A very healthy crowd of 178 witnessed an excellent game of football on Tuesday evening under the Creasey Park floodlights.
Joe Deeney’s side triumphing by 4 goals to 1 and, but for the woodwork the scoreline could have been more emphatic.
Shefford had deservedly won in the Emirates FA Cup against the Blues two weeks earlier but did not look like repeating the feat on a mild and windless evening.
Dunstable played with a spring in their step and a fire in their belly which their opponents could not counter.
Harry Beaumont wore the Captain’s armband with Alfie Osborne unavailable. Beaumont took to his task with confidence and led the side superbly.
Shefford had claimed the scalp of Step 4 Grays Athletic away from home in the Emirates FA Cup 72 hours earlier in a deserved victory which sees them progress into the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history and an inviting tie against Anstey Nomads on the 1st October.
The Blues sprang out of the traps and were ahead as early as the 6th minute with new man Luke Dunstan firing in from what seemed an impossible angle. Luke will miss the next three matches due to suspension, but he was everywhere during the 90 minutes and deservedly won the man of the match award.
The Blues pressed hard and Kyle Faulkner was denied by Kyle Forster in the Shefford net twice in the first 20 minutes. However, there was nothing Forster could do to keep out J’Ardell Stirling’s first goal for the Club on 25 minutes.
The Bluemen came back into the game on the stroke of halftime with a well-worked goal scored by Scott Metcalfe following good work by Henry Snee, who had been so influential in the first game.
But as we had seen three days earlier when London Colney had got a goal back, it only seemed to galvanise Dunstable into stepping up the offensive pressure.
Joe Sellers-West was denied by the post with a fierce drive and wave after wave of blue shirts surged forward.
They got their reward when the powerful head of the aforementioned met a superb corner from out on the right which was too powerful for Forster or his defenders to do much about.
Five minutes later and it was effectively game over. Sellers-West was this time the provider, linking up well with Ethan Creary on the right-hand side, Sellers-West crossed, and Dylan Baker, somehow managed to get his head to the ball before his defender and power it beyond Forster’s reach.
That was the end of the nights scoring but Kelvin Osei-Addo saw his powerfully hit penalty in stoppage time hit the foot of the post and bounce to safety.
The match officials, Joseph Casey, Sol Brown & Gavin Muge, were excellent all night and allowed both sides to play the game in the right spirit.
The victory lifts the Blues up to sixth place with games in hand over other clubs. It’s now thirteen goals in the past three home games but Blues boss, Joe Deeney warned against complacency and reminded everyone of the long season ahead where there will be bumps on the road. Hopefully one of those bumps won’t be on Saturday when Holmer Green visit Creasey Park in the 2nd Round Qualifying of the Isuzu FA Vase. Kick off is 3 pm and supporters are reminded that season tickets are not accepted for this game. It’s been a few years since the Club has enjoyed a cup run and Deeney and his team will be looking to put that right this season.
Supporters are asked to allow time for parking and to use the overflow car park on Brewers Hill Road if the stadium car park is full. This is to ensure that access to the stadium for emergency vehicles is never compromised.
The Club would like to thank its supporters for their understanding and cooperation in this matter.