Balague: Winning is wonderful but it’s not everything

In football, winning is truly wonderful but it is not everything, and as I have often said, sometimes you can learn more from a defeat than a victory.

As with any adventure, the nature of your journey, the friends you make along the way, the relationships you build with players, coaches and fans as, together, you go in search of that ultimate aspiration that is victory, is as important and integral a part of the whole process as is the victory itself.

We can reflect on our Beds Cup semi final against Barton Rovers with our heads held high. They play a division above us and the clinical manner by which they went about their business in front of goal was where the difference between the two sides was most apparent.

But we will learn from the experience, re-group, carry on what we are doing and come back stronger, better prepared.

There is still much to play for. We certainly aren’t favourites but are still by no means out of the league title race and we have to compete to the very best of our abilities and finish as high as possible.

Officially only the champions are promoted from our league at the end of the season but there is still a chance according to what is happening with other clubs in the various leagues that a second place finish might yet be enough see us go up another level.

As with all lower league clubs, the need to raise money to help us to continue to operate is a constant preoccupation and to that end I will be looking to raise as much of the stuff as possible when I hold one of my ‘Evening With..’ nights at Osinskys in Hitchin on April 18 when I will be joined by Jesus Perez, the right hand man of Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham, along with other special guests to be announced soon.

We will be talking all things football, not least about Jesus’s career to date, his time at Spurs working with Mauricio as well as answering the audience’s questions on matters relating to the game. Tickets are now available at £15 with all proceeds going into club funds.

Meanwhile on the pitch it’s back to league matters on Saturday when we travel to Leighton Town. See you there.