Eagles Fail To Soar - Bedford Town vs. Hungerford Town

Dusk at The New Eyrie

Last weekend made a pleasant change as I was able to select a game where there was no need for a pitch inspection and there was never any doubt about the game being on. That game was Bedford Town vs. Hungerford Town in the Southern League Premier Division. Bedford had recently changed manager and the new man had lost two away in a row against Burnham and Stourbridge which extended there winless run to three months. Hungerford had the previous weekend lost to Conference South side Gosport Borough in the FA Trophy. I'd seen Hungerford just before Christmas when they were comprehensively beaten by Arlesey.

Kick off at The New Eyrie

Bedford have an early let off when the keeper misses the ball from a corner but Hungerford cannot take advantage. They are not lucky moments later when the referee awards a penalty to Hungerford who go one up from the resulting spot kick. Hungerford come close again shortly afterwards as a dipping half volley from the edge of the area which goes narrowly over. Midway through the half the Hungerford player rounds the Bedford goalie and clearly dives but the referee is unimpressed and the player is very lucky not to be booked. The Bedford keeper then gives the ball away and he is relived to see the away side waste another goalscoring chance. In the later stages of the half Bedford finally get forward and win a corner but nothing comes of it. Hungerford finally extend their lead just before the break with a close range finish.

One nil Hungerford

At the start of the second half there is a coming together of most of the outfield players and to the referee's credit only one player is booked. Hungerford come close to adding a third when the forward controls the ball with a great touch and the Bedford keeper does well to turn the ball around the post. With twenty minutes to go the lights go out to plunge the pitch in to darkness and I fear a repeat of the Gainsborough game on Boxing Day. Luckily the lights come back on and the first action after the unscheduled break is Hungerford missing a free header. Hungerford look to have put the game to bed with a volleyed third but Bedford score from their first real chance when the ball is tucked away after the initial effort hits the post. Hungerford come close to restoring the three goal cushion with a diving header but do get a fourth shortly after with a deflected effort.  

An early Hungerford coner

Trains to Bedford depart from St Pancras on a regular basis and both East Midlands and FCC trains do the trip. The East Midlands journey takes around half an hour while FCC takes around an hour. In Bedford Town Centre there is a cluster of pubs on The High Street in between Mill Street and St Pauls Square. I went to The Rose which was ok and had Sky / BT Sports for the early kick off. The ground is on the outskirts of town and the 73 bus from the town centre drops you off right outside the ground. The buses are every half hour and take about ten minutes. The club house is quite large and served bear from the local Wells Brewery. A special mention has to go to the woman behind the bar who helped me work out the times for the return bus (there is no timetable on the stop and they depart at 15 and 45 minutes past).

The full colour programme was a decent read and had extensive match reports from recent fixtures. There was also the best quiz in a programme this season.

Sun through the trees