EAGLES: Bedford Town 2 Farnborough 2
McDougald at the double as Eagles hold league leaders at the Eyrie
Bedford Town drew 2-2 with Zamaretto Premier leaders Farnborough at the Eyrie tonight.
Eagles led 2-0 at half time thanks to two Junior McDougald free-kicks but the visitors hit back to bag a point.
Midfielder Jamie Cole was sent off in the second half for a second bookable offence and there was a further blow after skipper Eddie Lawley suffered a suspected broken jaw.
Nevertheless this was another excellent point for Bedford as they attempt to distance themselves from trouble.
Farnborough are unbeaten away from home so far this season and the result follows on from Saturday's battling 1-1 draw with Halesowen.
Four of the division's top six sides have all failed to win at the Eyrie this season, with Nuneaton being defeated 2-1 while there were also draws against Brackley, Halesowen and now Farnborough. Other top six sides Bashley and Cambridge City are yet to visit Bedford.
But despite some excellent results, Town have tended to struggle against the teams around them and to be sure of avoiding the drop, they must start beating the so-called weaker teams, with this weekend's home fixture against Swindon Supermarine a massive six-pointer.
Manager Lee Howarth named an unchanged side from the one that started against Halesowen with goalkeeper Mike Armitt, who was forced off at half time in that match with a knee complaint, fit enough to return.
Driving rain and a pitch cutting up badly made neat and tidy passing football difficult, but it was perhaps a bit of a leveller, as Eagles took the lead on 23 minutes through striker McDougald.
A storming run from Callum Lewis was halted by a Farnborough foul on the edge of the box. From the resultant free-kick, McDougald slotted a low shot into the bottom right-hand corner to net his second goal since joining the club, his first at the Eyrie.
Good build-up play involving McDougald and strike partner Ian Draycott shortly afterwards almost resulted in Cole scoring for Bedford. But their lead was doubled on 35 minutes, in a build-up to the goal that was not too dissimilar to the first.
This time McDougald was fouled near the edge of the box and once again he took the free-kick, which appeared to take a slight deflection off a Farnborough player before ending up in the bottom left-hand corner.
Despite being two goals behind, Farnborough's quality was evident throughout and they posed a constant threat, with both Jack King and Dean McDonald a matter of inches away from putting the visitors back in contention before the break.
The second half was all Farnborough. They halved the deficit two minutes after the restart when McDonald's ball in from the left was hammered home by Adam Doyle.
And they levelled proceedings just shy of the hour mark with McDonald again the provider, this time crossing the ball in from the right for Gary Holloway to bundle home.
Bedford received further blows, with captain Lawley forced off following a nasty collision with a Farnborough player that left him with a suspected broken jaw and then Cole shown a second yellow card on 72 minutes.
The game became a bit stop start in the latter stages with a few niggles between both sets of players while Farnborough were applying constant pressure in attack in search of a late winner.
But credit to the Eagles who held out valiantly, with Armitt making a couple of saves late on to shut out the visitors.
At the other end, winger Craig Daniel almost won it for Bedford with six minutes remaining, Farnborough goalkeeper Stuart Robinson having to pull off a smart save to deny him.
The result sees Eagles move a point and two places above the bottom four ahead of Saturday's vital home match with Swindon Supermarine, kick-off 3pm.
Eagles: Armitt, Hole, Lawley (C, P Draycott 56), Miller, Darby, Wall, Daniel, Lewis, McDougald, I Draycott, Cole. Not used: Field, George, Peacock, Kavanagh.
Booked: Cole, Darby, Lewis. Sent off: Cole
Attendance: 222
Star Eagle: Junior McDougald
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Weather for Bedford
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
