In a battle of the South Midlands League Premier Division title chasers, Berkhamsted struck what could prove to be a vital blow against rivals Biggleswade.

The two sides went into Saturday’s match tied on 20 points, with Berko, who have played a game less than their opponents, leading by goal difference alone.

The victory was built on resilience as Steve Bateman’s side came from 2-0 down to secure all three points away from home.

A cagey first half had little incident until a 10-minute spell before the interval in which three goals were scored.

Biggleswade broke the deadlock after a foul on the edge of the box allowed George Riley to step up and curl a free-kick over the wall and into the net.

They doubled their advantage in the 42nd minute when Tom Cookman was found at the back post from a free-kick and fired into the back of the net.

Vitally, Berko hit back to reduce the arrears before the break when Stacey Field, so often the scorer, turned creator to send Sean Coughlan through on goal.

Coughlan maintained his composure and slid a shot under the onrushing Sam Wyer to ensure there was everything to play for.

A moment of madness from Wyer gifted Berko a leveller as he raced from his line to foul Coughlan and concede a penalty, which was confidently converted by Dan Jones.

Jones went close to putting his side ahead when Jones came too far off his line and he cracked the bar with an audacious lob.

Inevitably it was Field who struck the decisive blow, turning the defence and firing a low effort into the bottom corner for his 13th goal this season.

Biggleswade’s attempts to force an equaliser were largely repelled by Berko and a late free-kick which came to nothing was as close as they came to a leveller.

The comeback win will surely boost belief that Berko can mount a successful title charge, and they will hope to build on their momentum against Stotfold tomorrow.

Oxhey Jets were left to rue a late collapse as they allowed a two-goal lead to slip in a 3-2 defeat against Leverstock Green.

Despite being the away side, Jets dominated large chunks of the game and were good value for their advantage, which they ultimately allowed to slip in the second half.

It took 21 minutes for Jets to make their early dominance show as a well-weighted pass from Nick Kerley picked out Josh Noyes, who did the rest.

Kerley was at the heart of many of Jets’ better moments, and it was the in-form player who doubled his side’s lead just before the half-time interval.

The goal owed much to Kerley’s refusal to give up on an apparently lost cause as he chased down a hopeful long ball forward and rounded the keeper to score.

Jets were, perhaps, guilty of resting on their laurels after the break and Green were back in the game with 48 minutes on the clock.

A free-kick was struck straight at Rob Partington and he spilled the ball at the feet of Ross Adams, who bundled into the net.

The goal lifted Green and they levelled with 71 minutes on the clock when Sam Nair drilled in a free-kick.

The turnaround was completed with 10 minutes left to play as Matt Bateman scored Levy’s third.

Green were in action once again in midweek as they claimed another win with a 2-1 defeat of Tring Athletic.

They started the game in fine fashion and were ahead with 10 minutes played when Shane Wood arrived unchecked to head home powerfully from a corner.

They doubled their money just after the hour mark when Chris Gosling rounded of a flowing team move to fire into the unguarded net.

Tring pushed for a route back into the game, but Chris Blunden’s 85th-minute goal proved to be little more than a consolation.

The defeat meant double disappointment for Tring as they fell to their second loss on the spin of the week after being beaten 1-0 by Hadley on Saturday.

Yemi Buraimoh got the only goal of the game for Hadley, producing a smart finish after a fine pass from Jack Hopwood.

Tring will look to end their losing run at two games tomorrow when they face Leighton Town at Cow Lane.