Smith Treble Sees Bedwell Make County Final

Bedwell Rangers have flown the flag for the Comet Stevenage Sunday Football League by booking their place in a County Cup Final, writes Darren “Statto” Jones.

Herts Junior Cup Semi-Final:
Bedwell Rangers, in only their second season back in adult football, produced a determined performance to reach the final. They faced FC Hedgehog 2010 from Welwyn Garden City at Peartree Park. The first-half was a very tight affair with the away side having the slight upper hand and they took the lead in 27th minute with a powerful header from a corner and stayed in front at the break. Bedwell stepped up a gear at the start of the second-half, but didn’t make the most of their dominance until a through-ball from Jacob Dawson put Luke Smith in on the ‘keeper and a nifty lob was helped over the line by a defender. The pressure continued but they could not stop a second from the side from WGC when a low drive from the edge of the box to put them back in front. The young side could’ve caved in, but that little bit of luck came their way when they equalised again when a Jamie Morriss corner hit the far post, hit a defender then hit Smith and went in. The tie was now at fever pitch with both sides attacking but unable to find the killer touch. However, with just five minutes left and as both sides were starting to think about extra-time, Smith found himself through on goal, took the ball round the ‘keeper and finished superbly from a tight angle to put them in front for the first time. The final whistle went and there was pure joy on the Bedwell sideline.

Craig Grieves, joint-manager, said “We have a great team, who work so hard for eachother and are in a rich vein of form with six wins in a row now in all competitions. I cannot say how proud I am of each and ever squad player. Everyone trains hard and pushes eachother, so much making team selection very difficult. I just hope we can get as many supporters as possible at the final, including those from our youth section which has had two sides in their own County Cup finals”.

The Final is on 3rd April 2011, a 3pm kick-off at the County Ground, Letchworth against Carefree Athletic.

Premier Division Cup Quarter-Final:
Marquis United created the best chances and missed a penalty through Barry Hazelton. However, he made amends with ten minutes to go when a scrappy phase of play saw him eventually help the ball over the line. They’ll face Nirankari Stevenage in the last four.