The 61 FC (Luton) miss out on Bedfordshire Senior Trophy final

Battling The 61 FC (Luton) missed out on the Bedfordshire Senior Trophy final as they were beaten 3-2 at Bedford on Tuesday night.

The visitors took the lead through A Lewis on 10 minutes as they led 1-0 at the break, but Bedford battled back in the second half and triumphed thanks to Ash Kersey’s 49th-minute equaliser and Chris Johnson’s brace (62 and 86), although The 61 FC (Luton) made for a nervous end with a second in the 92nd-minute from K McManus.

This fixture was eventually played after the third time of asking, as two previous dates had been postponed due to the recent adverse weather.

The tie was switched to the Bedford’s McMullan Park this time round to give the tie the best chance of being played.

Bedford started the game slowly and looked rusty due to their recent lack of games.

The 61 FC, meanwhile started brightly and looked determined to cause an upset against their higher league opponents as they took the lead on 10 minutes.

Confusion in the Bedford defence allowed The 61 FC striker Lewis to hustle his way through and finish high beyond the oncoming Aaron Bodger.

Bedford proceeded to dominate, but looked slightly disjointed as they played a midfield diamond formation.

The hosts created ample chances and should been level before half time as dogged defending by the Luton saw frustrated Bedford.

Bedford switched to a more traditional 4-4-2 formation in the second-half and made difference right from the start.

For the first 20 minutes of the second half Bedford were back to their best and dominated The 61 FC in all areas of the pitch.

And they were rewarded with two goals as Johnson laid off Jamie Cole’s cross to the edge of the box for the oncoming Kersey to smash the ball into the corner on 49 minutes.

Prolific goalscorer Johnson got the second on 62 minutes with a tap-in from close range after Cole had redirected Luigi Rocco’s corner at the back post.

The goal of the game came four minutes from time as Bedford made the game safe.

Some slick one-touch football involving six Bedford players carved open The 61 FC’s defence as Johnson took one touch to get the ball out of his feet before finding the top corner from 20 yards.

Bedford did have a slight scare when McManus headed home a corner in the second minute of injury time, but they remand solid to see out the game.

Bedford will meet either Crawley Green or Wootton Blue Cross in the final, who play on Saturday.

The final is to be played on Wednesday, March 12, at Langford FC.

Attendance: 35.