Pirates Triumph in Thrilling County Cup Final Against Local Rivals Bedford Town
Real Bedford deservedly claimed a 3-2 victory over local rivals Bedford Town in a thrilling Bedfordshire County Cup Final at The Eyrie.
Over 2000 spectators packed out Bedford Town’s home ground next door to the Ledger Stadium to watch the eagerly anticipated first competitive meeting between these two Bedford sides.
The Eagles started the better team, receiving three corners in the first five minutes although they came to nothing as their towering centre half, Ryan Doherty, headed over twice.
Having been successful in his trial period, CJ Kiala was straight into the starting eleven for his first official game for the Pirates. The tricky winger slipped in Jordan Ponticelli who tested the palms of Laurie Walker but to no avail.
Bedford Town took the lead on 10 minutes through former Luton Town midfielder, George Moncur. Moncur showed his class as he came in from the right hand side and curled an effort on his left foot which sneaked past Real Bedford’s trialist goalkeeper to make it 1-0 to the home side.
However, the Eagles’ advantage was short-lived, and the Pirates bounced back through a beautiful debut goal for Kiala only five minutes later. The 19-year-old pulled off a few lovely stepovers before cutting in onto his left foot and letting fly a stunning finessed shot into the left corner from the edge of the box to level the scores at 1-1.
Real Bedford continued to pile the pressure onto Bedford Town following the equaliser with some slick play from a short corner by Conor Tee and Ben Stevens which called Walker into action.
Tee and Stevens linked up well again down the Pirates’ left-hand side. Stevens fired a low cross into Tee but his guided effort from short range went just wide of the post.
Andi Thanoj, who was brilliant all game, found some space in midfield with a tidy dummy. Tee was then played through and brought down in the box after cutting in but the referee did not see any wrongdoing.
Tee was once again causing the Eagles’ defence some problems as he played an enticing ball across the box, but no Real Bedford player was there to get on the end of it.
In between the Pirates’ attacking pressure, Bedford Town were very close to taking the lead again as Lewis Franklin’s cross somehow did not end up in the back of the net following some quick play from the home team.
Allen won a free kick in a promising position after some vintage forward play from Ponticelli but the set play resulted in a comfortable stop for Walker.
Against the run of play, Bedford Town regained the lead four minutes before half time. Ben Weyman’s effort fell into Reading loanee Reece Evans’ path and the striker had time to finish calmly to give the Eagles a 2-1 advantage on his debut.
The score remained going into the interval as the Pirates were unlucky to be going into the break behind.
Second half
Both sides made no changes for the second 45’ but Real Bedford’s trialist keeper almost gifted Bedford Town a goal only 30 seconds into the half. The trialists’ pass went straight to Finley Wilkinson whose shot towards the goal bounced off the post and the mistake went unpunished.
Despite this the Pirates eventually came out strongest in the second half and Ponticelli found the net on minute 49 from Tee’s ball across the box however our number 11 was adjudged to be marginally offside.
Stevens dispossessed the Eagles’ midfield and rifled a low driven shot towards the corner from 25 yards out, forcing Walker into a solid stop down to his right.
The hosts hit the woodwork for the second time in the half as Wilkinson’s initial effort deflected nicely back into his path. The forward had a second bite, but his half volley ricocheted off the crossbar which proved costly for the Eagles.
Only one minute later, the Pirates went down the other end with Tee who was in acres of space on the left-hand side again. The winger precisely picked out Ponticelli who deservedly got his goal with a cool finish from close range, and the scoreboard was level once more at 2-2 on the hour mark.
Real Bedford searched for a winner as we entered the last 25 minutes. An excellent counterattack led by some neat play from Allen and Stevens paved the way for Kiala to bomb down the right wing but unfortunately his cross was inches away from reaching Tee at the back post.
The Pirates were rewarded for their relentless pressure, and they took the lead for the first time in the match on the 70th minute. Allen made a superb driving run into the box gliding past two or three players, then he laid it back to none other than substitute Tom Hitchcock who fired home into the roof of the net to send the away fans wild and make it 3-2 to Real Bedford.
A feisty last 20 minutes followed and Allen forced a magnificent stop by Walker in net to stop the Pirates from getting their fourth with five left on the clock.
Allen came close again but could not find his feet or balance as another one of Tee’s top deliveries went sailing past.
As we entered six minutes of additional time Real Bedford threw bodies on the line with a couple of vital blocks in and around the box. The Pirates swiftly turned defence into attack as they searched for another and they came agonisingly close to it as Mo Ahmed’s mishit strike almost saw Hitchcock get on the end of it to grab his second in the dying embers.
The referee brought an end to a thrilling first competitive encounter between these two sides and Real Bedford were deservedly crowned county cup champions for the third time, in a game that was worth the wait.
Rob Sinclair’s side go back to pre-season duties on Tuesday evening as they welcome St Albans City to the Ledger Stadium for a 19:45 kick off.
Starting XI: Trialist, Ward, Richardson, Cartwright, Thanoj, Collins, Kiala, Tee, Stevens, Allen, Ponticelli.
Subs: Howard, Morrell, Ahmed, Simmons, Hitchcock, Trialist.
Bedford Town 2-3 Real Bedford
Date: Friday 24th July 2026
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Venue: The Eyrie
