First-half goals from Tom Coupe and Tom O’Regan gave Beeston a comfortable lead going into the half time break, before Stapleford sprung to life in the second period, halving the deficit with ten minutes to go and leading to a nervy final few minutes for the visitors.

Beeston came flying out the blocks with centre-forward Lee Fowler leading a Beeston high press that denied their opponents time on the ball, allowing Beeston to take control of proceedings.

The energetic Bryan Bubi continued his fine start to life at Beeston F.C., winning a free-kick down the right after beating the full-back. Jason Jude fired it into the danger zone, with Coupe racing in to tap home and give Beeston an early lead.

Beeston continued to dominate and doubled their lead half-an-hour in. Jude once again played provider, playing Fowler through down the right who’s shot was saved, with O’Regan slotting home for his third of the campaign.

That proved to be the last action of a half that Beeston controlled and deservedly led.

Beeston were forced into a change at half-time, with Shaun Turney replacing Fowler who picked an injury late in the first half.

The second half was a cagier affair, with Stapleford upping the ante and putting more pressure on Beeston as both sides struggled to carve out any clear-cut chances on a wet and bobbly pitch.

David Daminabo and Luke Ward both came off the bench as the half wore on as Beeston attempted to regain control of the tempo of the game, however they were dealt a late scare leading to a potentially tournament changing final ten minutes.

After winning the ball on the halfway line, Stapleford drove forward and played their centre forward through on goal who slotted home into the bottom left corner.

Beeston faced a tough closing period, with Stapleford floating in a series of deep free-kicks that forced them to defend resolutely, with ‘keeper Davey Gallagher taking command of his box to help to relieve the pressure.

Despite a difficult second period, Beeston sealed an important three points in their quest to top Group C and qualify for the Cup knockout stages.

Here’s what Beeston Manager Josh Streeter had to say after this weekend’s win:

“We stumped to their level a little bit in terms of just trying to hoof the ball…it didn’t help with Fowler coming off because he adds that pressure on their defence…it helps us big time.”

“We’ve been talking about getting that killer instinct and putting games to bed…it’s not a nice ten minutes to watch.”

“[Davey Gallagher’s] filled in for us today and he’s put in a good shift and he’s definitely put himself into contention for next week.”