Brentwood Town 0 Bedford Town 0

Buildbase FA Trophy 1^st Qualifying Round

Report by Scott Lanza / Photo by David Tinkler

Brentwood Town will have to travel up the M1 on Tuesday evening after they couldn’t make home advantage against Bedford Town count on Saturday at the Brentwood Arena. In a game of few chances both teams cancelled each other out and it was a case of both defences putting in a shift that denied the forwards any opportunities to break the deadlock.

The Blues certainly went at their opponents straight from the get-go as Izzy Bademosi had a deflected shot in the opening minute that won the first of several corners that the hosts won in the opening five minutes, keeping Bedford  pegged inside their own penalty area.

But it was to be Bedford Town who had the first goal-bound effort when Ryan Auger let fly from the left hand side of the Brentwood box that breezed past Anthony Page and his left hand post. And then in the 18^th minute after a spell of midfield action, which had seen plenty of solid tackles but little in goalmouth action, Auger went and have another go with a shot from distance that stung Page’s hands.  Three minutes later the Blues had their first real shot when Josh Wiggins fired off a low shot that Kyle Forster blocked.

On the half hour Jack Gardner was called upon to head away a Dylan Gittens cross and then moments later the same player almost gave Bedford the lead but the crossbar came to Brentwood’s aid. Having almost gone a goal down the Blues then responded with Wiggins going on a run that took him deep into Bedford territory but he found himself crowded out and the ball was eventually cleared. Bedford’s forwards were also finding opportunities hard to come by as the Brentwood defence also kept them under lock and key.

However in the closing stages of the half a defensive error allowed Matt Price to find some space down the left but his final delivery sailed high and wide.

The Eagles almost landed inside two second half minutes as Gittens blazed a shot over the cross bar. That started a spell of Bedford possession but they were not able to create another effort until the 54^th minute when David Manu powered his way into the Brentwood box and flashed a shot across goal. Moments later and Page was parrying a long-range drive from Mayowa Balogun. In the 63^rd minute Manu went down heavily in the Brentwood box but the ref turned down the appeals.

Brentwood looked like they hadn’t come out for the second half as a Jack Gardiner cross and a Nick Hilder shot were the only attacking forays they were able to carve out as the game approached the 70 minute mark. But Price finally found himself going on a threatening run that took him past two Bedford players before sending a promising ball into space that Freeman chased, going down under McKenzie-Lowe’s challenge. The Referee waved play on despite appeals for a free kick.

Manu went close with a shot in the 80^th minute that was only an inch too high. But with both defences again standing firm meant that the game petered out with no further chances although Page did have to claim a last minute corner whilst under pressure from Manu.

It certainly was a tough battle with every player putting in a shift which lead to the deadlock remaining unbroken. But there has to be a winner on Tuesday with extra time and penalties on the cards if both teams remain as tight as Fort Knox in the replay.

Brentwood Town: Antony Page, Jack Gardner (Brad Hunter 78’), Connor Martin, Theo Jones, Harry Gibbs, Brenden Cavalier, Matt Price, Nick Hilder (Capt), Andy Freeman, Josh Wiggins (Alfie Hilton 57’), Izzy Bademosi (James Pugsley 67’).

Bedford Town: Kyle Forster, Josh Oyibo (Matt Clifford 82’), Mayowa Balogun, Jemale McKenzie-Lowe, Dean Dummett, James Peters (Capt), Dylan Gittens (George Brinkman 73’), Ryan Auger, Bradley Woods-Garness (Dom Morgillo 46’), Ashton Grant, David Manu.