4/9/01: Ryman League Division Three

Tring's stuttering start to the season continued with a heavy defeat at Edgware Town, although a bizarre last five minutes of the match almost put Tring in with a chance of snatching an unlikely point.

In a frantic opening to the game, both sides attacked from the off, and both sides had the ball in the net in the opening 20 minutes only to be ruled out for offside. However it was the home side that look the lead on 23 minutes when Corbould headed home Ansara's free kick. Tring almost levelled on 30 minutes when Antony Beamish got on the end of Stewart Read's cross, but his header was well saved by the keeper.

Tring's problems increased on 37 minutes when they were caught on the break after giving the ball away in the opposition half. Dean was put clean through and rounded Bartley before netting from a narrow angle. Two minutes before the break a further soft goal looked to have ended the Tring challenge when Blake was allowed the time and space to hit a shot from 25 yards past Bartley.

Things went from bad to worse two minutes into the second half when Read gave the ball away to Dean, who could hardly believe his luck as he ran on to score an easy fourth goal. There was a faint glimmer of hope for Tring when Ben Chesters pulled a goal back on 61 minutes with a superbly struck free kick from 25 yards, but as the game wore on it looked to be nothing more than a consolation.

However, five minutes from time a great ball from Dave Butler put Chesters through on goal and he finished well to pull the score back to 4-2. It was now the turn of the Edgware defence to panic, and within two minutes Chesters got clear again and pulled the ball across goal for Alex Kinsley to net for 4-3. Suddenly Tring had a point within their grasp, but as quickly as they pulled two goals back, they gave another two poor goals away. Edgware sub Page was allowed to head home a free kick unchallenged, and the match ended in appropriately bizarre fashion when Lee Johnson got on the end of an Edgware cross with a shot into his own net that gave Bartley no chance.

Team: Bartley, Cook, Read, Bartlett, L.Johnson, Underwood, Chesters, Groves, Butler, Kinsley, Beamish.