Bold Bedford Beat Below-par Bris

In the proverbial game of two halves, Bedford's excellent first half performance and Bristol's defensive inadequacies saw the hosts claim a narrow but deserved playoff victory. A losing bonus point was a fair reward for Bristol's stirring fight back

In a game with curious parallels to the earlier league encounter at Goldington Road, Bedford beat Bristol by a single point in the play-offs.  The major difference seemed to be that the Bedford supporters seemed very happy with the win but Bristol's had been very disappointed.  Even stranger was the far smaller crowd for a play-off than an early season match.

Bedford kicked off the game in bright but breezy conditions.  Playing with the wind, they showed their knowledge of the pitch's idiosyncrasies by pinning Bristol back for much of the half.  Bedford looked purposeful from the outset and were awarded an early penalty on the Bristol 22 which Pritchard knocked over with aplomb for a 3 - 0 lead.  Bristol had a rare first half attack when good scrum ball went along the line for a dangerous looking dart from Alex Crockett, who passed Back inside for Lee Robinson to make good ground out to the left wing.  He unselfishly passed out to Dan Norton who looked certain to score but tried to dance his way over rather than sprint and dive.   This allowed the Bedford scrum-half time to get across for a fine covering tackle to take Norton into touch.  Was this a game changing moment so early in the game?  Probably yes.  A try for Bristol at this point would have dented Bedford's confidence, so high for much of the half, and at least ensured Bristol had some points on the board when Bedford had the advantage of both wind and slope.

Bristol looked for this brief period to be getting on top but coughed up possession to allow Bedford to kick long.  Norton struggled to deal with it but the ball was just cleared to touch.  The hosts attacked from the lineout and showed their positive intent as they whipped the ball across the backline before a foot in touch halted the momentum.  Bristol won the lineout from a really crooked throw and Crockett, sensing a gap, took the ball on, only to be well tackled.  The referee adjudged the tackle to have been illegal in some way (probably because he was dumped into the ground in a marginally spearish sort of way, but it seemed harsh).  Adrian Jarvis failed to make touch with his kick but the Bedford clearance was way too short.  The ball was taken on from the lineout, with Robinson again looking dangerous.  Bedford were penalised again but Bristol failed to make ground from the lineout as they were harried by the fierce home defence.

Bedford eventually went offside but Jarvis was narrowly left of the posts with his penalty kick.  Stung by this, Bedford launched a fine attack which only came unstuck with some loose passing that allowed James Phillips to halt the danger and force Bedford back.  A long free kick looked to be going dead, but it bounced awkwardly to put Bristol under real pressure.  Luke Arscott tried to clear but the wind pushed his kick back and he gained little ground.  Bedford kept up the pressure and Bristol struggled to escape the stranglehold.  Norton again struggled to deal with a Bedford kick and his sliced clearance gave Bedford another attacking opportunity.  A patient build-up saw Vass step into a hole in the Bristol defence and pop up a lovely pass for Burke to carve his was through poor tackling for a converted try and a 10 - 0 lead with 23 minutes gone.

Bristol looked rattled as Bedford piled on the pressure and it was indicative of Bristol's problems when Norton tried to run out of defence only to be caught with no ground made.  Another try seemed inevitable and an elegant break from Dorrian saw at least two floundering Bristol players miss vital tackles and he fed Burke for his second converted try with nearly 30 minutes gone.

Bristol were barely clinging on and a hanging kick from Arscott was run dangerously back and Harding latched onto Bristol ball at the lineout to power forward.  Only poor decision making prevented another score when an overlap was ignored to the left with play continued right by the pack.  A third try seemed likely when Bedford, assured of the dominance, chose to scrum a penalty and almost broke through as Junior Fatialofa missed his man.  Fortunately Bedford knocked on with the line at their mercy.

Bristol continued to hang on with the half drawing to a close but struggled to gain any territory on the limited occasions they had the ball.  A call of offside prevented an interception try from Bedford before the pressure was finally eased by a break upfield by Norton.  Bedford were penalised as Jarvis tried to weave through, supposedly for a high tackle but he looked to be slipping as the tackle went in.  It was quite a way out and into the wind but Jarvis made no error and Bristol were finally, and rather fortunately, on the scoreboard just before half time.

The team talk must have been an interesting one!  Bristol came out in the second half and strove to harry Bedford in the same way as they were harried by an aggressive attack and defence in the first half.  Briefly it appeared that Bristol would get off to a good start but Bedford kicked the ball from their five metre line to Bristol's.  A penalty let Bristol off the hook.  However a great run from Bristol's best back, Robinson, took play thirty or forty metres downfield.  He kicked ahead and, as the defence tried to deal with the ball, Bristol's best forward, Ross Johnston, forced the ball carrier into touch.  Bristol drove from the lineout, with Johnston again prominent.  The backs had their chance as Fatialofa was just held out.  A sequence of scrum freekicks followed and Bristol attacked out to the right before what appeared to be a deliberate knock-on from an offside position (which is the offence the officials picked up) gave Jarvis a penalty chance that he duly dispatched for 17 - 6 with nearly ten minutes gone.

A kick out on the full put Bristol quickly into another good attacking position before an inexplicable penalty prevented Bristol building the pressure.  Another penalty gave Pritchard a straightforward chance but the ball drifted just wide.  Bristol now strung some phases together and Larscott broke clear to feed Robinson who was tackled just short of the line.  Replacement Luke Eves, much better than his subdued performance last Friday, darted close before Redford Pennycook burst from the ruck to go over the line.  Jarvis converted and suddenly Bristol were right back in the game at 17 - 13.  With plenty of time to go it Bristol had a chance to reverse their dismal first half drubbing.

Aware of the danger, Bedford took advantage of a poor Larscott kick to take play to Bristol.  They moved the ball from side to side and nearly broke clear on either wing.  Sterling defensive work held them at bay.  Bedford tried to keep up the pressure by choosing to scrum a penalty, perhaps overconfident following their success previously.  The ploy failed, and Bristol won a penalty of their own to take play up to their ten metre line.  Bristol tried to wrest the game from Bedford but a series of handling errors prevented any real breakthrough.

A good quality move saw Norton set free out wide left before he went back to the right.  Halted, the ball back from the breakdown was incredibly slow and Bristol could not find a way through a reorganised defence.  A dummy from Johnston almost wrong footed the defenders and they were penalised for offside.  Jarvis held his nerve to narrow the gap to just a single point at 17 - 16.

With eight minutes to go, Bristol still had time for the winning score.  In their haste a  long kick allowed Bedford to break into the Bristol half but a lack of pace allowed Bristol to contain the attack.  Illegally though, and Pritchard had a chance right in front of the posts.  Shades of the earlier league encounter saw his kick go well wide to the horror of the home support.  A knock-on saw Bristol race onto the attack frantic passing saw Robinson almost knock-on close to the touchline but he desperately flapped the ball back inside in an effort to keep the move going but there was no Bristol player in position to take on the ball.

Determined defence from Bedford held out a Bristol drive from the lineout, to the near palpable relief of the home crowd.  A forward pass ensured they stayed pegged back and it was clear that Bristol were setting up a drop goal effort.  The pack drove in front of the posts.  Perhaps they should have driven closer and either force a penalty or give Jarvis an easier chance but a lack of patience or maybe tension meant that when the ball came back to Jarvis he was some way out an the ball was dropping as he took it.  It was a good effort, but still wide.  Bristol were still attacking at the death but Bedford had done enough in the first half to secure the win.