Saturday 30th December 2023, Kick-off 15.00
Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division
McMullen Park, Bedford
Admission: £8.00
Programme: £2.50
Attendance: 282
For my final game of 2023, I decided on a visit to a club which is doing things rather differently, and intriguingly, and who are in great form on the pitch. It would also allow me to complete my visits to all grounds in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division.
McMullen Park is about a 20 minute bus ride from Bedford bus station - which is about a ten minute walk from Bedford train station. It lies virtually adjacent to The New Eyrie, home ground of Bedford Town and current tenants Biggleswade FC. Indeed, that is what has put me off visiting McMullen Park before now, that I had visited the complex in 2021. A short lane takes visitors past the back of the New Eyrie, and to a kiosk, where admission is paid for and a printed programme may be obtained. The clubhouse is situated just beyond the entrance kiosk, housed in a raised portakabin which is certainly a busy environment, with a club shop set up inside, with a range far beyond what would normally be readily expected at this level, a mix of chairs and comfy sofas are spread out around the rest of the room, a TV screen shows highlights of recent Real Bedford games. and refreshments are available from the bar. Beyond the clubhouse, the lane continues down to the ground itself. All of the facilities are along one length, with a fairly small stand straddling the half way line, decorated in club colours of orange and black, with the left half continuing individual plastic seats and the right half containing bench seating. Further along, there is a converted unit which seems to have been a cabin at Luton Airport in a previous life, with a clock on the end showing when the next bus to the airport will leave. Inside, there are two rows of wooden benching. There is just hard standing around the rest of the ground, and with a busy road located immeditately beyond the opposite length, this certainly isn't a quiet nor peaceful venue, nor, in all honesty, was there a lot of charm about the place on a dank, overcast afternoon like today. Although the printed programme was on the expensive side, it was of good quality, in full colour, and had plenty of information to digest. An electronic version can be downloaded from the club website.
In their first season since the previous Bedford FC were taken over by Bitcoin entrepreneur Peter McCormack in 2022, the renamed club Real Bedford were promoted as champions from Division One last season, and are currently on course for back to back promotions, as they came into this game top of the Premier Division, following 19 wins and a draw from their 21 league games, with the solitary defeat coming in mid September, they have won their most recent games 0-7 away and 6-0 at home, and average almost four goals a game, having scored 82 goals. Cockfosters are one of only two clubs to have taken points off of Real Bedford this season, after securing a 1-1 draw back in August. They came into this game in ninth place, following seven wins and six draws from their 18 league games, and have games in hand on all clubs above them.
On a cool and dank afternoon, the long spells this wasn't the most exciting game to watch, with Real Bedford happy to play possession football and dictate the pace of the game, while Cockfosters seemed to be happy to let them have the ball and be solid in defence. But in the 14th minute, Real Bedford took the lead after a Cockfosters goal kick was headed back from the half way line for Joey Evans to run onto, and played the ball out to Mo Ahmed, who showed some good footwork to create some space before shooting low across the keeper and inside the far post. But the visitors would get back on level terms a minute before the break, when the ball was swung beyond the far post, headed back across goal, and George Lutaaya tapped the ball home from from close range.
The scoreline remained level until the 74th minute, when Real Bedford went back into the lead. The ball was lofted down the left wing into the path of Ahmed, he played in Archie Jones who, from a slightly tight angle, drilled the ball low past the keeper and into the net. It looked like that was to be the winning goal, until the 90th minute when out of the blue Cockfosters managed to get themselves back on level terms, Jay Lovell heading a corner home at the back post. But there was still time for plenty of late drama to come. Cockfosters had several opportunities to clear a corner, but were eventually punished for failing to do so, when the ball was curled into the danger area, deflected off a Cockfosters player and landed at the feet of Jones, who struck the ball low through a crowd of players and past the keeper. But Cockfosters still had time to come oh so close to a third equaliser. First, in the 97th minute, another goalbound Lovell header from a corner was this time headed away, and then, in the 13th minute of added on time, Reece Barrett struck a free kick from just outside the area against the crossbar via the fingertips of the keeper, and from the resultant corner, the ball was headed wide, with the final whistle blowing immediately afterwards.
And so Real Bedford's apparent relentless march to a second successive title continues, but Cockfosters gave them a real scare, coming so close to claiming a second draw against Real Bedford this season.
Video highlights of this game can be viewed by clicking here
