Pirates suffer late defeat to Halesowen
By Will Murray
Real Bedford suffered their first defeat of the Southern League Premier Central season, losing 3-2 to Halesowen Town. Ben Stevens and Joey Evans scored the goals for the Pirates, who conceded two second half goals in front of a passionate crowd of 1,147 at The Grove.
Rob Sinclair’s side dominated the early stages, coming closest through Sam Cartwright in the seventh minute, whose header from a Stevens corner dropped inches wide of the right post.
The hosts had chances of their own, with Kyle Finn putting Jason Cowley one-on-one against Tyler McGregor, but the shot-stopper made an important save to deny the attacker.
In the 13th minute, Real Bedford went ahead through Stevens. Stevens and Josh Setchell played a one-two, with the latter lofting the ball past the goalkeeper into the top left corner.
The Pirates continued to dominate after the opener, with Setchell and Stevens continuing to combine on the right wing.
Despite this, Halesowen found themselves level in the 26th minute, scoring directly from a corner via Jak Hickman. The number two’s right-footed delivery found the back of the net after curling into the far corner.
This gave the hosts a boost and six minutes later, they had two golden opportunities to double their lead through Finn and Milan Butterfield.
The Pirates lost the ball in their own half, leading to Finn being played through, but McGregor denied him. The rebound then fell to Butterfield from 10 yards away, however, the number 13 fired well over.
Both teams continued to create chances in an end-to-end first-half, and just before the break, the Pirates scored through Evans.
In the first minute of additional time, a Stevens corner was headed across goal by Drew Richardson – eventually finding Evans, who poked home his third league goal of the season.
Second Half
Halesowen came out quickly in the second half, with Cowley firing inches wide of McGregor’s right post in the 47th minute.
Seven minutes later, Charlie Wragg came close, shooting straight at McGregor after bringing the ball under control in the box.
The Yeltz continued to knock on the door with McKauley Manning denied and Jack Davies making an important interception at the backpost after a dangerous cross from the left wing.
Further scares came and went, and in the 63rd minute, the hosts were level again. A cross from the right wing was not dealt with by the Pirates’ backline, with the ball eventually falling to Cowley, who tucked it home from close range.
Halesowen’s dominance continued after the equaliser, and after a few half-chances, the winner came in the 84th minute through another corner. Finn’s pinpoint delivery was met by Butterfield, who powerfully headed past McGregor to give the Yeltz the lead for the first time in the game.
The Pirates tried to find a way back into the game, bringing on Isaac Galliford and Tom Hitchcock in the closing stages, but they were unable to find the goal they needed, meaning they suffered their first league defeat of the season.
In his post-match interview, Sinclair said:
“First-half, I thought we were much the better side and dominated the game. Little lapses in concentration ended up costing us the game, but look, we learn from it.
Against the better sides, if you’re not focused for 90 minutes, you get punished and hurt, and they did that to us today.”
Next up for the Pirates is a home game against Kettering Town on Saturday 23rd August.
You can buy tickets for the match here. Advance tickets are cheaper than ticket prices on the day, so book early and save.
Lineup: McGregor, Davies, Cartwright, S.Ward, Richardson, Setchell, Weyman (Watkins 62’), Jones (Galliford 88’), Tee, Stevens (Hitchcock 90’), Evans (Allen 79’).
Unused subs: Agemoh-Davies.
Halesowen Town 3-2 Real Bedford
Saturday 16th August 2025
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Location: The Grove
