably seeing off St Panteleimon on Saturday afternoon, maintaining their seven point gap at the top of the league.
Real have lost just one game this season; it came at home to St Panteleimon in September and while that 4-1 loss helped their opponents launch their title race, they have since fallen away to 19 points shy of Rob Sinclair’s side in fourth.
That gap grew to 22 points as Real Bedford set about securing another victory.
A couple of early half chances were saved by Linkon Marques in the Panteleimon goal but the deadlock was broken ten minutes before the half-time break.
Joey Evans pounced on a defensive error just inside the Panteleimon half and his pass across the face of the area found Archie Jones who squirmed his finish into the bottom corner for his third goal in two league games.
Bizarre second puts Real in control
Real’s second also came before the interval and in bizarre fashion as Marques picked up a back pass inside his own goal area, giving the Pirates an indirect free kick.
The ball was tapped to Joey Evans who duly smashed the ball into the top corner for his 30th goal of the season and the pressure didn’t stop into the second half.
Chances for a third came and went for Real in the second period, but it was only after 67 minutes that the game was put to bed as Josh Setchell’s cross found Ben Stevens unmarked on the penalty spot to slot home into an empty net.
Luke Knight added a fourth from the penalty spot after Mo Ahmed was fouled off the ball by Clayton Afonso to secure another fine afternoon’s work for Rob Sinclair and his team.
They remain seven points clear of Milton Keynes Irish who squeezed past bottom side Sawbridgeworth Town 1-0 to hang on to Real although the Buckinghamshire side do have a game in hand.
Ladies mount comeback to keep perfect record
The Ladies were also back in league action and faced second-placed Haringey in what became the toughest test of their season as they looked to increase their own seven point advantage at the top of Eastern Region Women’s League.
Haringey took an early lead after ten minutes but Gemma Croucher found herself on the end of a wonderful delivery from Lisa Milliken to equalise although the home side regained the lead just before half-time.
It was Croucher who would restore terms for a second time before Sophie Billing put Real ahead for the first time with a dramatic winner late on to maintain their 100% league record and extend their lead at the top to ten points.
Both sides are back in action next weekend as the Men host Dunstable Town, four days after travelling to the same side in the South Midlands Premier Division Cup while the Women face another away fixture at Kings Lynn Town.
