Bedford Town boss 'Great win over Berkhamsted but still a long way to go'

Rene Howe scores from the penalty spot in Bedford Town's 2-0 win over Berkhamsted PICTURE COURTESY OF WWW.BEDFORD EAGLES.NET

Watched by a crowd of 1,254 at the Eyrie, Bedford Town’s top-of-the-table 2-0 victory over Berkhamsted exceeded expectations and leaves the title race in their own hands now.

With 12 games to go, Eagles are five points ahead of the Comrades in Southern League Division One Central, although their rivals have a game in hand.

But manager Gary Setchell stresses: “There’s a long way to go, let’s not celebrate too early.

“It was a great result, brilliant crowd,” he said after the game.

“We were hoping for 1,000 and got 1,200.

“It was a scrappy affair, two good teams and I felt we had the measure of them in all departments.

“As I said in the week, whoever won this game it won’t define the season.

“We have a real tough game this weekend against FC Romania, never easy, and we both have a lot of tough fixtures between now and the end of the season.”

It took until just before half time for the deadlock to be broken in Saturday’s big game, Rene Howe slotting a penalty for a foul on Hugh Alban Jones.

Charley Sanders then unleashed a stunning strike in the 73rd minute to make sure of the three points.

Setchell was full of praise for his side, as well as the two scorers and felt Bedford deserved the win.

“I was really pleased with the application of the players,” he said. “We stood up to what is the hardest test in the league.

“Everybody to a man gave 110 per cent.”

He said he has always trusted his squad and kept the continuity.

“We’ll just keep going,” he said. “We’ll be training this week Tuesday and Thursday and prepare for Romania, no different.”

And he hopes that some of Saturday’s bumper crowd will be back to support them in their remaining games.

“I don’t see why we shouldn’t have 900 here next week,” he added.

“I’m not saying it was the greatest entertainment in the world, as the pitch is limited but that was two good teams cancelling eachother out.”

This weekend’s visitors FC Romania are 11th in the division, having beaten Hertford Town 4-0 away from home in their latest encounter.