Bedford are hit for four by high-flying AFC Dunstable

Bedford were beaten 4-1 by title chasing AFC Dunstable on Saturday as the sides met in a rearranged fixture following December's controversial clash.

The game was originally played over Christmas but Bedford had fielded an ineligible player, so AFC had to repeat the trip to McMullen Park to replay it.

First time out the teams shared an entertaining 0-0 draw, but this time Dunstable made no mistake in picking up the three points on offer.

AFC started on the front foot and dominated the game; they could have been three goals up at half-time but had to be content with a 1-0 lead.

Dunstable thought they had opened the scoring on six minutes when Josh Humbert put the ball in the net but he was flagged offside.

They eventually took the lead on 14 minutes when a Nathan Frater strike crashed against the crossbar and bounced down over the line.

AFC continued to batter the Bedford goal, with BJ Christie determined to add to his 39-goal tally for the season, as firstly he was denied by an upright, then a great save from James Woolf.

A fine run from Christie was ended by Ollie Swan, who was lucky to escape with only a yellow card.

The visitors’ domination did drop in the second half but anything the visitors could throw at Woolf, he was up to the challenge as he pulled off a couple of wonderful saves.

Finally AFC doubled their lead on 66 minutes, when Charlie Gorman released Christie who raced towards goal.

It was looking like he would be crowded out but somehow his determination paid off to clinch a 40th strike of the season.

The points were looking safe but on 80 minutes a neat move saw Bedford pull a goal back through Nathan Hilaire.

However, from AFC’s 20th corner of the game, Woolf misjudged the flight and Bill Morgan was on hand to open his account for the club with four minutes left.

A minute later it was 4-1 from yet another corner, Bedford failed to clear and substitute Jermaine Hall took advantage to complete victory.

The defeat left Bedford languishing at the foot of the SSML Premier Division table, but they bounced back bravely with a 5-4 victory over Leverstock Green on Tuesday night.

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