FOOTBALL: Eagles Monday verdict
Bedford are still embroiled in a relegation battle after losing to Leamington at the picturesque New Windmill Ground on Saturday.
Lee Howarth was forced into one change from the side that beat Rugby the previous Tuesday, with Rob Miller replacing the injured Stuart Wall, allowing Tom Hole to move into Wall's centre back position with Miller slotting in at right back.
It promised to be a long afternoon for the Eagles as Leamington raced out of the blocks, forcing three corners before the game was five minutes old. The first one nearly produced a goal when Matt Lewis, on the edge of the area, latched onto an attempted clearance to try his luck with an attempted lob, which Mike Armitt watched closely before tipping the ball over the bar.
Keeping the pressure up, the home side were denied yet again by Armitt, although the Bedford 'keeper didn't know too much about this latest effort. With the ball pin-balling around the area, James McPike stuck out a toe to direct it goalwards, and with barely no time to react, Armitt had chested it away for a third corner; but respite from the early onslaught came when Richard Batchelor headed wide of the mark from the set piece.
From this early barrage, the game settled down with the play centred more toward midfield.
There were a few niggly moments during the 90 minutes and with 25 minutes on the clock a clumsy challenge from Scott Lycett on Craig Daniel resulted in an angry exchange where the Leamington defender went down clutching his face, only to be given a yellow card by Mr. Thornhill, the referee, for a combination of the tackle and the adjudged play-acting.
With ten minutes of the half remaining, Armitt was called into action again when Lewis' overhead kick was batted away from goal by the Bedford guardian, who was also under intense pressure from Peter Faulds.
Bedford only mustered one effort on goal in the 1st half with Daniel's 25-yard effort, which went harmlessly wide.
The home side finished the half the way they started, but this time took a 1-goal lead into the break. With five minutes left a saving tackle from Miller denied Batchelor a run on goal, but the Leamington attacker wasn't to be denied, glancing a header past Armitt from the resulting corner.
Bedford started the second half brightly, with Daniel shooting just wide of the mark, and then Jon Darby's header was cleared away for a corner.
All this was in vain as the hosts went 2-0 up on 62 minutes. A cross from the right found Lewis in the box and the centre forward swept the ball into the net.
With 20 minutes left, Daniel cancelled out a crossfield pass, hitting a shot on the run that just fizzed past the right hand post, and five minutes later a long clearance from Carl Pentney evaded Miller with Lewis running onto the ball, but found Armitt in mean form as the Bedford 'keeper came tops in the one-on-one situation.
Two minutes later, Armitt denied Lewis again as the centre forward ended a move with a stinging volley.
With eight minutes remaining a Callum Lewis effort, from the edge of the area, was blocked by Lycett, but Bedford's best chance of the match came in stoppage time when substitute, Phillip Draycott, ten yards out, was denied by the legs of Pentney.
With eight more matches to go in March, Bedford have two midweek matches before hosting Oxford City on Saturday.
The Eagles travel to Nuneaton Town on Tuesday and two days later on Thursday play at home to Stourbridge.
Both games are 7.45pm kick off.
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Weather for Bedford
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North west
