Abingdon gained quick
revenge for their defeat the previous Saturday
against a disappointing Tring side who gave a
performance that was inferior in every department
to last week's. Manager Howard Cowley described
the first 25 minutes of the game as 'gutless'
saying "The players take the credit when
they win ; they have to accept the criticism when
they perform like this. After the last two weeks,
they let themselves down badly defensively"
Tring could have taken the lead in the second
minute of the game when Alex Kinsley intercepted
a wayward cross-field pass and sprinted into the
Abingdon box, but his eventual shot was turned
wide by the keeper. Instead it was the home side
who went in front on 11 minutes from a disputed
free kick just outside the Tring penalty area.
The ball was knocked sideways to Garry Parker,
who blasted the ball home through a crowd of
players.
By now Abingdon were well on top, with Parker
particularly influential in midfield. On 16
minutes Parker unleashed a long throw into the
Tring box. Goalkeeper Leigh Dale flapped at the
near post and John McMahon had the simple task of
heading into the empty net at the far post.
Soon after Tring lost Gary Donaldson to injury as
a result of a bad tackle, and they were
increasingly under the cosh. Abingdon had a goal
disallowed for offside on 20 minutes, but only
had to wait another two minutes for their third
goal. Chris Potter received the ball unmarked
just outside the box, and although he was closed
down, he was still able to open up a shooting
chance and slotted the ball into the corner of
the net. It was clear that Tring were in for a
long afternoon, and the fourth goal arrived on 26
minutes. Jason Thomas pulled the ball back from
the bye-line for Chris Harper to shoot home
unchallenged at the near post.
Tring steadied the ship enough to get through to
half time without any further damage, and quickly
pulled a goal back four minutes into the second
half. Steve Groves won the ball in midfield and
played it out wide to Kinsley, who delivered it
into the centre for Dave Butler to net from close
range.
However, within a minute Abingdon had restored
their four-goal advantage. Chris Harper headed
home from a long throw despite the attentions of
four Tring defenders. That put paid to any hopes
of a Tring revival, and Parker had a simple
tap-in for Abingdon's sixth goal on 63 minutes.
Abingdon then introduced a second ex-professional
onto the pitch in Joey Beauchamp, formerly of
Oxford and West Ham, but Tring managed to avoid
conceding any further goals over the remainder of
the game. |
|
| Abingdon Town:
1. Gordon Hearmon, 2. Joe Brewerton, 3. Stuart
Douglas, 4. Luke Beauchamp, 5. David Tregurtha, 6. Garry
Parker, 7. Jason Thomas, 8. Tristan Didcock, 9. John
McMahon, 10. Chris Harper, 11. Chris Potter. Subs: 12.
Gary Coyle, 14. Mark Scanes (for Potter 76 mins), 15. Lee
Bolton (for McMahon 71 mins), 16. Joey Beauchamp (for
Douglas 64 mins), 17. J.Stedman. Tring
Town: 1. Leigh Dale, 2. Chris Gibson, 3. Wayne
Barber, 4. Adam Dale, 5. Brian Johnson, 6. Gary
Donaldson, 7. Sean Sangster, 8. Dennis Fennemore, 9. Dave
Butler, 10. Alex Kinsley, 11. Steve Groves. Subs: 12. Joe
Gibson (for Donaldson 17 mins), 14. Dean Hutchinson (for
Sangster 57 mins), 15. Luke Reid (for J.Gibson 67 mins),
16. Jay Marshall.
Bookings:
19 mins - Tring - A.Dale (dissent)
36 mins - Tring - Barber
36 mins - Abingdon - McMahon
Referee:
Phil Harris
Attendance:
84
|