Crows knock Eagles off their perch in five-goal thriller

The Eagles were defeated in Paul Davis’ first game in charge after a 3-2 loss to Royston Town. Bedford came from 1-0 down and brought it back to 1-2 but a comeback from the Crows ensured that they got the three points.

The game got off to a slow start, but the Eagles had a decent chance. The ball was threaded through to Edward Gyamfi whose shot hit the crossbar giving the Royston Town defence a scare. This would not have mattered anyway as the linesman flagged the chance offside.

Moments later, Royston took the lead. The ball was floated into the back post where Shomari Barnwell was lurking and he headed home to give the Crows an important lead.

Shomari Barnwell could have had a second goal in the thirty-ninth minute after his acrobatic effort rebounded off the Bedford Town post. A lucky let off for the Eagles.

The game continued to be a cagey one as time ticked away but Bedford found an equaliser just before half time. This goal came from a corner which was half-cleared to the edge of the box where Joe Butterworth finished well to level the scoreline. There was further pressure from the Eagles before the interval, but no goals came as the half time score was 1-1.

The second half got off to a great start for Bedford Town as the Eagles took the lead. There was some pinball in the Royston box as the ball fell to Connor Tomlinson who tucked the ball home to put the Eagles ahead.

Bedford continued to knock on the door for a third goal but this was cancelled out by a Royston Town equaliser. A long shot by a Crows midfielder rebounded off the crossbar to Kian Harness who tapped in to the empty goal to level things up.

For the final twenty minutes, the game could have gone either way. Unfortunately for the Eagles, it went Royston’s way. With six minutes of regular time to play, a free kick was smashed up the field and this forced Bedford Town goalkeeper Max Evans to lose sight of the ball in the sun and Matthew Bateman managed to sneak in and put Royston back ahead. The Crows held on and won 3-2.

An unlucky start to life under Paul Davis for the Eagles as Bedford Town drop into fifteenth place. Next up, the Eagles welcome struggling Hednesford Town to the Eyrie in a big match for both sides.