Bedford Town bowed out of the FA Cup in insipid fashion on Monday night (2 September) as Royston Town romped their way into the second qualifying round with a 3-0 win over the Eagles.
The Crows’ skipper, James Brighton, set his side off on the path to victory with a goal and an assist in the first half before Daniel Izekor snapped up his second just moments before full-time to put a seal on an abjectly miserable evening under the lights for Bedford.
Coming into this Monday’s tie settler, Royston and Bedford had become familiar foes, playing each other twice at Garden Walk over the course of August. Both of those matches ended in 1-1 draws, so on paper, the sides had nothing but a few league positions separating them.
Unfortunately, Bedford Town’s home advantage for this fixture was rendered purely nominal by Royston’s proximity to Top Field in Hitchin as finishing touches are made to the new pitch at The Eyrie.
Crows fans turned up in their numbers to will on their side in full voice, and it is safe to say their short trip down the A505 was by no means a wasted one.
Royston wasted no time in making their intentions clear for this cup clash as they bombed forward in the early stages with Tiago Nassunculo and Eunis Lievins deployed on the left and right wing respectively.
Much to their dismay, Royston failed to properly test Bedford’s stand-in shot-stopper Jack Marshall in the first 20 minutes who seemed unnerved by the occasion, especially when on the ball.
Eventually, the Crows dealt out their punishment for Bedford’s lackadaisical start via a corner.
The ball was swung in from the left towards the back post where Brighton was lurking to nod past Marshall from six yards out. Royston’s number three lapped up the celebrations from the fans behind the goal, but he was far from finished for the night.
Less than 10 minutes later it was Brighton again at the heart of Royston’s goalscoring threat. This time, following a limited and somewhat apathetic rebuttal from the Eagles, Brighton was on throw-in duty for Royston.
Much like how Sam Brown had done for Bedford just a week ago against Bishop’s Stortford, Royston’s captain launched his throw into a crowded box, this time towards Daniel Izekor, who brought the ball down wonderfully before finishing neatly on the turn to put his team within touching distance of the next round.
Toothless Eagles fail to battle back
With a goal before half-time something of a necessity for Bedford if they were looking to mount a comeback, they pushed desperately for just that.
The closest they came was a one-on-one for Connor Tomlinson, who opted to pass instead of shoot at the crucial moment; a decision he would come to rue when he looked up to see no across from him.
Despite a much-needed reshuffle in personnel at half-time – seeing the introduction of Jordy Mongoy and Henry Dudley – very little changed in terms of style. The Eagles produced a meek second half, void of an end product.
Royston, understandably seeking to see the game out as best they could put all but one man between the ball and the goal at any given time, making things extremely tough for a weary Bedford Town.
Rain began to lightly cover the unsheltered end inhabited by the Bedford Town fans, and hopes of a comeback began to to ever so slowly fade.
An effort from Rob Howard which ended up outside the ground left many Bedford fans with the feeling that it simply wasn’t their night.
As those in blue began to evacuate the ground, Royston added insult to injury in the final moments of a dour evening.
Ben Weyman found a way past Dudley on the left wing and reached the by-line. He picked out a pass across for Izekor who was patiently waiting to tap in for his second and Royston’s third.
A perfect way to end the evening in front of the Royston faithful for him and his team, but nothing more than a misery compiler for Bedford Town.
The Eagles go again in the league on Saturday away to Stratford Town while Royston progress to the second qualifying round, where National League South, Aveley stand in their way.
