5/9/00: FA Cup Preliminary Round Replay

Tring finally won through to a first qualifying round tie at Ely City on Saturday with a goal three minutes from the end of extra time, having earlier squandered a catalogue of chances to have won the game comfortably. Tring showed two changes from the first match with the return of Neal Bartlett from injury and Scott Walters from suspension.

The visitors took the lead from their first real attack on 16 minutes after their striker Nick Wade was brought down inside the area by a clumsy challenge from a Tring defender. Darren Jameson made no mistake from the penalty spot.

Tring fought back strongly towards the end of the half and had a number of chances to level the score. On 29 minutes Antony Beamish won a header at a corner, and both Lee Johnson and Walters swung at and missed the loose ball with the goal at their mercy. Two minutes later Tring had two efforts cleared off the line from a free kick. On 33 minutes a cross from the right was flicked on by Beamish to Walters at the far post but his first-time effort went wide.

Tring still trailed going into the break, and they took a long while to get going in the second half. They should have been two behind on 50 minutes when Wade burst through the Tring defence but shot well wide with only Billy Davies to beat. A double substitution put new life into Tring and they had another great chance on 67 minutes. Steve Harrhy's cross was palmed away by the keeper, and Johnson blazed the rebound over the bar.

Tring gradually began to build up a head of steam, and their cause was helped by the dismissal of Wellingborough striker Wade on 76 minutes for throwing a punch at Beamish. The equaliser had to come, and eventually arrived on 79 minutes. Alex Kinsley swung over the perfect corner and Beamish thundered in to head home powerfully and send the game into extra time.

By now Tring were well on top, but in the first period they still could not break their record of not having scored while attacking downhill at Pendley this season. This was down to a combination of poor finishing and two great saves from the keeper to deny shots from Kinsley and Walters. The pressure continued in the second period but the game was three minutes away from a penalty shoot-out before Tring finally got the decisive goal. Sean Sangster showed persistence on the edge of the area to keep the ball and eventually force it through to substitute Steve Groves, whose shot across the face of goal was bundled in at the far post by the other substitute Jamie Hall to the relief of virtually everyone inside the ground. Tring held on over a nervous couple of minutes to clinch their place in the next round.

Team: Davies, Underwood, Harrhy, Bartlett, Johnson, Boad (Groves), Hemingway (Hall), Sangster, Walters, Kinsley, Beamish.