Real Bedford leave it late to sink Leamington

Real Bedford kicked off the 2026/27 campaign in dramatic fashion, coming from behind twice before scoring two late goals to secure an entertaining 4-2 victory over Leamington at the Ledger Stadium.

After a cagey opening eight minutes, the visitors created the first clear opportunity. Chris Wreh slipped Louie Rea through on goal, but his effort deflected narrowly wide for a corner. The Pirates responded with promising efforts from Josh Allen and Conor Tee, although neither could find the breakthrough.

Ben Stevens was then released by Sam Collins, but what looked like a harmless attack suddenly sparked into life when a Leamington defender cleared straight into Jordan Ponticelli’s path. The striker’s goal-bound effort was well blocked by the Brakes’ defence.

Leamington took the lead in the 17th minute. Wreh’s mishit effort fell kindly for Rea, and the Birmingham City loanee calmly rolled the ball beyond Craig King to put the visitors 1-0 ahead.

Real Bedford immediately looked for a response. Shahiem Ward picked out Allen with a superb curling pass, sending the forward through on goal, but Cian Tyler was equal to the effort and pushed the ball behind for a corner.

The resulting delivery almost brought an equaliser, but Sam Cartwright’s looping header drifted just beyond the far post.

Tee and Stevens continued to combine well down the left, with a superb piece of skill from the winger creating another shooting opportunity that was blocked by the Leamington defence.

At the other end, King was called into action, producing an excellent low save to deny Cameron Eubank following a corner.

The Pirates thought they had levelled just before the interval. Tee again found space on the left and drilled a low cross towards Allen, who converted from close range, only for the assistant referee’s flag to cut the celebrations short.

Real Bedford finally found the equaliser in first-half stoppage time. Stevens threaded another excellent pass into Tee, who timed his run perfectly before pulling the ball back into the area. 

Ponticelli forced an effort towards goal and, with the aid of a deflection, the ball nestled in the back of the net to mark the striker’s league debut with a goal and send the sides into the break level at 1-1.

Second half

Leamington restored their advantage just seven minutes after the restart. Owen Farmer’s cross from the left found captain Kyle Finn, who produced an outstanding half-volley to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

Once again, though, the Pirates responded quickly.

Just three minutes later, Allen dispossessed the Leamington defence inside their own penalty area before squaring for Ponticelli, who guided a composed first-time finish high into the net to complete his brace and make it 2-2 in the 55th minute.

Real Bedford continued to push forward in search of a third. CJ Kiala won possession on the right before driving into the penalty area, beating his marker with a series of clever stepovers before firing narrowly over the crossbar.

The Pirates came within inches of taking the lead on the hour mark. Drew Richardson’s perfectly weighted pass sent Allen clear, and after rounding Tyler, his goal-bound effort looked destined for the net until Nat Kelly raced back to clear brilliantly off the line.

Ponticelli thought he had completed his hat-trick moments later, but Tee was adjudged to have strayed marginally offside in the build-up.

Further pressure followed as Andi Thanoj and Allen combined neatly down the left before finding Ponticelli, whose effort was once again blocked by a determined Leamington defence.

The visitors had a golden chance to regain the lead with less than 10 minutes remaining. Wreh laid the ball back to substitute Koby Arthur on the edge of the box, but he blazed his effort comfortably over the crossbar.

Real Bedford made Leamington pay with just over five minutes remaining.

Allen won a free-kick around 20 yards from goal after some excellent hold-up play, and Tee stepped up to curl a magnificent strike into the top-right corner, sending the Ledger Stadium into raptures and putting the Pirates ahead for the first time.

Leamington searched desperately for another equaliser in the closing stages. Wreh found space inside the penalty area but was denied by another outstanding save from King.

The Pirates wrapped up the points in the final minute. Ponticelli raced in behind the Leamington defence before selflessly returning the ball to Stevens, who took a touch on the edge of the area before confidently picking out the top-left corner to seal a memorable 4-2 victory.

Ponticelli almost completed a dream debut in stoppage time, but his powerful strike flashed narrowly wide of the left-hand post.

The final whistle confirmed an impressive opening-day victory for Rob Sinclair’s side, who came from behind twice against a strong Leamington outfit.

After recording his 200th win as Real Bedford manager, Rob Sinclair praised his players’ display.

“We dominated large parts of the game,” he said. “If we were a little bit cleaner in attack, we would have scored even more goals.”

Reflecting on his side’s ability to recover from going behind twice, Sinclair highlighted their resilience.

“The courage the players showed to keep coming back was outstanding. To a man, everybody was brilliant.”

The Pirates are back in action on Tuesday evening when they travel to Peterborough Sports, with kick-off at Lincoln Road scheduled for 7.45pm.