10/2/01: Ryman League Division Three

Tring's bid for a top six place seems to have hit a sticky patch at the moment. Saturday's heavy defeat was their third in a run of four games which has seen them score only one point and one goal, and it could have been worse as the home side had already scored their four goals by half time.

Reserve team keeper David Clark was brought in for the unavailable Simon Bartley, although he was hardly to blame for the scale of the defeat, as his defence often left him exposed. Croydon took the lead with their first real attack of the game on five minutes. A low cross came in from the right which their top scorer John Fowler just failed to connect with, but following up behind was Jeff Wilkinson who made no mistake from six yards out.

Hesitant defending allowed Croydon to double their lead two minutes later, as Fowler was allowed the time and space to line up a shot from the edge of the area which beat Clark and went in off the far post.

Shellshocked Tring began to claw their way into the game, and could have pulled a goal back on 13 minutes when Scott Walters headed Sean Sangster's cross just wide, and again two minutes later when Mark Underwood's cross was headed just over by Lee Johnson. However, Tring were always under threat of being hit on the break by Croydon's speedy front two of Fowler and Tyrone Myton, and it was the latter who was put clean through on 19 minutes, only to put his shot wide of Clark's goal.

The third goal was not long in arriving, though, as a long clearance was headed on by Myton to Fowler, who outran the chasing defenders before coolly slotting past Clark. Tring weren't helping themselves by giving the ball away too often, usually by underhitting passes on the heavy surface. Clark's save denied Wilkinson his second on 37 minutes when he was cleam through, but on the stroke of half time a poorly defended cross found the head of the unchallenged Wilkinson to well and truly put the game out of Tring's reach.

In the second half Tring were playing for pride, and at least they managed to tighten up at the back enough to deny the home side any more goals, whilst never looking like getting on the scoresheet themselves. Admittedly Croydon are a far better side than their mid-table position suggests, but Tring need to get their game back together quickly if they are to keep their promotion challenge alive.

Team: Clark, Underwood (J.Gibson), Harrhy, Bartlett, Johnson, Boad, Swales, Sangster, Walters (Davis), Kinsley (Armstrong), Cook.