10/4/01: Ryman League Division Three

Tring fell to their second defeat within a week after being forced to play the whole of the second half of this match with only ten men. Tring made the stronger start to the match and went ahead after 18 minutes. Steve Groves' corner found the head of Brian Johnson, whose downward header beat the keeper.

The turning point of the match came five minutes before the break. Abingdon's Ben Border beat the Tring offside trap to go clean through. Tring keeper Simon Bartley raced out of his area to intercept, but as Border tried to go round Bartley, the ball struck the keeper's hands. Whether the handball was deliberate or not, the referee had no alternative but to send Bartley off. Neal Bartlett took over in goal and saw Tring to half-time with their lead still intact.

Tring's ten men battled bravely as the second half progressed, but two lapses of concentration within five minutes saw the game go away from them. On 70 minutes an Abingdon corner was poorly defended, and Nick Gill pounced on the loose ball to net the equaliser. Five minutes later Tring lost possession on the half way line, allowing Jon Gardner to race down the right touchline. His cross was not cleared at the near post, and Roger Charles was on hand at the far post to tap the ball home.

Tring brought on two fresh strikers in an attempt to save the game, and Scott Walters hit a shot just wide within seconds of coming off the bench. However, five minutes from time the game was put beyond Tring when Charles ran on to a threaded pass and finished in style to put Abingdon 3-1 ahead.

There was still a further twist to come in injury time as Walters was brought down inside the box. Captain for the night Mark Underwood marked his 100^th start in a Tring shirt by scoring the penalty, but although Tring had time for a couple more sorties into the Abingdon half, they could not find the goal to rescue a point.

Team: Bartley, Underwood, Groves, Bartlett, B.Johnson, Hibbert, Sangster, Cook (Boad), Kelly (Burfoot), Kinsley (Walters), Beamish.