Real Bedford have been knocked out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle after a 1-0 loss in their first qualifying round replay at Bishop’s Stortford on Tuesday night (2 September).
Brad Russell’s solitary second half strike was enough to see Stortford through to the second qualifying round to face Hemel Hempstead Town of National League South after an evenly-matched 180 minutes of cup football in Bedford and Hertfordshire.
Read: Real Bedford face FA Cup replay after Bishop’s Stortford draw
Just three goals were scored across 180 minutes of FA Cup football between these two Southern League Premier Central sides, and unfortunately for the Pirates, two were against them.
This was despite a strong start to the replay; Saturday’s goalscorer, Josh Allen picking up a pass from Isaac Galliford before firing straight at the goalkeeper, before a dangerous shot from Obi Onyeagwara flew just wide of McGregor’s upright.
It was the home side’s only opportunity of the first half with Adam Hayton in the Stortford goal kept busy; his boot diverting another Allen chance before denying Ben Stevens.
An injury to Real’s Conor Tee punctured an otherwise chanceless first period, with the teams still deadlocked at the break.
Playmaker Russell the difference
Goalmouth action became more frequent in the second half as both sides continued to trade chances with Saleem Akanbi and Jack Smith missing the target for the hosts, and Archie Jones and Galliford following suit for Rob Sinclair’s men.
The tie’s defining moment came after 68 minutes and it came courtesy of the Bishop’s number ten.
Akanbi, who endured a torrid time in the first game, was key in the build up here as his powerful run into the box left Real defenders scrambling before he expertly cut it back to Brad Russell who confidently curled a shot into the roof of the net.
That goal came with a little over twenty minutes remaining, and in truth, Real didn’t look like taking the game to another thirty minutes until second half injury time when a succession of chances fell by the wayside.
Ben Weyman, Joey Evans and Tom Hitchcock all missed chances with the clock in the red, but the best chance fell to Ben Stevens whose excellent shot was brilliantly saved by an unsighted Hayton as Bishop’s Stortford held on for the 1-0 win.
They go on to face Hemel Hempstead of the division above on 13 September, while Real Bedford’s focus turns back to league action this coming Saturday (6 September) as they host Redditch United at the Ledger Stadium.
