Bedfont Sunday 3-0 Battersea Ironsides
The FA Sunday Cup
Preliminary Round
Bedfont Sports FC
Sunday 21 September 2008
Two goals inside a minute by Tosie Fasrino clinched Bedfont Sunday's place in the First Round of this season's FA Sunday Cup.
Neville Barrett had headed them in front on 24 minutes and Tosie's brace in the 73rd minute put too much distance between them and their visitors from south of the river.
Bedfont Sports' ground is virtually next door to Heathrow Airport, with giant airliners making the ground shake as they fly over. You can almost see the whites of the pilots' eyes. The Bedfont side managed by Adam Bamford had already collected one trophy this season, winning the Middlesex Challenge Cup Final against BAA Sunday, and they penned Battersea in their own half in the first few minutes yesterday. Bedfont players in their all-red strip buzzed around the box and Tosie narrowly missed with a header and a low right-footer.
But Barrett was the star of the first half, showing bravery and not a little skill with his left foot as he tormented the visitors' backline. On 24 minutes he opened the scoring following a right-wing corner. Lewis Clare's first header was blocked on the line by a defender and, as the ball spun in the air, Barrett used his head and shoulder to force it over the line from about three yards' range.
Home 'keeper Barry McWilliam misjudged a long free-kick on 63 minutes. Thinking the ball was going over, he was taken aback when it hit the bar and then his head before bouncing to safety. But he was faultless apart from that and made a spectacular leaping save to deny Neil Lawren's right-foot blast five minutes later that turned out to be crucial.
Tosie was soon to take centre stage with two clinical strikes. Mark Scotchford's free-kick from the left was cleared with difficulty to the edge of the box where Bedfont's rangy centre-forward hooked it back through a crowd of players and into the bottom right-hand corner.
Within seconds Barrett was firing in a far-post cross from the left that the unmarked Tosie gleefully volleyed home. Battersea's only option after that was to put some attacks together. They made several chances, but found McWilliam in unbeatable form.
Bedfont now travel to Wycombe Town in the First Round on 19 October.
Attendance: 70 approx
