Late Tee Goal Seals Win Over Step Two Opposition
By Will Murray
Real Bedford made it four wins out of four in pre-season, beating National League South side, Hampton & Richmond Borough, 2-1 at the Ledger Stadium. Josh Allen and Conor Tee scored the goals for the Pirates.
Rob Sinclair’s side dominated the first half in front of a 246 crowd, with Ben Stevens and Archie Jones creating several opportunities. Stevens and Allen both came close in the first 15 minutes but narrowly missed the target.
Despite the Pirates’ superiority, the visitors came closest to opening the scoring in the 28th minute, when their number seven was sent through after a defensive mix-up. He was denied by Tyler McGregor, though, who made a sharp stop from point-blank range. The rebound fell to the same player, but his first-time header dropped inches wide of the left post.
A minute later, the Pirates had a golden opportunity of their own. Allen cut the ball back to Ben Weyman inside the box, who the goalkeeper somehow denied from six yards away.
Real Bedford continued to push forward in search of the opener and were rewarded for their persistence in the 36th minute through Allen. Isaac Galliford, who played in a deeper midfield role, played a lofted through ball to Jones, who found Allen. The new signing then hit a low left-footed shot into the bottom right corner to give the Pirates a deserved lead at half-time.
Second Half
The Beavers pressed higher and looked to force Sinclair’s side into mistakes early in the second half. They were nearly rewarded a minute after the break when their number nine saw his deflected error drop onto McGregor’s crossbar.
Hampton & Richmond equalised nine minutes later when a header at the backpost was headed across the box to Eddie Allsopp, who tapped home from inside the six-yard box.
The equaliser didn’t deter the Pirates’ attacking intent, though. Weyman saw a powerful shot impressively saved by the goalkeeper and Stevens also had a curling effort go narrowly wide.
Galliford and Jones, who both impressed in midfield, both had efforts that narrowly missed the target, but it was Tee who restored the Pirates’ advantage in the 75th minute.
Tee picked the ball up from Jones before cutting in and tucking a right-footed effort into the bottom corner.
McGregor made another sharp stop to deny the Beavers’ number 11 in the late stages, but Real Bedford held on to secure an impressive 2-1 victory against step two opposition.
After the match, Sinclair said:
“Really good. Really positive, in and out of possession. Really aggressive, so I’m really pleased with the performance.
We’ll prepare for the next two games to get us ready for 9th August.”
Next up for the Pirates is a trip to Hertford Town on Tuesday 29th July.
Our first game at tier three sees us host Spalding United on Saturday 9th August. You can get your tickets now here and can view the full fixture list here.
First Half XI: McGregor, S. Ward, Longden, Morrell, Setchell, Weyman, Galliford, Jones, Tee, Stevens, Allen.
Second Half Subs: Cartwright 46’, Evans 62’, Agemoh-Davies 72’, T. Ward 73’, Nicolson 77’.
Real Bedford 2-1 Hampton & Richmond Borough
Saturday 26th July 2025
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Location: Ledger Stadium
Attendance: 246
