28th December - Bedford 0 AFC Dunstable 0

AFC boss Steve Heath was a very disgruntled individual, after the OD's let 2 points slip through their hands and let leaders London Colney open up a 7 point gap. He said " our 1st half performance was completely unacceptable and the worse since I have been manager, it was obvious my players really enjoyed Christmas. This league is so hard to win and everyone needs to be switched on in whoever we play. Bedford must have thought, how are we 2nd in the league with that first 45 minutes. It must have given them so much confidence that they could compete against us and even though we really pushed for a goal in the 2nd half, they deserved their piece of luck to hang on" he continued " I will always back and support my players as they are a great bunch, but today there was a lot missing and feel they have let the club and themselves down. If we put in a performance like that on Saturday against in form Biggleswade, I would hate to think what the outcome will be"

One outfield change was made form the solid display 5 days earlier against Hadley. 29 goal and top target man in the league, BJ Christie came in for Taishan Griffith. Ricky Perks resumed in goal.

On a lush surface, which saw many players losing their footing, the game opened pretty evenly. Ex AFC players Marcus Campbell and Tom Silford were in the Bedford ranks. The visitors just seemed to be so disjointed and everything they tried just did not come off. Misplaced passes and aimless long balls seemed to be the order of the day. Even a fine save from keeper Perks denied the hosts from taking the lead.

A couple of decent headed chances fell to Josh Humbert and Jermaine Hall, but both had no conviction or power in them. AFC though nearly took the lead on 36 minutes. Christie beat the offside trap but his shot at goal struck the upright.

Half time: Bedford 0 AFC Dunstable 0

So with a very poor 1st half behind them, at least the 2nd there was much more effort by AFC as they started to take a strangle hold and pushed Bedford back. Unfortunately the home teams keeper was in inspired form. He kept out a Jason Beck header on the hour and then 10 minutes later tipped over a Courtney Massay 25 yard strike.

The OD's were now going all out for the breakthrough. They continued to press but many half chances were created but all came to nothing. Perks was yet again called into action to keep out Bedford on the break. Headers and shots from Leon Cashman, Christie, Hall and Beck all missed the target and it was proving it was not going to be AFC's day.

What made things worse, it could have turned out to be a profitable day for AFC, as Berkhamsted lost and Hoddesdon and Hertford shared the points in a local derby. The results all fell in place for leaders London Colney who stretched their lead at the top.

AFC Team: Perks. Massay. Jones. Griffiths. Beck. Darby. Hall. Olaleye. Christie. Humbert. Cashman. Subs used. Griffith. Crowys. Subs not used. Axten. Silvestri. Malone (GK)

Attendance 30