BEDFONT boss Garry Haylock saluted his solid back four after his side saw off visitors Rugby Town 3-1 on Saturday.

The Peacocks looked irresistible going forward at times, with wing winders Sean Lucien and Wayne O'Sullivan tearing the Midlanders apart.

But Haylock was more impressed with the way keeper Gary Ross and his defence have become a stingy unit who let little past them.

He said: “We have always been a good attacking unit, but we are starting to defend well now too, and the back four we have now work very well together.”

However, it was Rugby who started the stronger, with Ross making two brilliant saves, Bedfont scrambling another effort off the line, and Tyrone Fagan firing over when clean through.

Bedfont made the visitors pay for their profligacy in front of goal when Reis Stanislaus latched onto a long ball forward from Tommy Brewer to put his side in front eight minutes before the break.

However, Rugby equalised with the last kick of the half when Ross made a superb point-blank stop from Fagan, who then played the loose ball back in for Richard Blythe to net on the goal-line.

But it was Bedfont who came back out with their tails up, and regained the lead within minutes of the restart through a superb finish from Aaron Clarke.

And by the time Lucien crossed for O'Sullivan to seal the victory with 20 minutes left, Bedfont should already have been home and dry, with O'Sullivan missing a one-on-one chance, Lucien seeing a goal-bound effort deflected wide and Byron Bubb striking the post with a magnificent effort.

Bedfont then wasted further chances to make it a more emphatic win, with Lucien firing just wide following a brilliant run, Clarke having another belter hacked off the line, and the visiting keeper saving from the unlucky Lucien once more.

Haylock added: “I didn't think we looked right in the warm-up and I had a real go at them. We started badly and rode our luck. It would have been a different game if they had scored when they had the early pressure, but we got back into it and took control – and we could have scored five or six more.”