Bedford Town are out of the FA Cup after a solo Trent Rendall goal saw Dagenham and Redbridge to a 1-0 second qualifying round replay victory against the Eagles in the capital on Tuesday night (16 September).
Rendall’s 17th-minute strike knocks Bedford Town out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle for a second successive season, and concluded two hard-fought football matches that ended with two more red cards in a fiery finish.
Tuesday night’s replay came about after Saturday’s 1-1 draw at The Eyrie, in which Eddie Panter’s injury time equaliser cancelled out Donovan Wilson’s first half effort in a game that saw former Liverpool striker, Andy Carroll sent off.
Read: Andy Carroll sent off as Dagenham and Redbridge hold on for Bedford Town replay
Carroll was in the starting line-up on Tuesday night; a rule in non-league football means suspensions for red cards come into effect seven days after the offence, and the target man was involved in the build-up to the eventual winner.
In front of a sparse crowd at Victoria Road that otherwise saw a decent away following, the game once again took some time to warm up; Tyrone Marsh firing over after six minutes, although the game’s ultimate winner came soon after.
A corner was flicked on by Carroll and met by Rendall who proceeded to turn the ball into the net, but this time, Bedford Town were unable to find a route back into the clash.
Indeed, a second goal looked more likely; Rendall found Sam Graham at the back post before the ball was diverted over, and Caleb Ansen denied Carroll on successive occasions with an excellent double save.
Double red card ends game on sour note
On Saturday, Bedford Town dominated the second half as Dagenham sat back to defend with ten men, and the second half of this encounter began in the same vein.
Eddie Panter, who was rewarded for his equaliser with a start on Tuesday night, was in on goal and denied in sensational fashion by Reggie Young; the man who gifted Panter his goal in a role reversal of Saturday’s calamitous equaliser.
Dan Barden was also on hand to deny a certain Bedford leveller as the Eagles pressed, and the second half was notable for chances for Marsh and Ryan Blake – as well as a disallowed Dagenham goal – before a flashpoint in the dying moments.
Barden was on hand again to keep Bedford out from a corner, but a melee ensued in the area which saw both Blake and Dagenham’s Paul Kalambayi see red in the third of ten minutes of injury time.
It was Dagenham’s fourth red card in as many games in what is becoming a serious discipline problem, but they go on to the third qualifying round of the FA Cup, while Bedford Town’s cup hopes now lie in the hands of the FA Trophy, where they will enter the competition in the second round.
The Eagles return to league action on Saturday (20 September) as they welcome Spennymoor Town to The Eyrie, as they look to rise out of the National League North relegation zone with a victory.
