Two goals in the final ten minutes for Basford United dealt a blow to Bedford Town’s fortunes on Tuesday night as Gary Setchell’s side fell to a second defeat in three days in Southern League Premier Central.
After a solid goalless draw against Needham Market in the final weekend of October – a side who may well have had one eye on an FA Cup tie with Burton Albion – Bedford Town will have hoped to jump into the top half with games against Mickleover and Basford.
What transpired however was two painstaking defeats, although the Eagles continue to hold their own in this new division, currently sitting in 12th place.
Sanders red card leads to defeat
Basford United are on the coattails of the play-off places in Southern League Premier Central and demonstrated their credentials last night with a 3-1 victory in Nottingham.
Luther Munakandafa gave the home side the lead after half an hour after he was gifted the freedom of the Midlands to slot home under Alex Street.
Bedford Town came out for the second half with renewed vigour however and equalised five minutes into the second half courtesy of a stunning Afolabi Soyemi-Ololade overhead kick, moments after the visitors were denied what looked a clear penalty.
The penalty decision was odd; a Basford defender seemed to tip the ball around the post in a decision that surely would have led to a red card and a golden opportunity to equalise in itself, but it was not to be.
From the hour mark onwards, however, Bedford Town’s lack of luck took another twist with a red card for Charley Sanders.
Described on Bedford Town’s Twitter feed as “dubious”, Sanders was sent off for an apparent elbow on a Basford striker leaving the Eagles with ten men to cling on for a draw.
Sanders himself commented on the situation after the game, calling the referee an “embarrassment” and claimed the home side “bribed their players” after play had continued.
The fight for a point looked to be going well until the 84th minute when Basford substitute, Tyreace Palmer scored with his first touch from the edge of the area.
Moments later, it was game over as a skewed clearance from Eagles goalkeeper went straight to Courey Grantham who proceeded to lob the stricken keeper from thirty yards to secure a 3-1 victory.
“We need a bit more know-how”
The immediate post-match reaction from Gary Setchell was one of disappointment, as much in the refereeing performance as his players’ decision-making.
“I can’t fault the work rate, the effort or the desire but what I can fault is the know-how. We’re missing good chances and conceding soft goals after long periods of domination.
“At 1-1, we were by far the better team. We’ve had a clear penalty, he [the referee] has ignored that. Their player reaction has got Charley sent off. If he’s going to go on player reaction, he has to give the penalty and that’s disappointing”.
The loss comes after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at high-flying Mickleover with goals from Stuart Beavon and Andy Dales either side of half-time giving the Derbyshire side all three points.
Bedford Town are back at The Eyrie this weekend as they host St Ives Town, who sit directly below them in the league table and will be hoping to bounce back to winning ways.
Rovers’ fortunes begin to subside
Kempston Rovers’ stunning start to the league season has taken a bit of a bump in recent weeks as they’ve picked up just one point from their last four games.
A 2-1 loss against league leaders Ware was followed up with a battling point at Biggleswade FC but perhaps the most alarming result came on Saturday as they were thrashed 5-0 at Cirencester.
The Walnuts still find themselves in a good spot in 7th place however as they travel to 6th placed AFC Dunstable this weekend, hoping to put a horror performance behind them.
Real Bedford continue to dominate Spartans South Midlands Division One, winning 14 of their 15 league games so far, the latest of which was a thumping 9-0 win against Raunds Town.
Tom Hitchcock bagged four goals with Kevin Owusu, Dan Walker and Andy Sinclair amongst the other goal scorers as they coasted to another victory in what is surely becoming a stroll towards the league title.
