It was cup final day at Kenilworth Road as Bedford Town played Leighton Town. Bedford were the favourites but Leighton weren't to be underestimated.
The game got off to a great start. Bedford took the lead through Lewis Miccio who was at the back post in time and headed in the cross off the post to give Bedford the lead. This didn't last long as Leighton responded instantly. A long ball lead to a muddle up at the back for Bedford Town and the ball fell to Luke Pyman who headed into an empty net for 1-1.
At this point the game was wide open and it could of gone either way. In the 19th minute Leighton took the lead. It was Duncan Culley who scored it after a corner was whipped in and it eventually came to Duncan Culley who fired it in to give Leighton the lead. Leighton now had the momentum and were pushing for a third. They forced Alex Street to pull off a few decent saves. With about 5 minutes until the second half Bedford had a flurry of chances. A few corners were swung in and forced Connor Coulson to make some great saves. Charley Sanders' effort was the closest but Connor Coulson made a brilliant save to deny him. This proved to be vital in the game. The ball went up the other end and Duncan Culley was clean through. Charley Sanders put in a heavy challenge and won the ball but the referee saw him as the last man and gave him a red card. The half finished 1-2 to Leighton Town.
Leighton came back out and looked like they were going to get a third. They really should have in the 51st minute. It was a 4 on 1 for Leighton after a Bedford corner. Callum Donnelly was the only man back for Bedford and Leighton had 4 running at him. The ball ended up with Luke Pyman who somehow missed the target and the scored remained 1-2. It was end to end football and satisfying for the neutral. Bedford then began going for it and came close a few times. In the 97th minute Bedford were throwing everything at it. Alex Street took a free kick and put it into the danger zone. Leighton failed to clear it and it eventually fell to Rory McAuley's feet and he placed it past the goalkeeper to level the game at the death. After the Bedford celebrations the game went straight to penalties.
Leighton scored their first three and Bedford scored their first two. Up stepped Danny Setchell to take Bedford's third but Connor Coulson saved well. Both teams scored their next penalty so it meant Joe Fitzgerald had to take the winning penalty. He converted and sent the Leighton fans wild. Congratulations to Leighton for winning the cup!
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