Harpenden Town won a tense 2-1 battle with Bedford at Rothamsted Park last Saturday to stay five points clear at the top of South Midlands Division One.

Town went ahead after 15 minutes when Sam Jenkins made a perfectly-timed run to head home a Harry Hunt corner.

But the visitors drew level quickly through a goal from their striker.

The hosts regained the lead on the hour mark when Jenkins headed home from Hunt’s free-kick to clinch a narrow victory for the league leaders.

Manager Danny Plumb said: “The result was more important than the performance.

“We had a few players missing but still got three points. Some games you play poorly but still win.”

Plumb’s side now face two crucial matches against promotion rivals over the next week.

Harpenden Town take on sixth-placed Kensington Borough on Saturday at Rothamsted Park and third-placed Biggleswade on Tuesday.

Chairman Roman Motyczak said: “I hope loads of supporters can turn out to back our team because these two games could really cement our top of the table run.”