After a run of 8 successive defeats, the challenge to rack up late season points didn't get any easier, as League leaders Real Bedford visited The Meadow today.

Injury forced two changes to the starting line up, with Kian Henry and Pow Raposo missing out, replaced by debutant Darren Brew and Tom Cove.

As was to be expected, the visitors started well. A long diagonal ball over the head of Charley Tuttle saw dangerous wide man Josh Setchell collect the ball and bear down on goal; Jack Hopwood was out quickly to push the ball away, but only as far as Ben Stevens, who shot from 20 yards but missed the target.

The scoring was opened in the 13th minute, a ball threaded through the defence by Joey Evans found Archie Jones, who saw his shot from 15 yards beat Hopwood and find the far corner of the goal. 1-0 Real Bedford

Three minutes later, Jones found space on the left and played the ball inside to Stevens, who saw his shot from the edge of the penalty area deflected wide.

The Ducks had a good chance to equalise when Haziz Kone won the ball in midfield; he passed square to Brew, who moved the ball wide to Luqman Kassim, who hit a shot from the angle of the penalty area which was deflected off a defender, forcing a good save from Tyler McGregor.

Midway through the half, a diagonal pass from Jones found Stevens on the right, who shot across goal, but saw his effort kiss off the face of the crossbar and away to safety.

On 40 minutes, Brew passed wide to Cove on the right, who played the ball infield to Benji Kakembo, who moved infield before firing a shot from 25 yards which forced McGregor into a fine flying save.

Having managed to hold the visitors at bay until the closing stages of the half, the Ducks were dealt a double blow, conceding two goals in two minutes. Two minutes before the break, another diagonal over Tuttle saw Setchell get the better of the Ducks defender and getting a shot in towards the near post. Hopwood did well to save with his feet, but the ball spun up and was tapped in by Evans to extend the lead. 2-0 Real Bedford

With the half into added on time, a corner from Isaac Galliford was missed by the defence, offering Evans a simple chance to add his second from 3 yards out. 3-0 Real Bedford

Half-time: Aylesbury 0-3 Real Bedford

The goals gave a slightly harsh look to the scoreline, but left the visitors comfortably in the lead going into the second half. Ten minutes into the second period, a free kick around the wall from 25 yards from Stevens extended the lead. 4-0 Real Bedford

On 65 minutes, Kone won the ball in midfield and found Cove wide on the right, he advanced and fired in a shot but dragged it wide of the post. With the match pretty much in the bag, the pace of play slowed as Bedford took the sting out of the game and took the opportunity to rotate their players, resting the legs of the first-choice players and giving squad players some valuable minutes.

Despite this, the Ducks continued to strive for a goal and came close on 75 minutes. Liam Batchelor-Morgan combined well down the right with Kassim, wo crossed over the heads of the central defenders, to find Sonny French arriving, but his volley on the stretch was just too high to trouble McGregor.

Three minutes later, substitute Dan Lodovica worked well down the left with fellow sub Tyrone Shiham, who played a ball to Kone in the penalty area, but instead of taking the shot, he moved it on to Lodovica, who saw his shot blocked by a defender.

The final word did fall to the Ducks, as they scored their first goal in over 780 minutes, when a Kassim free kick flicked off the head of a defender to take the ball past McGregor. 1-4

So, a not entirely unexpected 9 defeats on the run, a victory which leaves Real Bedford on the brink of winning the League title, which they can accomplish when the play struggling Kings Langley next Saturday.

For the Ducks, four matches remain in the season, and why we are safe from the threat of relegation, the aim must be to get back to collecting points and gather as many as possible, in an attempt to finish in the top half of the League table. Next up is a trip to Ware next Saturday.