Bournemouth headed to Bedfordshire looking to close the gap on Watford at the top and Plymouth in second with one of their games in hand, after their visit to Real in November was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
Skipper Abby Jones gave the Cherries the lead, before Sophie Quirk doubled their advantage, but the lead was halved by Breon Grant after 28 minutes.
Helen Bleazard’s side held their 2-1 lead into the break, and Georgia Wilson restored their two-goal buffer with 66 minutes on the clock, before Jenna Markham sealed the points off the bench with nine minutes left.
Bournemouth move onto 36 points from their 15 games, with Watford at the top on 38 from 16 and Argyle in second with 37 from 17 in what is building into a fascinating tier three title race.
The Cherries threatened early on at Bedford Town’s The Eyrie, as Quirk struck just wide from the edge of the box after two minutes.
Katie Scadding was called into action to save from Issy Bryant, before the Bedford forward headed wide from the resulting corner.
Sophie Quirk (Image: Richard Crease)
The visitors took the lead with 17 minutes and it was a good team goal that was finished off by Jones, who applied the finishing touch from six yards.
Just a minute later it was two, as Quirk found the back of the net from close range to extend the Cherries lead.
But, as Bournemouth started to dominate proceedings, the hosts got a goal back.
Ten minutes after Quirk’s strike, Grant applied pressure onto Scadding and then rolled the ball into an empty net to get the home side back into the game.
Bryant shot over the bar for Bedford as they sought an equaliser, but the Cherries held the lead into the break.
Bedford saw a good amount of possession in the opening exchanges of the second period, but weren’t able to create the key chance for the equaliser.
Georgia Wilson (Image: Richard Crease)
Markham replaced Zoe Barratt on the hour mark, and six minutes later it was three as Wilson fired home to give Bournemouth some breathing space.
Gemma McGuinness replaced Jones, before Bedford had a penalty shout waved away with 14 minutes left after Bryant went down in the area.
Substitutes Markham and McGuinness made an impact off the bench and combined for the Cherries’ fourth as the former finished from a brilliant ball from the latter.
Scadding saved comfortably from a deflected Bryant effort, as Bournemouth saw out the victory to head back to Dorset with all three points.