24/2/01: Ryman League Division Three

A single goal, scored when Tring were caught cold at the start of the second half, was enough to separate these two sides in a game of few chances.

Tring were without their captain Neal Bartlett, who had a one-match suspension, which allowed reserve team player Leon Hibbert to make a first team debut in which he gave an impressive performance at the centre of defence.

In the early part of the game defences were certainly on top, with neither keeper having to make a save until 24 minutes, when Simon Bartley did well to keep out an angled shot from Lewes' Cameron Johnson. Tring's first sniff of goal didn't arrive until 44 minutes when Mark Swales swung over an excellent cross from the right touchline which Scott Walters got a head to, but didn't force the keeper into a save.

Tring went into the break level, but were behind within thirty seconds of the restart. A misplaced pass was met by a Lewes player with a first-time long ball over the top of the advancing Tring defence. They were left stranded as Richard Hudson raced onto the ball and sprinted clear to score what turned out to be the decisive goal.

The second half then continued in much the same way as the first. Lewes efficiently snuffed out every Tring attack, while the Lewes attack, the second most potent in the division, was also reduced to very few chances by a determined display from the Tring defence.

Tring's final hope came with a stoppage-time corner where Steve Harrhy pulled the ball back for Lee Johnson to shoot, but Johnson didn't really get hold of the shot and the keeper gathered comfortably.

Team: Bartley, Underwood, Harrhy, Hibbert, Johnson, Boad, Swales (Groves), Cook, Walters, Davis (Kinsley), Beamish.