Berkhamsted 1 Biggleswade Town 0

Berkhamsted 1 Biggleswade Town 0 (18th February 2023)

Sometimes things work out in the end. Roadworks confused my satnav, right at the end of my journey to Berkhamsted’s ground, but the detour was easy enough. A 45 minute wait for food at a pub I had chosen for lunch lead me to a nicer pub a bit further down the canal, and the increasing fears of seeing my first 0-0 on these trips for five years, were ended by a late goal.

I had thought it would be a tight game, believing I was about to see a first v second clash, only to realise that not only does Biggleswade have two clubs, but both were in this division. Town, a full 142 years older than the 2016-formed Biggleswade FC, would be the visitors today.

I had also thought I could drive to the ground from the pub in about a minute, but although I more or less managed that, I found the car parks full, and had to go back the way I came, and found a spot just up the road, by the castle. Many of the parking spaces were probably taken by users of the children’s play area by the ground, but it would be mean-spirited to begrudge them their few square metres of tarmac in such a nice location.

Berkhamsted’s ground is not only centrally located, on the banks of a picturesque stretch of the Gran Union Canal, it’s also incredibly handy for the station. Peter Crouch could probably stand on the northbound platform and watch the game for free, peering over the fence, with it overlooking the ground, if he felt that way inclined.

351 took the more traditional approach and paid to get in, and most, given Berkhamsted’s dominance of the division this season, and their perfect home record, would probably have expected a routine home win.

That’s not how it turned out though. Biggleswade Town made it quite clear they weren’t just there to make up the numbers.

The game quickly settled into a pattern of Berkhamsted doing most of the attacking, but with the visitors showing organisation and determination in equal measures, to limit the number of very promising opportunities that could be turned into clear chances 

And when those chances did come, they seemed to be impacted by the frustration the home side had experienced so far, and were snatched at and missed. The young lads behind the goal, on ball retrieving duties, at times seemed busier than Town’s goalkeeper, which is never a good sign.

Overheard talk at half-time suggested I wasn’t alone in thinking the game had ‘0-0 written all over it’, as they traipsed across the forecourt to the exterior cosy club bar.

With such arrangements, I always wonder how many sneak in a half-time for free – maybe just Peter Crouch if he got bored of the railway platform option.

Another doing so might have been the wife of a man at the game with his son, telling him she’d be joining them soon. He also said that Berkhamsted were about to score, and the games was about to get really exciting, but it was hard to know if he was trying to convince his son, or himself.

It would have been a difficult team talk for the home boss, as his players weren’t playing badly. They were just up against very stubborn opposition. Biggleswade Town’s boss probably just said to keep doing the same thing, as it had worked so far, and that’s what they did.

It wasn’t a boring game by any means, but it was clear that a goal would improve things hugely, and that’s how it planned out.

The game had already ticked past that ‘it’s probably going to end 0-0’ moment when the game changer arrived. For once Town’s determination was misplaced, as was a tackle, with a powerful run into the box culminating in a unceremonious upending.

The resulting spot kick was thumped hard past the Town keeper, and suddenly the whole tactical battle was turned on its head.

Biggleswade Town, clad in day-glow orange shirts, which, in my old fashioned tastes are a borderline crime against humanity, now had to push forward to get a goal of their own.

In fact they look pretty accomplished in their efforts, to the extent that you wondered why they hadn’t tried more earlier. They didn’t lack confidence. One of their first efforts at drawing level was a chip from 40 yards, which to the home keeper’s relief, bounced behind off the crossbar, as he fell backwards trying to recover ground.

Berkhamsted were enjoying getting a little more room as Town were forced to push up. Their best chance to seal it came for a chance that was teed up on the edge of the box, only for the Town keeper, who had a fine game throughout, to scramble across and turn the low effort round the post.

Biggleswade Town had some very good chances to draw level, with their last being an effort side-footed over the bar when a goal looked more likely. It was just their turn now to feel the frustration of shots being more of a threat to passing express trains on the mainline out of Euston that the opposition goal, but that’s the risk you take keeping it so tight in a fixture like this. Had they gone for the win from the outset they might have got something, but there’s probably also more chance that Berkhamsted would have scored more goals than the one they got today.

Town will feel gutted to have walked away with nothing after the effort put in today, but the Berkhamsted bandwagon rolls on. This win made it 13 out of 13 at home, opening up a 12 point lead at the top – with two games in hand. This probably won’t be recalled as one of the highlights of their season, but in a promotion run-in, it doesn’t matter so much about how you get the three points, just as long as you do.