Bedford Town 1 Aylesbury FC 0

The Moles travelled to the Eyrie expecting a tough test again Bedford Town

Report by Dan Legg

The hosts had been more of a match for Chesterfield in the FA Trophy just days prior. Aylesbury would have taken a lot of positives from Saturday’s game against AFC Dunstable though, despite injury time heartbreak in what was an entertaining 4-3 defeat.

With an ever-growing injury list and multiple players unavailable, Paul Bonham was forced into playing squad members out of position, whilst also handing Under-18’s George Scott his first senior start at left-back.

The Moles started the first half the stronger of the two sides, with the Eagles clearly still hungover from their FA Trophy escapades. Ryan Young showed good pace on the left flank to win an early corner, the winger took the kick himself almost setting up Brian Haule for an early lead. Ashlee Jones in the Bedford net had initially misread the floating ball and Haule himself was clearly stunned that the ball had reached him, unable to react to the ball at his feet Jones had time to recover and collect the ball at the front post.

This early scare clearly rattled the hosts, and they soon took a foothold in the game, controlling the match in midfield. Nathan Frater was unfortunate to not put Bedford ahead, after his low shot took a slight deflection off Derek Feyi, with the far post coming to the Moles’ rescue.
The hosts continued to pile on the pressure, with efforts from both Callum Donnelly and Morgan Penfold both expertly denied by the legs of Nick Bennion.

The endless waves of attacks finally took their toll on the Aylesbury back line, as on 33 minutes the Eagles took a deserved lead. Frater’s rasping volley was too hot to handle for Bennion who did well to stop the initial effort but was unable to stop Oluwole Akinsanya from tapping home for a goal on his Bedford Town debut.

Harry Scott was forced off injured late into the first period, with his replacement Bruno Brito almost assisting a fine goal. The Portuguese forward switched the ball to Ryan Young who turned on the afterburners and beat Lewis Freestone with ease, unfortunately, the shot didn’t quite match the quality of the run and Jones had the driven effort covered at the front post.

Half Time – Bedford Town 1 FC 0

In all honesty, the second half was a rather dull affair, with both sides displaying great work rates in the centre of the park, but neither side rarely threaten to go forward, resulting in zero shots on target. The only chance of any real note fell to Bedford Town substitute Connor Furlong, who with fresh legs got the better of Sam Odusoga before slamming his effort into the side netting from a tight angle.

Full Time – Bedford Town 1 FC 0
Aylesbury FC MOTM – Nick Bennion