Bedford Town’s first ever visit to Leiston ended in a 3-0 defeat in East Suffolk. The visitors also ended the match with ten men after ex football league player Craig Mackail Smith received a red card in the first half with the score at 1-0 and a further two goals in the second half gave the Eagles a defeat on the road.

Bedford travelled to East Suffolk for a difficult match against a well set up Leiston side. Visiting boss Gary Setchell was looking for his team to climb further up the table and start knocking on the door of the playoffs. But it was a slow start to the match at both ends. Neither team really threatened with anything worth noting in the first twenty minutes. Bedford started to dictate the game around the twenty fifth minute and were threatening a goal. There were chances for Connor Tomlinson and Joe Butterworth, but both were well saved by Leiston goalkeeper Sam Donkin.
It was after the half hour mark that Leiston took the lead. This was slightly against the run of play but the Blues didn’t mind. Ben Fowkes took a run into the box and the ball fell invitingly to him to tap home. Just a few minutes later, Craig Mackail Smith was given his marching orders. It was after a free kick into the box and Mackail Smith had a bit of a tussle with a Leiston defender, and the referee deemed it worthy of a red card for Mackail Smith. The visitors were not happy with the decision but went into the interval a goal and a player down.

Despite the numerical disadvantage Bedford threatened first in the second half, Donkin denying Connor Tomlinson with the rebound falling to Tyrone Lewthwaite who lifted his effort over the home bar. On 53 minutes had their second goal of the night, leading scorer Will Davies firing home confidently inside the box.
Leiston grabbed a third just before the seventy-minute mark. Despite Bedford showing great character, Leiston were clinical and a ball to the far post was bundled home by skipper Seb Dunbar. The game died off after this. Both dugouts made some changes to try and change the game but Leiston held out strong and got the three points that lifted them up into fifth position. A disappointing defeat for the Eagles who drop to eighteenth place in the table.

FT: Blues 3 Bedford Town 0

How the sides lined up;

Leiston: Donkin, Hill (Eaton-Collins 84 mins), Dunbar, Bailey-Dennis, Ryan Jarvis, Rossi Jarvis (Hutchings 55 mins), Saunders, Quantrell, Fowkes (Fernandes 88 mins, Barnes, Davies. Subs not used: Okpolokpo and Fletcher.

Bedford Town: Street, Richardson, Warburton, Dreyer, Sanders (Phelan 66 mins), Alban-Jones, Tomlinson, Donnelly, Lewthwaite (Summerfield 81 mins), Butterworth (Halliday 77 mins), Mackail-Smith. Sub not used: Moloney.

Attendance: 201