By Leipziger
November 4 2012

I can hear the groans already.

With respect to the other nine teams we have played this season, Bedford yesterday gave the Falcons their first real test of 2012/13. We came through a difficult game to win 20-29 and go 11 points above the Blues at the top of the Championship.

There is now no real reason why we should not top the table at the rest of the season, though of course all that means is top seeding in the play-offs.

There were rumours that Dean Richards would take over at Goldington Road this summer, but he finally arrived in the Midlands yesterday with the Falcons looking to cement top spot. Ryan Shortland and Sean Tomes made first starts since September, while Ally Hogg took the captaincy again in Will Welch's absence. Former Blue Luke Fielden was spotted warming up pre-match but was not in the 22.

For the first time in a while a recognisable name was in charge of the game, Martin Fox being the man with the whistle. He took a fair amount of stick from the home fans but since Bedford scored two tries he obviously wasn't all bad for our hosts.

The Falcons drew first blood with a Jimmy Gopperth penalty but missed his second attempt before Bedford captain and Canadian international James Pritchard equalised.

Our forwards laid siege to the Bedford line and former Northampton lock Paul Tupai was sin-binned for

Angry home fans shouted for “consistency please ref”, which of course we all know actually means “give us all the big decisions please ref”. The referee also scored our opening try, if you believe the guy standing to my left behind the goal, although actually it was Richard Mayhew from the lineout that followed Tupai's yellow card.

Tomes joined his opposite number on the bench soon after, leading to one away fan wondering whether Bedford had reinforced benches. Since the big fella played at Goldington Road last year, I'm going to guess yes.

Pritchard reduced his side's deficit with a penalty having hit the post with a previous attempt, and Bedford looked to be on top until the Falcons broke and the home side gave away a penalty for Gopperth to restore our seven-point lead.

Waiting for the penalty to go over, one Blue was heard to mention “cut the oranges” to a team-mate. He wasn't actually thinking about half-time though, he was explaining how to tackle Tom “orange boots” Catterick.

Before half-time Catterick continued his strong season by moving over towards the right and breaking through the home defence to touch down our second try. Gopperth converted for a 6-20 half-time lead.

My views on the Minimum Standards Cartel (sorry, Criteria) are well-known, as is my modesty, but I can understand why there are guidelines for how many toilets there need to be per spectator in the ground, having waited quite a while at half-time. One home fan did point out however that they aren't used to 4,000 crowds.

It was suggested during the interval that Bedford might run out of steam in the second half but actually the Blues were probably the better team, attacking strongly and scoring a try by isolating Gopperth on the left for Pritchard to go over. The full-back converted his own try and it was game on again.

Replacement Joel Hodgson almost scored in the far left corner but after consulting his assistant the referee decided the ball had not been grounded, though Gopperth did take us out of range again with a penalty before knocking over his fourth for a 13-point lead.

Bedford did not give up though and Pritchard knocked the ball through our defence and slid in to touch down just before the ball went dead. The conversion brought the difference to just six points with the minutes ticking down and the home fans warming up under the Bedfordshire sunset.

Gopperth missed a penalty to keep nerves on edge, but with the Falcons putting on some late pressure, the fly-half hit a snap drop-goal to secure the win with only a couple of minutes to go.

The Falcons came through this test on the Goldington Road slope well, but while this was a game we had a few nerves about, there may not be a let up as many might have expected.

Friday is Nottingham at home, and if they beat Bristol today, that will be our second successive top-of-the-table clash.

Wish I was going even more now.