3/5/01: Ryman League Division Three

Tring Town 0 Aveley 2

Tring's hopes of a top-half finish are in the balance after this disappointing defeat to Aveley last night. They now need to win their final game against Hornchurch and hope that one or both of Ware and Egham lose their final games.

The match was evenly-contested throughout, with both sides having good chances to break the deadlock. On 15 minutes Alex Kinsley's pass put Sean Sangster clean through, but Sangster ran the ball too far in front of him and the keeper claimed it. On 38 minutes a shot from Sangster was cleared off the line and the rebound fell for James Armstrong, but he shot wide from six yards out. Two minutes before the break Aveley had a chance when Lee Fulling pulled the ball back for Danny Curran, but Steve Harrhy dived in to block Curran's shot.

Tring had another good chance on 57 minutes when Mark Burfoot's pass put Antony Beamish through, but the keeper save Beamish's shot with his legs. The stalemate was broken in controversial circumstances on 71 minutes. The Tring side believed that Curran had taken the ball over the goal line before coming back inside and hitting a shot which came back off the post. Gary Lynch fired the rebound into the net. In the ensuing arguments following the goal, Neal Bartlett was sent off for comments made to a linesman.

Tring rarely looked like getting back into the game, and Aveley sealed their victory five minutes from time when Curran beat several defenders on a solo run into the box before shooting home the second goal.

Team: Bartley, J.Gibson, Harrhy, Bartlett, L.Johnson, Boad, Hibbert (Walters), Sangster (B.Johnson), Armstrong (Walters), Kinsley, Beamish.