A rare Sunday afternoon game in the Greene King IPA Championship resulted in a narrow win for tenth placed Nottingham in the Midlands as they held on to claim a vital victory.
Nottingham had lost five of their previous six league games; a solitary scalp at Richmond all they had to show for their last couple of months’ work but narrowly took the spoils in a combative game at the Bay.
Windy conditions helped neither side throughout the course of the afternoon but it was Bedford who took the lead just three minutes in as Alex Day finished off a smart move to dot down.
That would be the only time Mike Rayer’s men would lead however as a Nottingham maul before ten minutes were on the clock levelled the scoreboard, and with Hollingsworth adding the extras, the hosts went into a lead they would never give up.
Ten minutes later, Nottingham doubled their try count as Nathan Tweedy gained his second of the afternoon out wide but the conditions were impacting both sides as they set about each other’s territory.
One man who stood out for the Blues was Kayde Sylvester; the former Bedford School student going about his work smartly and with great effect and he was rewarded with his first try in Blues colours on the half hour mark.
A big carry from the huge forward paid dividends as he crashed over to reduce the deficit to four points and with Maisey nailing the conversion, the scoreline stood at 14-12.
A try before half-time for the hosts opened up a decent lead once more though; as Ryan Olowofela ran in from a Blues mistake to open up a nine-point advantage at the interval.
So near yet so far
Bedford were not going to abandon their playing style, and they found their way back into the game thanks to a wonderful piece of play from Joel Matavesi, allowing George Hendy to run it in and reduce the deficit once again to four points.
A yellow card for Seán French didn’t help matters; the in-form winger sent to the bin for a high tackle although Nottingham couldn’t extend their lead with a man advantage.
However, Sam Hollingsworth did just that with fifteen minutes remaining, chasing down his own kick to extend Nottingham’s lead to 26-17.
Despite French scoring his 15th try of the season shortly after in what is turning into a wonderful campaign for the Irishman, the Blues could not find the match-winning score to gain their fourth consecutive success.
That’s not to say Bedford didn’t have their opportunities in the closing stages but knock-ons at vital times hampered them and they ultimately ran out of time, with Nottingham running out 26-24 winners.
The Blues take two points back to Goldington Road but are now four points behind third-placed Coventry having played a game more, with tough tests to come in April.
Bedford host league leaders Ealing at Goldington Road next Saturday before welcoming Jersey a fortnight later, and with Coventry still to face plus an always tricky battle at Ampthill, Mike Rayer’s men face a tough close to the Championship season.
Elsewhere this weekend, Ealing thrashed Cornish Pirates 50-12, while Jersey scored 64 unanswered points at Richmond as the top two continue their epic battle for the Championship title.
Coventry remain third after winning a compelling battle at Doncaster 45-39, while Caldy beat bottom side, London Scottish 26-19 and Ampthill squeezed past Hartpury on Friday night.
