diff --git a/comp-backup.sh b/comp-backup.sh
index 275953b5c8a47d187daaa68ec166a86fd3cb81dc..c0f3c7ac5ebaf417205340042229d3429f857111 100755
--- a/comp-backup.sh
+++ b/comp-backup.sh
@@ -86,7 +86,8 @@ elif [ $HOST_OS = 'Linux' ]; then
         echo "No systemd - Backup will need to be run manually"
     else
         SYSTEMD=1
-        sysd_ver=$(systemctl --version |grep -o '\s[0-9][0-9][0-9]\s')
+	# look for 3 digits with a space before and/or after
+        sysd_ver=$(systemctl --version |grep -o '\s[[:digit:]]\{3\}\s\{,1\}')
         if [ $sysd_ver -lt 220 ]; then
             echo "No 'systemctl --user' capability"
             echo "Installing system wide"