Celebrations at Bedford Town will go long into the night after the Eagles beat Waltham Abbey 2-1 at The Eyrie to bounce back to step three football at the first time of asking.
Carl Mensah’s header secured the trophy for Lee Bircham’s men after an Aaron Eyoma goal had cancelled out Kyle Connolly’s opener in the first half.
A nervous energy encompassed the Eyrie pitch before kick-off, with promotion chatter on the lips of many.
Despite both teams battling all season long in Southern League Central Division One to be in the play-off final, this game felt as if it was a competition in and of itself, separate from any league disputes the sides may have had in recent times.
That being said, a short memory is a virtue not afforded by all, and before the game, it would not have been lost on those in blue and white what happened when they played the Abbotts at home in late March.
A last-gasp headed goal from Aaron Eyoma gifted Abbey the win that day; a result which, thankfully for Bedford Town, was followed by a month-long string of victories to lift them to the top of the play-off spots come the season’s end.
This time, the two teams met off the back of midweek triumphs in their respective play-off semi-finals.
Waltham Abbey emerged victors from a lengthy penalty shootout at Creasey Park following a 3-3 draw with AFC Dunstable, while Bedford Town rather less invigoratingly overcame Ware by two goals to one in a hard-fought affair.
Given that both sides were within touching distance of step three football, desperation was an inevitability on the pitch, and even more so in the dugouts.
The opening stages displayed elements of impetuosity, with misplaced passes and late tackles bringing into question both teams’ ability to remain composed under the pressure of expectation.
Connolly strike breaks the deadlock
As the dust settled, Bedford began to take control of the game and create more opportunities, with Prosper looking particularly promising in the middle of the park for Bedford Town.
The first guilt-edged chance of the half fell at the feet of Ryan Blake, and it was one that he should have capitalised on.
Leon Lobjoit released Liam Dulson down the left flank leaving him and Blake in a two against two in the final third. He squared for his strike partner who despite being Bedford’s second-top scorer this season, failed to beat goalkeeper, Bradley Robinson.
After another ten minutes of pressure building on the Waltham Abbey back-line, Kyle Connolly broke the deadlock in emphatic style. After having a baby on Wednesday, I’m not sure Kyle Connolly thought his week could get a whole lot better, but it did.
Waltham Abbey centre-half, Velasquez failed to clear, only managing to force it out as far as the edge of the penalty area into the path of Connolly who strode forth towards the ball and whipped it beautifully into the top-left corner to give Bedford Town a precious lead.
He celebrated fittingly, cradling his arms as a nod to his newly born child.
The Eagles had something to hold on to, and if history was any indication, they weren’t letting go of it as they hadn’t lost a game in which they had taken the lead since the middle of March.
Abbey fight back
However, The playoff pendulum would swing again, and this time, it would go the way of Waltham Abbey.
After responding well to conceding with long spells of possession and a couple of opportunities, The Abbotts managed to get level just before half-time, once again courtesy of Aaron Eyoma.
An Abbey corner floated into the centre of the penalty area but was cleared by Carl Mensah’s head as far as Ogunnowo, who delivered another cross into the Bedford Town box.
Mensah cleared again but this time in the direction of former Arsenal academy player, Aaron Eyoma who volleyed in superbly.
At the same end of the ground that he scored last time, Eyoma stunted early home team celebrations and sparked hope for the Waltham Abbey fans, who had sprinkled themselves across various sections of the sideline.
Just 45 minutes of an eight-month season remained for either team to turn the tide in their favour and snatch promotion.
The Eagles started strongly in the second half, and had Kieron Cathline not brought down Dulson as he closed in on goal, they might have had an early goal to show for it.
Calls for a red card from the Bedford Town ultras behind the goal were waved away and instead, the referee brandished a yellow for the defender.
With 15 minutes to go, it was looking decreasingly likely that either team would be able to muster up a winner before extra-time, however one arrived, and through an unlikely source.
A Bedford Town training ground corner routine was cleared away to the edge of the box as far as Josh Mullins, and he swung it back in for Carl Mensah who rose to powerfully head home.
The legions in blue and white behind the goal were sent into delirium, as those on the pitch wildly celebrated before them. Nothing was certain, and in fear of jinxing it, few said anything, but the fans and players alike hoped that would be the goal to send them up.
The final ten minutes brought about sweaty palms and squeaky bums for the home fans as Waltham Abbey looked to unpick Bedford’s resilient defence.
Few chances came though as the Eagles refused to be broken down, even in the six minutes of stoppage time which were added on at the end of the half.
As the final whistle sounded, fans swarmed the pitch in a frenzied rush to celebrate with their team. One regular ran over to embrace Lee Bircham at full time, a well deserved slice of appreciation for the Bedford Town boss.
Speaking to Bedford Independent immediately after the game, a delighted Eagles boss reflected on the long slog of a Southern League campaign.
“Its been an emotional season. We’ve had a lot of people go against us in a lot of ways, and we’ve had a target on our back this year.
“I’d rather do it this way than win the Championship!”
The celebrations went on for quite some time with the Abbotts departing the pitch looking rather dejected. On the other side if the play-off coin, it was smiles all round for the home fans and players who had capped off a campaign to remember with a huge promotion.
It is unknown what next season will hold for the Eagles, but if that performance is any indication it could be quite the year for them.
