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Bedford Replay Match Preview

Aldershot Town v Bedford Town FA Trophy 1st Round Replay Match Preview – Tues 18th December 2018

Following Saturday’s 3-3 FA Trophy first round draw at the EBB Stadium, Aldershot Town will travel to The Eyrie in Cardington, to try and beat Southern League Central, Division One outfit Bedford Town at the second attempt on Tuesday evening.

Shots Squad:
With the club’s, quite frankly, horrendous injury situation, Manager Gary Waddock will do well to field a team of eleven players, let alone have any substitutes for the replay. He managed to get two players on the bench on Saturday, but Shamir Fenelon picked up a further injury during the game and Karleigh Osborne, who did well to come through 59 minutes of action, will need to have his fitness monitored carefully, after all his injury issues this season. Currently out of action are; Adam McDonnell, Marvin McCoy, Scott Rendell, James Rowe, Jake Cole, Jacob Berkeley-Agyapong, George Fowler and Luke Howell. Matt McClure is still carrying a shoulder injury.

Opposition:
Name: Bedford Town
Founded: 1908
Nickname: Eagles
Manager: Jon Taylor
Stadium: The Eyrie
Current Southern League, Division One Central League position: 6th

History:
Formed in 1908, Bedford Town competed in the Northamptonshire League in their early years before joining the Southern League in 1945. They enjoyed some success in the FA Cup, most notably in 1955-56, when they beat Football League opposition in Leyton & Watford, before landing a plumb tie against Arsenal, in which they managed a 2-2 draw, before going out in the 3rd Round replay. They applied to join the Football League on no less than 18 occasions (the second most of any football club) but were never able to secure the necessary votes required. In the 1960’s, they reached the 4th Round of the FA Cup twice and achieved their all-time record attendance of 18,407 at home to Everton. Bedford Town re-formed in 1989 and in 1991, joined Division One of the South Midlands League. They soon won that league and followed it up by winning the Premier League the very next season. They then took their place in the Isthmian Third Division and quickly worked their way up to the Isthmian Premier. In 2003-04 they lost a play-off final (5-4 to St Albans) that would have seen them reach the newly formed Conference South. Two seasons later they took their place in that division, through the play-offs, only to finish bottom in their first season and suffer relegation to the Southern League. A further relegation in 2013-14 saw them drop another level, to where they are now.

The Gaffer:
47-year-old Jon Taylor took the vacant Eagles manager’s job in September 2015 after the sudden departure of previous Eagles manager, Dan Kennoy. Jon has a wealth of experience across non-league having managed at Arlesey Town, St Neots Town and Hereford United.

Squad:
Whilst it was the substitute appearance of Jermaine Osei that caught the eye on Saturday (taking his goal tally this season to 7 goals from just 9 games), perhaps the most famous name in the Bedford Town squad is that of 38-year-old former Charlton Athletic striker Paul Benson, who scored 8 goals in 13 appearances for The Eagles last season and has already matched that total this season. Bedford’s top scorer though, is a very familiar name to Shots fans. Dan Walker, has netted 9 times in his 18 appearances this term.

Referee:
Tuesday’s referee is unknown at the time of publication.

Commentary:
There will be live BBC Surrey Sport commentary of Tuesday evening’s replay, with Rob Worrall and Aldershot Town supporter Matt Foot, from 7:35pm. To interact with the commentary team, tweet @RobShot66.