REDDITCH United reached the 60-point mark with a hard-fought 1-0 win against struggling Berkhamsted to the delight of manager Matt Clarke.
The game’s only goal came on 27 minutes when Johnny Johnston picked himself up to score from the penalty spot as the Reds secured another vital victory at the Valley Stadium.
And with Redditch second in the Southern League Premier Central table, Clarke insists his side must improve to continue picking up points in their push for a play-off place.
Clarke said: “It was very scrappy, it wasn’t a good performance from us but we put a big emphasis on reaching 60 points with 10 games to go before the game and we’ve done that.
“It’s been very difficult over the last few weeks, although the form is good, because of the amount of changes but we were good enough to win the game.
“To keep getting points on the board we’ve got to be better, Berkhamsted deserved something out of the game but we defended really well, it’s another clean sheet.
“It’s another home win and another three points and that’s huge at this stage of the season, it’s not all about performances.”
The Reds also welcomed back captain Reece Flanagan from the bench with Clarke hopeful more of his squad can return to fitness ahead of a weekend without a game.
Clarke added: “The break could not come quick enough for us, from a fatigue and injury point of view we’ve been hanging on, it’s been really tough.
“The week’s grace next Saturday will give us an opportunity to reset, having the skipper back was massive for us, he’s a huge player for us.
“We lost our way a little bit and we needed his nous, experience and quality, he didn’t really influence the game but just having him on the pitch was massive.
“The week will give us an opportunity to get people off the physio table and out on the pitch, in order for us to progress and keep getting points we need to get those players out on the field.”
Redditch are next in action at home to promotion rivals Mickleover on Saturday, March 2 with kick-off at 3pm at the Valley Stadium.
