The Pitmen finally record their first away win of the season in the Southern Premier League Central to lift themselves off the foot of the table after a first-half goal blitz saw them take control of today's game at Bedford Town

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We all know that a week can be a long time at the RACE Stadium, with another raft of ins and outs taking place following Bank Holiday Monday's narrow defeat against second-placed Nuneaton Borough. In had come new goalkeeper Ronnie Hollingshead on loan from West Bromwich Albion, whilst winger Adam Livingstone had left for AFC Telford United, Tom Hewlett had returned to parent club Burton Albion at the end of this loan and, most notably, top scorer Leroy Lita had departed after expressing a desire to leave the club. This left player/manager Danny Glover with several decisions to make ahead of today's trip down to the New Eyrie, electing to make three changes to his side as Hollingshead replaced Aaron Clayton in goal, Tom Thorley came back into the side ahead of Kemy Agustien and Riley O'Sullivan made his first start in over three months as he came in for Lita

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Bedford - sitting sixteenth in the table at the start of play - had started 2023 with a 3-2 defeat at Royston Town, with manager Paul Davis also making moves in the transfer market in midweek to bring in Bermudan international goalkeeper Dale Eve on dual registration from Hereford, forward Will Owens on loan from Oxford United and right-back Kornel McDonald from Kettering Town. Eve came straight into the Eagles XI for his debut ahead of Max Evans in the first of two changes to the side that had started the derby game at Royston, with ex-Stevenage man Sam Dreyer coming into the side ahead of former AFC Rushden & Diamonds full-back Sam Warburton

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It had been a mild but wet morning in Bedfordshire, with the New Eyrie pitch slick and fast underfoot for both teams. Both sets of players struggled to get to grips with the conditions early on, with plenty of slips and trips on both sides. The Pitmen looked solid and confident on the ball, almost as though a weight had been lifted off their shoulders this week. Good early play from Todd Parker saw the talented midfielder play a one-two with Thorley and sent O'Sullivan away, only for an offside flag to halt the striker's progress in the fifth minute

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It took until the thirteenth minute for either side to record a shot in anger, with Bedford's Edward Gyamfi making a darting run inside from the right flank as he drifted past Harvey Portman before shooting from an angle but failing to get his shot on target and seeing his effort drift wide of the far post

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More neat play from the hosts a minute later saw Connor Tomlinson spray the ball out to Drew Richardson out on the left with a fine lofted pass. The ex-Luton Town man sent over a fine cross into the box but got a little too much on his ball, which was a touch too high for Howe or Sanders to reach

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Parker managed to find a pocket of space for himself to get a shot away for the men in white in the sixteenth minute, picking the ball up twenty-five yards from goal after a neat lay-off from James McQuilkin before lashing in a low shot that flew narrowly wide of Eve's left-hand post. Close from the former Wolves man

 

Good battling play from the combative O'Sullivan two minutes later saw the striker make a good run into space down the right as he picked up a knock-down from Glover and took the ball into the box but trying his luck from a tight angle and only firing his effort into the side-netting with Eve covering his near post

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Bedford went closest to scoring so far by hitting the woodwork for the first time in the afternoon through Charley Sanders in the nineteenth minute as Rene Howe's flicked pass sent his strike partner away down the right. The former Boston United man cut inside and drilled in a shot from a tight angle that came back off Hollingshead's left-hand post and bounced away from danger

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A well-delivered corner kick from Parker on twenty minutes gave the Bedford defence some issues in clearing their lines as the ball was allowed to drop in the six-yard box before being hacked away by Tomlinson ahead of both Glover and skipper Lewis Ison

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A foul on Gyamfi from Ison sparked a bout of pushing and shoving from both sets of players midway through the first half, with Ison and Saunders having words and were both promptly shown a yellow card for their respective actions by the referee

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Kyle Bennett - who had been the target of the ire of Hednesford supporters in the Nuneaton game - provided the perfect response on twenty-eight minutes as he gave the Pitmen the lead by getting on the end of a move involving Glover and Payne, with the Spennymoor Town loanee getting in behind Kai Phelan down the left and pulling the ball back into the box, where Bennett was on hand to fire into the roof of the net from a couple of yards out to record his third goal of the season

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Bedford almost conjured up a response straight from the restart as Howe clattered Hollingshead's crossbar with a shot from ten yards out that beat the young stopper but came back off the woodwork after Sanders' cross from the left to Richardson was cleared as far as the veteran forward

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A quick counter-attack by the away side almost caught Bedford out on thirty-three minutes as white shirts surged forwards after clearing a free-kick inside their own penalty area out to O'Sullivan, whose run and pass found James McQuilkin in space. The former Kidderminster Harriers man - who turns 33 on Monday - took the ball into the Bedford penalty area down the left but screwed his low shot wide of goal from fifteen yards out with an attempt the slot the ball into the far corner

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Richardson followed team-mate Sanders into the book on thirty-six minutes after scything down McQuilkin in midfield, prompting an angry response from the Pitmen and another bout of pushing after play was halted to allow the midfielder to receive treatment from therapist Shannon Kincade

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The Eagles were denied an equaliser by some smart thinking from Ison on forty minutes as a superb pass from Howe sent Sanders away into the Hednesford penalty area, with the striker's shot cleared off the line by the covering Hednesford defender to deny the hosts a certain goal

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This was to prove crucial in the game turning in the Pitmen's favour, as they pushed forwards in search of a second goal before the break. O'Sullivan's run and shot down the right minute later dropped kindly to Glover, who was guilty of firing wide from a great position ten yards out with only the goalkeeper to beat

 

The away side doubled their lead sixty seconds later with O'Sullivan grabbing his first goal of the season; taking the ball into the penalty area once more from the right after a fine pass from Thorley, the former Coventry United man dribbled the ball across the face of the penalty area before shooting from sixteen yards out, taking a nick off Phelan to give Eve no chance as the ball nestled in the corner of the net

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With confidence surging through the whole team, Hednesford added an incredible third goal to their tally right on half-time as Glover initially appeared made it two goals from his first three games since returning to the club as player/manager. A cross from McQuilkin wide on the left spotted the run of the striker into the six-yard box, with Glover diving and appearing to steer the ball home. On second viewing, however, it appeared that the ball had gone straight from the midfielder's cross and the goal was awarded to the former Telford man

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It had been a hugely entertaining first period from both sides, with the Pitmen finally finding their shooting boots in the second quarter of the game to hold a commanding lead at the break. Bedford elected to make an attacking change to their side at the start of the second half in a bid to get back into the game as Owens was handed his debut by Davis as he replaced the 36-year-old Howe

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The Pitmen continued to have the better of proceedings at the start of the second half as they looked to consolidate and perhaps add to their commanding advantage. On forty-seven minutes, a Parker corner was cleared as far as Bennett, who lifted his follow-up shot over the crossbar from eighteen yards out

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Another corner kick for the Pitmen, this time taken by Bennett on fifty-two minutes, was defended well by the hosts as Phelan cleared the danger ahead of the nuisance of O'Sullivan inside the six-yard box

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A long, raking ball forwards from Portman caught the Bedford defence out on fifty-four minutes as he turned and goofed the ball into the path of the striker, who took the ball into the Bedford penalty area before drilling his angled shot into the side netting

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Bedford skipper Callum Donnelly was handed a yellow card for a poorly-timed tackle on Parker shortly before the hour mark that flattened the midfielder before he could break into the Eagles' half of the pitch

 

Two minutes later, Bedford made their second substitution of the afternoon as the ineffective Gyamfi was replaced by the physical threat of Afolabi Soyemi-Ololade up front

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Good play through midfield from the Pitmen on sixty-three minutes saw Glover, McQuilkin and Niah Payne link up well, with Payne slipping past Phelan's slide-tackle to take the ball into the box before laying it off to O'Sullivan. The striker turned the ball onto his left foot but saw his low shot deflected behind by Dreyer for a corner kick

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With the rain lashing down on the pitch during the second half, play become slower and fewer chances came about as the half went on. Both teams looked to keep the ball when possible and avoid handing possession to the opposition to launch an attack. After all of the Pitmen's recent woes at the back, this was a game that they looked solid and comfortable in, with Ison marshalling the back line alongside the impressive Luke Redfern once more

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Sanders looked to get in behind the Hednesford defence on sixty-seven minutes but was adjudged to have been in an offside position by the assistant on the far side of the pitch as he raced onto a slide-rule pass from Joe Butterworth

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Glover elected to watch the remainder of the game from the sidelines as he removed himself from the field of play on seventy-two minutes as he was replaced by Agustien

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Bennett was the latest player to have his name taken on seventy-six minutes as the attacking midfielder was rightly booked for hauling down Donnelly in midfield

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Another neat passage of play for the Pitmen two minutes later saw them work the ball across from the right through Redfern and Parker and into the path of Payne once more, who tricked his way past Dreyer before firing in a low shot from the edge of the penalty area that was well saved by Eve down to his left-hand side

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Bedford brought on the notable name of veteran striker Craig Mackail-Smith for the final ten minutes of the game, as the 38-year-old former Brighton & Hove Albion and Peterborough United man replaced Richardson to make it three up top for the hosts

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Chay Tilt - who had recently returned to the club for a third spell - was given some valuable minutes of action by the Pitmen on eighty-two minutes as the former QPR winger came on in place of the tiring Thorley in midfield

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Butterworth tried his luck from range a minute later after a corner kick to the hosts was cleared as far as the former Stamford midfielder, whose first-time follow-up shot was deflected behind by Redfern for another corner to the home side

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It seemed as though Bedford were destined not to grab a goal this afternoon as Sanders was guilty of missing a great chance to score on eighty-five minutes. Owens did brilliantly to skip past Bennett and swing in a fantastic cross from the left that was met by the boot of Sanders at the far post, ghosting in behind the Hednesford defence to slide in and somehow turn his effort over the crossbar from a yard or so out when it looked easier to poke the ball home from close-range

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With three minutes remaining, O'Sullivan was replaced by Zac Hartley for the remaining minutes down the right flank after an impressive and fruitful return to action for the big striker following a long lay-off with injury

 

Bedford managed to deny Hollingshead a clean sheet on his senior debut with a late consolation strike as we entered added time; Soyemi-Olalade exchanged passes with Jack Keeble down the right flank before crossing to the far post, where Mackail-Smith's goalbound shot appeared to strike the hand of Ison and roll into the path of Sanders, who fired past Hollingshead from four yards out to reduce the deficit slightly

 

A well-earned and much-needed three points on the road for Glover's side, recording their first away win in the league at the fourteenth time of asking. They remain in grave danger of the drop despite this win, still eleven points from safety. A brace of home games follows today's encounter as the Pitmen play host to mid-table St. Ives Town on Saturday before hosting play-off chasing Ilkeston Town at the RACE Stadium the following Tuesday night

 

Bedford Town: Eve, Richardson ▆ (Mackail-Smith 80), Dreyer, Phelan, Keeble, Tomlinson, Donnelly © ▆, Howe (Owens 45), Sanders ▆, Butterworth, Gyamfi (Soyemi-Ololade 61)      Subs Unused: Warburton, Alban-Jones

 

Hednesford Town: Hollingshead, Ison © ▆, Portman, Thorley (Tilt 82), Redfern, McQuilkin, Bennett ▆, Parker, Glover (Agustien 72), O'Sullivan (Hartley 87), Payne      Subs Unused: Derricott, Williams

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