Bedford
Spectators: 36 (Terracing: 28,
Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Eddy Carlick took the kick off in the first half of the match. After some fancy dribbling in the 5th minute, Ian Holyfield managed to get in a good position for a shot. Wibtoft City's supporters rose to their feet, but Ian Holyfield was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Jacob Clapham breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. After some fancy dribbling in the 6th minute, Bill Saunders managed to get in a good position for a shot. Wibtoft City's supporters rose to their feet, but Bill Saunders was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Jacob Clapham breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. After 10 minutes of play, Bedford's Brian Close made it 1-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Willie Malley was left in no man's land by his defense there! Willie Malley showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Jools Clarkson in the 16th minute of the match. In the 17th minute, Brian Close got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. In the 19thth minute of the game Bill Saunders who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Bedford's Jacob Clapham was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. 20 minutes into the match, Bill Saunders notched a goal, 1-1, to the right of Bedford's Jacob Clapham . Jacob Clapham was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. The supporters of Wibtoft City booed when Bedford was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 23 match minutes in a wonderful position. Maurice Beech didn't get a good kick on the ball. After having played for 24 minutes, Bill Saunders managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Wibtoft City's supporters crossed their fingers, but Bill Saunders was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. In the 31st minute Bill Saunders shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Jacob Clapham saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 32nd minute, Brian Elwick hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After a defensive mix-up in Bedford's zone, Ian Holyfield stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Jacob Clapham came out of the goal and Ian Holyfield tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 44th match minute, Wibtoft City was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Vincent Bullard to maneuver through the defense. The fans had the chance to grab some refreshments as the whistle went for half-time. The score stood at 1-1 after a close first half.
Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Bill Saunders to make the kick off. Ian Holyfield recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 52nd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Eddy Carlick fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 57th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Willie Malley having to interfere. Willie Malley made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Brian Close in the 59th minute of play. Jacob Clapham was a little too slow when Bill Saunders got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 61st minute. The score was now 1-2. The audience thought a goal was coming when Ian Holyfield got free with Jacob Clapham in the 66th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. When Eddy Carlick came up free with the goalie in the 68th minute, the Bedford fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Eddy Carlick couldn't finish the play. 73 minutes into the game, Vincent Bullard was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Wibtoft City's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Bedford the free kick. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 73rd minute of the game. One of Wibtoft City:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Bedford:s goal. The referee gave Bedford a penalty, 75 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Sly Sissons , who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of Wibtoft City's Willie Malley. 2-2. 83 minutes into the match, Brian Close had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Willie Malley. Wibtoft City's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Brian Close was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 4-2. In the 88th minute, Brian Close ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Willie Malley was frozen by the shot and now it was 5-2. Brian Close recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 92nd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. 94 minutes into the match, Wibtoft City's goal looked a bit too open when Brian Close came free, but Willie Malley reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. If Ian Holyfield had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 98th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The Bedford fans cheered their team off the field, for while Wibtoft City had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.
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