British Gas Business Southern League Premier Division

Attendance 543

 All through the season, hope and expectation that Bedford can be rebuilt to challenge, again, for a place in the Conference (Blue Square) divisions, was dashed in this prime definition of a ‘six-pointer’. The formula was simple: Bedford to beat Corby and do the same to Bashley, on the last day of the season, to survive the drop.
At the end of the match, Bedford had lost, and therefore suffered a second successive relegation.
With Josh Sozzo and Jonathan Woolf out through suspension, Stuart Bimson had to change the side around: pairing Bedford’s two highest scorers, Ian Draycott and Andrew Phillips (a combination that has only been used once before in this season). Steve Gentle, with his height, was included in the strikeforce, giving Bedford a front three; across the middle was captain, Derwayne Stupple, with Colm Kierans and Stuart Sinclair; the back four included Rob Miller, Eddie Lawley, Matt Childs and Jon Darby.
In a match of such importance, neither side took the game by the scruff of the neck, although Andrew Stevens had to scramble to his left to save a low, awkward, daisy-cutting shot from Corby captain, Chris Glarvey, after only five minutes of play.
Three minutes later, Rob Miller’s long free-kick found Andrew Phillips, on the right side of the goal area. Under pressure from his marker, Phillips managed to hook a shot across goal and wide.
With both sides cancelling each other out, the football plodded on, until, in the twenty-first minute, Bedford took the lead. Ian Draycott’s long throw, from the right, was knocked on by Steve Gentle, into the path of Matt Childs; whose first time shot from the edge of the area flew into the bottom left hand corner of the net, giving Lee Crockett no chance. For the next few minutes Bedford enjoyed a purple patch. Stuart Sinclair’s half-volley, from the edge of the area, was saved, whilst Jon Darby flashed a volley just wide of the right hand post, after the ball was fed to him from Derwayne Stupple.
Corby, after surviving the Bedford attacks, slowly got back into the game, and on thirty-four minutes, Andrew Stevens was forced to come out of his goal to smother a shot from Liam Nicell, after the midfielder had shrugged off Sinclair.
Bedford wasn’t so lucky four minutes later. A long throw into the Bedford area was eventually received by Glarvey, whose twenty-yard deceptive-looking effort rose and flew into the top left hand corner of the net.
Although unacceptable, a draw would have kept the Eagles fighting for survival, and a win was vital. It was with dismay, however, that the Bedford faithful saw Corby take the lead on the cusp of half-time. With the home side pushing up, a ball out of defence found Martin Wormall. With half the Bedford defence committed already, Wormall’s diagonal ball to Steven Diggin, on the left, totally split what was left of the defence. The Corby hitman took the ball into the area, hitting a low, weak shot on the run. To the astonishment of every Eagle in the ground, Stevens, in the process of getting into position to save, let the ball squirm through his body, allowing it to bobble over the line, giving Corby a precious half-time lead.
With Bedford’s future depending on the next forty-five minutes, an onslaught of the visiting goal was hoped and expected, but both sides contributed to an uninspiring half.
Corby came out the blocks from kick-off, with Wormall’s shot from the edge of the area saved by Stevens. After this, any football was a premium.
On the hour, Stevens denied Wormall, again, tipping over the striker’s speculative twenty-five yard shot; with Steven Julian squandering a glorious chance, from the corner: shooting wide of the mark.
Bedford only mustered one effort for the whole of the 2nd half: Sinclair beating his marker before forcing a save off Crocket, after a free-kick had been sent into the Corby area.
The referee, Mr Field, who tried to keep the game flowing, added just over four minutes to the game, but Bedford was unable to find the elusive equalising goal.
At the end of the match, the realisation that Bedford would be playing in a lower division next season hit home hard.