By Will Murray

Real Bedford Women beat Peterborough United 3-1 to finish top of Group L in the FAWNL Cup and advance to the next stage of the competition. Breon Grant and Chloe Logie scored the goals for the Pirates to maintain a 100% record in the group stage.

The visitors came into the game needing a win to give themselves a chance of qualifying for the FAWNL Plate. They created the better opportunities in the early stages, with Nina Meollo making an important stop to deny the dangerous Keir Perkins after 11 minutes.

After a few early scares from Posh, the Pirates found their feet in the match midway through the first half, with Leyla O’Brien and Amber Gaylor both coming close to scoring the opener.

The pressure kept on coming for Charlie Bill’s side, with Breon Grant just missing the target after a slick counter attack and O’Brien also denied by a last-ditch stop by Neive Corry.

Moments before the break, the Pirates were awarded a penalty for a foul just inside the box. Abbie Bensted stepped up to take it, but was denied by Corry, who made an impressive low stop down to her left to keep her team level.

Second Half

Jake Poole made two changes at the break, including Poppie Brown, who came on for Rebecca Mears. Brown made an instant impact for the away side, scoring two minutes after the interval. Her low right-footed strike from 20 yards found a way past Meollo into the bottom left corner to give the visitors the lead against the run of play.

After falling behind, Real Bedford continued to dominate the game, with O’Brien and Issy Bryant both looking dangerous on the left and right-wings, respectively.

The pressure finally told in the 68th minute when Grant received the ball on the left wing before cutting in and curling a right-footed strike into the top corner.

Sofia Stovold and Logie both came close to completing the comeback, but were denied by crucial blocks by the Peterborough defence.

Logie was not to be denied again, though, as the Pirates won possession back high and gave the ball to the in-form striker, who slotted home to make it 2-1.

Grant also completed her brace in the 88th minute, sneaking her shot past the keeper after beating two defenders on the right wing.

The result means Real Bedford top Group L, with three wins from three games. They will now join the other 21 group winners and the 10 best runners-up in the first knockout round that starts on Sunday 19th October.

In his post-match interview, Bill said:

“It was a mixed performance at times. We were quite sloppy in terms of what we did, but there were times where our quality showed, and ultimately we got three goals.

Winning builds momentum and that’s exactly what we’ve done today. It’s now a completely unbeaten September with four wins from four.”

Next up for the Pirates is an away game in the FAWNL Southern Division against Gwalia United on Sunday 5th October.

Lineup: Meollo, Byrom, Stovold, Evans, Williams (Tambula 90’), Gaylor, Rush (Biggadike 71’), Grant, Bensted (Herd 89’), Bryant, O’Brien (Logie 64’).

Real Bedford 3-1 Peterborough United
Sunday 28th September 2025
Kick-off: 2:00pm
Location: Ledger Stadium