25/1/00: Ryman League Division Three

Tring Town 2 Aveley 1

Tring edged further towards safety with a hard-earned win over high-flying Aveley thanks to two first half goals from Scott Walters.

They took the lead from their first attack of the game on 7 minutes. A good pass set Tony Oliver free down the right, and he sent over a low cross for Walters to neatly side-foot the ball home from six yards out.

The visitors hit back strongly, though, and had the Tring goal under near-constant pressure. A well-timed tackle by Anthony Beamish denied Tony Rogers when he looked to be clean through on the Tring goal on 11 minutes. A shot from Sam Duggan struck the Tring bar on 27 minutes, and Keith McLoughlin saved when Elliott Davidson rose unmarked at the far post to meet a corner on 40 minutes.

But Tring had another good spell as the first half went into stoppage time. Tony Oliver hit the bar after Mark Underwood's long throw had been flicked on to him. As Aveley tried to clear, Underwood headed the ball back, Steve Boad helped it on to Walters, who sprinted clear and rounded the keeper before slotting home Tring's second goal.

The pattern of the game changed little in the second half. Tring were largely penned in their own half, but their dogged defending frustrated the visitors, who couldn't find a way through until ten minutes from time, when John Doyle found the space to shoot from the edge of the area past the unsighted McLoughlin.

That set up a tense finish, but Tring held on to claim their second successive win and put a huge dent in Aveley's promotion hopes.

Team: McLoughlin, Underwood, Gordon, Beamish, Bartlett, Boad, Gerrard, Myatt, Walters, Oliver, McKane.