Rose hits the bar and Bedford win as Hednesford’s run of four league wins ends

Wednesday 28 October 2026 · By Keith Ormsby

Hednesford Town’s four-game winning run in the league came to an end on Tuesday night, as Bedford Town won 1–0 at the Eyrie thanks to an own goal.

According to Hednesford’s match report, the Pitmen began strongly and thought they should have had a penalty as early as the fourth minute, when Dylan Mottley-Henry appeared to be fouled in the area. They were awarded one in the 24th minute after George Ward was taken out in the box. Ahkeem Rose sent Laurie Walker the wrong way, but his kick rattled the crossbar.

The report says the miss was punished five minutes later. Bedford broke downfield and George Williams was unlucky to slice a cross into his own net. Another listing in the same report puts the goal at 31 minutes, so the timing is given here as roughly the half-hour mark.

Despite the scoreline, Hednesford continued to dominate possession, according to the report, although Bedford held firm at the back. Jamie Cooke’s low cross was cleared just before half-time.

Omari Sterling-James and Sonny Sharples came on at the interval, replacing Mottley-Henry and Curran-Nicholls. Sharples shot wide from distance early in the second half, and Joel Taylor forced a sharp save from Walker just after the hour. Jarvis had a shot deflected for a corner, and later headed one chance onto the roof of the net.

Late on, Sterling-James twice tested Walker, once with a chip to the back post and once with a shot from distance. Lenni Cirino went down in the box after a good run in the 81st minute, but no penalty was given. A free-kick from Sterling-James in the third minute of added time was cleared after a goalmouth scramble, and the whistle followed.

The defeat leaves Hednesford eighth in the Enterprise National League North, with 21 points from 14 games. They have won six, drawn three and lost five, scoring 23 league goals and conceding 20, for a goal difference of plus three.

They are one point behind seventh-placed Bedford, who have 22, and level on points with ninth-placed King’s Lynn Town. Only the champions are promoted automatically, with second to seventh going into the play-offs, so the margins are fine.

Kelvin Davis’s side had won four in a row before Tuesday, so a bounce-back is the aim. No reaction from Davis was available in the sources at the time of writing.

The next game is a tough one. Hednesford go to Chester on Saturday 31 October at 15:00 GMT. Chester beat Marine 2–1 on Tuesday and are fifth.

The Pitmen are then at home to Morecambe on Saturday 7 November, again at 15:00 GMT, and at home to Hemel Hempstead in the FA Trophy second round on Saturday 14 November.

Goalkeeper Will Murdock made a comfortable save at the near post early on, but the club will be left to reflect on what might have been. A penalty that hits the bar and an own goal in the same spell is a cruel swing in a game they largely controlled.

A trip to Chester will test whether they can pick up where the winning run left off.