Harpenden Town are targeting a tilt at the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division play-offs in part two of the season.

A 1-0 victory at home to Colney Heath took them to 19 games of the 38-match year and leaves them sixth, one place outside of the new system for deciding the second team to be promoted to step four.

And assistant manager Steve O'Reilly believes they have the quality to get the job done.

He said: "We’re at the halfway point of the season and have got 31 points and played a lot of the top half teams already, some of them home and away. 

"We’ve picked up points against most of them so that's a real positive.  

"We clearly have to go and kick on now in the second half of the season but with the group that we’ve got, we're really confident we can do that. 

"There were some quality players who weren't in [against Colney] for various reasons. 

"And if we can keep getting clean sheets, we do have the quality to score goals. We’ll always get an opportunity."

They needed just the one goal to clinch a derby success against the Magpies, Reece Crowter scoring after 57 minutes at Rothamsted Park, and O'Reilly would be happy with results like that.

He said: "In the last month, we’ve played some tough teams and they’ve all been different styles of games.

"We had a lot more possession than what we’ve probably had in a long time and you have get used to that and be a little more patient. 

"For the first 30 minutes we looked a little bit rushed in terms of what we did but after that, once we had a bit more patience and a bit more movement, we looked a lot better. 

"We’re still kind of pulling this group together a little bit but we have a bit more stability now and I think it will come. 

"Winning 1-0 might be all we need [for now]." 

They did have to face up to a late onslaught from Colney but survived to pick up not only a second win on the bounce, but another clean sheet too.

The latter could be crucial going forward.

O'Reilly said: "I'd have liked it to be a little more comfortable in that last 15 minutes but you cannot underestimate the kind of form that Colney came into the game with. 

"They’re a good team and they remind me a little bit of what we were two or three seasons ago, which is a lot of talented and hungry players who really want to improve themselves.  

"And I think they're doing a really good job in that sense and they put us under a lot of pressure as they work really hard. 

"The 15 minutes before half time and the 15 after really made the difference in the game. 

"We knew it was going to be a very difficult game so to get the three points [is good] and another clean sheet too, that's back to back clean sheets. 

"We’d only kept two before that all season so that’s a good sign."