A wonderful second half strike from birthday boy, George Moncur gave Bedford Town their first points of the new National League North season as the Eagles beat ten-man Buxton 2-1 at The Eyrie on Tuesday night (18 August).
The victory is Harry Smart’s first competitive win as the Eagles’ head coach, but they were aided by a moment of madness from Buxton’s Johnny Johnston who was sent off shortly after half-time to gift the Eagles the ascendency at 1-1.
Bedford Town lost their first two games of the season against Oxford City and Darlington; the latter after conceding a 91st minute winner at The Eyrie on Saturday (15 August).
Read: Late Darlington strike condemns Bedford Town to home defeat
Their opening tranche of games did not get any easier as they welcomed last season’s play-off semi-finalists, Buxton to The Eyrie; a side many fancy to repeat or better last season’s exploits.
They have now won one, drawn one and lost one after a second half to forget against a Bedford Town team who began Tuesday night’s game in the worst possible fashion.
Sluggish Eagles punished immediately
Bedford Town’s sluggish start was punished after just one minute and 47 seconds.
When Bedford’s Anthony Stewart gave the ball away, leaving Joshua Pescatore to narrowly drag a shot past Laurie Walker’s far post inside the first minute, it looked as if the Eagles had escaped punishment for their sloppiness.
But it needed just an extra minute for Buxton to open the scoring; the ball working its way out to Johnny Johnston who cut inside, before finding the bottom corner of Bedford’s net.
The goal left Eagles goalkeeper, Walker furious with his half-asleep defence, and the opening five minutes were not to get better as the Bedford shot stopper was forced into an excellent save from Pescatore after just four minutes.
Pescatore also saw another effort blocked and Sisa Tuntulwana had an additional strike saved by Walker as Harry Smart’s men held on, but they were able to slowly work their way back into the game as the first half wore on.
Despite finding their feet, Bedford Town rarely troubled Harry Evans in the Buxton goal, whose only worry was a vociferous penalty appeal for a lunge at his namesake, Reece Evans that went unpunished.
That was until the first minute of added time, as Moncur and Josh Castiglione combined in the right channel to feed David Hicks, whose square ball across the face of the six-yard box found Evans who smashed home a first league goal of the season.
Johnston sees red
That left the game equal at a goal apiece at the break, but ten minutes into the second half, the initiative was handed to Bedford Town in bizarre style.
Buxton goalscorer, Johnston, who was already on a yellow card for dissent, flew into a late challenge on Hicks, which inevitably saw a second yellow card, leaving his side down to ten men for over half an hour.
From that point on, Bedford Town controlled proceedings.
Chances for Lewis Franklin, whose cross-cum-shot was kept out by a combination of Evans and a red-shirted defender, along with a scuffed volley from Moncur saw the Eagles’ shot count rise, before Moncur’s magic moment took Bedford Town into the lead.
Reece Evans found himself in space 25 yards from goal, but poked it into the path of Moncur who unleashed an unstoppable effort into the top corner of the net to send the majority of the 690 fans into raptures.
Buxton rarely looked like responding.
Their only chance came at the death, with goalkeeper Evans up for a corner, but the Bedford defence held firm.
Bedford Town had chances to extend the lead, only for substitute, Festus Arthur to lash over a good opportunity from six yards, before wasting chances on the counter attack as Buxton piled forwards.
Joe Payne, who scored a low free kick against Darlington on Saturday, couldn’t repeat his trick late on either, but it mattered not as Bedford Town held on comfortably to claim a 2-1 victory that manager, Smart will hope kick starts their campaign.
Bedford Town are back in action on Saturday (22 August) as they travel to Merseyside to face winless, Southport.
