"Bucks looking to leap over high-flying Eagles"

Match Date : January 11th, 2025 3:00 pm
Competition : Southern League Premier Central
Ground : The Eyrie Stadium
Kick Off : 15:00

After a weekend off, the Bucks will kick off a tricky run of games against promotion rivals with this Saturday with a trip to Bedford Town.

The Eagles finished 2nd in the Southern League Division One Central last season, three points behind champions Biggleswade Town. But having beaten Ware and Waltham Abbey to secure promotion via the playoffs, Bedford have fared far better at Step 3 than the Waders have done this year.

Managed by former Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead boss Lee Bircham, the Eagles made a middling start to the season before surging up the league in September and October. A period of poor form in November saw them slip back down the table before five wins in a row propelled them back into the promotion picture. That run included a 3-1 home win over high flyers Halesowen, although the Eagles lost 5-1 to a resurgent Spalding United last time out at the Eyrie.

Bircham, whose brother Marc played for Millwall and QPR and is now an assistant to Cesc Fabregas at Como, took the reins at the Eyrie following Bedford’s relegation from this division in 2022/23. Under Bircham, the Eagles bounced back to Step 3 at the first attempt, and they appear to be going from strength to strength under his leadership. Currently 3rd, Bedford have the division’s second-best home record, second-best attack, and the league’s second-deadliest marksman, Leon Lobjoit, who has 13 league goals so far this term.

Other players to look out for are captain Ryan Blake, who has 10 goals to his name, and versatile attacker Eddie Panter, who recently joined the Eagles having impressed at Biggleswade Town this season.

Bedford have picked up 25 of their 40 points on home soil, while the Bucks have the division’s 3rd-best away record. Like the Eagles, the Bucks will be looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat last time out. Kevin Wilkin will expect a reaction from the Bucks following that stinging 4-0 defeat at Stratford. And if Wilkin’s men can pick up all three points this weekend, the Bucks will leapfrog the Eagles in the table.

MATCHDAY INFORMATION

Website: www.pitchero.com/clubs/bedfordtownfootballclub

Ground Address: The Eyrie Stadium, Meadow Lane, Cardington, Bedford, MK44 3LW