Pin helps Bedford to another Win

Birthday girl Claire Higginson came into the Bedford squad for the unavailable Jenna Maclaren and as per recent weeks, Bedford started brightly with a high press. Inside the first minute, Kate Costin found Verity Mason-McLeod whose near post shot was saved by the young Holcombe keeper who was to be in for a busy afternoon. After a few short corners, Bedford made the pressure count as Rebecca Budd went on a mazey run before she was able to turn and the ball deflected into the net for her first league goal of the campaign. Bedford were pressing high and making circle entries at will so it was no surprise when the maroons doubled their lead from a corner routine dispatched by captain Rachel Jackson. Holcombe were relying on the counter attack and nearly caught Bedford off guard as the ball ricocheted high past the post evading the Holcombe forward. Bedford were dominating their Kent opponents with some nice passing moves and a third goal arrived before half time as Costin drove round the right of the circle and fired towards goal where Higginson was on hand to tuck home.

After the break, Bedford were keen to keep up the intensity and quality of the performance however, that wasn’t entirely achieved. Ellie Priston and Jackson were able to win the ball back comfortably but some simple passes were going amiss and this gave the hosts confidence. After a counterattack, wasn’t dealt with, a Holcombe forward was able to waltz into the circle and slot the ball past Leanne Sargeant which undoubtedly gave Bedford a bit of a wakeup call. Harri Kinnear, SJ Darrington and Sam Turner had loads of space and time on the flanks whilst MOTM Emma Pinny was making some great tackles and was able to push forward and join in the attacks. Bedford were just guilty of trying to force the defence splitting pass rather than make the shorter ball into the likes of Holland, Budd and Beth Noble in the midfield. Despite this lack of ruthlessness, Bedford still created numerous chances. Steph Holyoak got goal number four after the goalkeeper made an initial save from Sam Turner’s reverse stick effort before Charlotte Holland rounded off the scoring with a neat arrowed finish from a narrow angle after Higginson’s initial shot again came back into the danger area.

The win was a fourth consecutive league win for Bedford L1s and retained their status at the top of the ladder. Next week the squad make the short trip to face Cambridge University looking to continue their winning run.