Bedford Town rose to tenth in Southern League Premier Division Central after a bank holiday belter against Bishop’s Stortford saw substitute Rob Howard swoop in late to secure all three points for the Eagles.
A first goal of the season early on for Bishop’s Stortford number nine Kian Harness stymied Bedford’s already faint hopes of a straightforward win at Top Field, but the Eagles were pulled back on track by a goal from the returning Leon Lobjoit on the stroke of half time.
Then, following a second half of slogging, straining, and sweating from Bircham’s men, right-back Rob Howard found the string from close range to provide the winner.
With just a day to shake off both the physical and mental effects of Saturday’s cruel defeat away to Harborough Town, Bedford knew coming into this game that it would be an uphill struggle, especially against a side competing in National League North last season.
Despite the quick turnover between matches, Bircham named an almost unchanged eleven from the weekend, with the two additions being Sam Brown at left-back and Leon Lobjoit up top.
He was absent from the squad at the Harborough Town game to see the birth of his new born child.
Bedford set out to lay siege on the Bishop’s Stortford goal in the opening moments and in return the visitors would hit on the break, crafting careful yet expeditious counter attacks. That tactic paid off just a little over ten minutes in for the away side.
A searching pass was launched into the left channel for Kian Harness to give chase to; he reached the ball before Bedford captain, Carl Mensah, who put in an over-zealous tackle on Harness and gifted Bishop’s Stortford a free-kick in a crossing position.
Stood over the set piece was a familiar for Bedford fans by the name of Cole DaSilva, who was a part of the Eagles’ 2023/24 promotion triumph.
His cross failed to beat the first man and was cleared to the edge of the box for Jack Taylor who struck one towards goal. That effort was blocked by Mensah into the path of Harness who wasted no time in dinking the ball over Bosworth to make it 1-0 to the visitors.
Town responded well to being on the back foot, putting up an immediate riposte in which Gucci Soulya played the role of conductor.
Lobjoit returns to the goalscoring charts
His willingness to receive the ball on the turn in tight spaces from Mensah and Green allowed him to set the tempo and create chances for the Eagles, one of which he might have scored himself.
Aside from the shot Soulya had saved by goalkeeper Binns, Bedford had a plethora of chances. Mensah and Blake each hit the woodwork on top of a couple of brilliant saves in a Bedford onslaught that ultimately ended in the equalizer.
Moments before the half-time whistle blew, Sam Brown had the chance to deliver a long throw into the box as a final roll of the dice in a 45 minutes where Bedford could have had three or four.
Brown set afloat a massive box-bound throw which Bishop’s Stortford failed to clear leaving Lobjoit to seize upon it and finish past Binns in a timely fashion for his fourth in as many games.
Safe to say it’s been quite the bank holiday weekend for Bedford’s number ten.
One would have thought that a goal before half time would give Bedford the propulsion they needed to go on and win, but Bishop’s Stortford’s defensive display in the second half was proving to be more bullish than anticipated for a somewhat worn-out Eagles outfit.
Goal-mouth action was prevalent for Bedford but to no real avail. Chances came and went for the likes of Blake, Simmonds and Lobjoit but the Bishop’s Stortford back line stood firm. Patience began to dwindle amongst the fans behind the goal and tempers began to flare.
The manager of Bishop’s Stortford, Steve Castle, was shown a yellow card for some of his unsavoury remarks aimed at the referee. Then a rather crude exchange of words and gestures between Isa Rotimi and the Eagles fans after a penalty claim upped the hostility.
It did seem inevitable that at some point Bedford’s suffocating grip on the game would bear fruit for them.
What did not seem inevitable was that the introduction of right-back Rob Howard from the bench would be a master stroke from Lee Bircham that won his team the game.
With three minutes of normal time to go, as there was when they conceded last time out, Gucci Soulya crossed the ball in from the wing towards Jordy Mongoy, a loanee from Hemel Hempstead.
His header was blocked by Jake Thompson into the path of Howard, who picked his spot and buried it past Binns, sending the adjacent fans and his teammates into raptures.
A couple of heart-in-mouth moments ensued for the Eagles, with Bosworth being called into action in stoppage time before Mensah was called up on to head one off line in the last minute.
All in all, a good place to leave things in the league for the Eagles as they now dive head-first into FA cup action away at Royston Town on Saturday for a spot in the second qualifying round.
