Match Preview | Bedford Town (A)

Dec 27, 20245 min read

Updated: Dec 28, 2024

Just under 48 hours after the Telford defeat Halesowen travel to an in-form Bedford Town

Written by Ben Ditchfield

Following the defeat in Shropshire on Thursday, the Yeltz travel to Bedfordshire on Saturday to face a Bedford Town side who have won three in a row, scoring nine goals in the process.

There have been 15 meetings between the two sides since the start of the 21st century, which has seen Bedford take the edge in the fixture, with six wins to Halesowen's five. The Yeltz have a terrible record against The Eagles of just one win in six, the only win coming in the 6-0 home win against them in 2019. On top of that Halesowen have failed to win in their last four matches at The Eyrie, with the sides last away win coming in 2007.

The most recent meeting and only meeting since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, came in the reverse league fixture in August. The game saw Leon Lobjoit score inside two minutes, before a Ryan Blake goal five minutes before the break. Halesowen got one back, thanks to Adi Yussuf's first and only Yeltz goal five minutes after the restart, but The Eagles duo then grabbed their braces later on in the half to round out a 4-1 thrashing.

"As we look back on the game against them in August, it isn't really a surprise we lost that game, due to the fact they are now 5th", said Yeltz boss Russ Penn on Thursday. "It will be really tough, on a 4G pitch, they are a side with confidence, but so are we, it's just about dusting ourselves down from the game against Telford, making sure we recover, eat and sleep well for the next 48 hours, to go there and get a result."

Penn's side come into the game, following the disappointing defeat in another top of the table clash against Telford United on Boxing Day. A fairly strong first half display, saw the Yeltz fail to capitalise on the chances they created, which allowed the hosts to pounce on the lack of a clinical edge in the Yeltz side and through Matthew Stenson and Ricardo Dinanga, The Bucks took a 2-0 lead into half-time. The Yeltz did crafted enough opportunities in the contest but failed to massively test Brandon Hall, which allowed The Bucks to see the win out.

The defeat marked the sides second away defeat in their last three matches on the road in the league, having lost just two of the previous nine across the start of this season and end of last season. A win in Bedfordshire could be crucial in the teams attempts to avoid ruining this season's amazing form on the road, particularly with a trip to top of the table Kettering Town coming up next weekend.

This will be Halesowen's fifth and final game this month and final match of 2024, but it is just the third game this month for our opponents. Their other games that should have been played this month, were against Royston Town, which was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch last weekend, while their game against Stourbridge earlier in December was called off due to Storm Daragh.

The Eagles come into the game against Penn's side, following a 2-1 win over Hitchin Town also on Boxing Day. The side went behind against the 21st placed Canaries due to an own goal from Carl Mensah, just before the half hour mark, but for the third time this season when behind at the break, The Eagles managed to navigate their way to victory, thanks to second half goals from Lewis Green and Leon Lobjoit.

Bedford were in this division in the 2022/23 season after a promotion in the season prior, but the side only managed eight wins in 42 matches and finished rock bottom, 18 points from safety. The Eagles after just one season away, managed to achieve promotion straight back to step 3 last season through the play-offs, with a win in the final against Waltham Abbey, thanks to goals from Kyle Connolly and Carl Mensah. Since their return, they have already beaten their win tally from the season before last, in 23 games less and currently reside in fifth place, with the second best home record in the league.

The man behind the sides remarkable rise is Lee Bircham, who took over the role in May 2023 after The Eagles relegation back to step 4. That followed the resignation of Paul Davis in January of that year after just three games in charge and after they had relieved Graeme Tomlinson off his role as caretaker boss, after he had coached them for the remainder of that season. Bircham, 48, was pinched following his promotion from step 5 with Leighton Town in the 22/23 campaign, and since the appointment, he has managed 72 games, securing 38 wins, scoring 144 goals and conceded just 90 times.

The 48 year old has had a plethora of options at his disposal this season, which has seen Bedford use 44 different players across the campaign, more than anyone else in the leage, and has only seen four players feature at least 20 times, the four being, Ryan Blake, Elliot Simmons, Lewis Green and Leon Lobjoit. Blake is subsequently the only player at the club that featured in the last game against Hitchin, who was also in the squad for Bircham's first game in charge against Kidlington in August 2023.

Bedford have two highly prolific goalscorers in their ranks, with both Leon Lobjoit and Ryan Blake bagging double figures for goals this campaign in all competitions. Lobjoit has managed 14 goals, 13 of which have come in the league, something only Halesowen's Kieren Donnelly has managed to beat. Eagles captain, Blake, is the only player who has featured in all 25 games for the side this campaign, and has netted 10 times, after scoring 14 league goals in their promotion winning campaign last season.

They have recently suffered the blow of James Clifton's expired loan, after initially joining on a one month deal until Christmas from Spalding United. Clifton scored five goals in the four games he played during his time at the club, that included a hat trick against Lowestoft Town. In their attempts to re-strengthen the frontline though, they have recently acquired young striker Tyler Winters on loan from Peterborough Sports until late March. Winters previously played on loan at Spalding earlier in the season, where he made 13 league appearances, scoring once, a penalty against Biggleswade Town in September.

The Yeltz will need to start this Saturday's game better than they did on Thursday, if they want a result, as Bedford have won their last 11 matches when leading at half-time and are unbeaten in their last 15 when scoring first. The Eagles are though most vulnerable, surprisingly when they are on level terms at the break, with just two wins in their last 16 when their games have been level at half-time.

Key Seasonal Stats

Bedford

League Position - 5th

Season Record - PL25 11W 5D 9L 41GS 42GC

Form (Last 5 Games) - LWLWW

Top Scorer - Leon Lobjoit (14 Goals)

Most Appearances - Ryan Blake (25)

Most Starts - Ryan Blake (25)

Biggest League Win - 4-1 vs Halesowen Town (Away - 17th August)

Biggest League Defeat - 3-0 vs St Ives Town (Home - 9th November)

Longest Unbeaten Run - 5 Games (7th September - 5th October)

Longest Winless Run - 4 Games (31st August - 21st September)