11/9/99: Ryman League Division Three

Tilbury 2 Tring Town 0

Tring's worst ever start to an Isthmian League campaign continued with Saturday's league match at Tilbury. This was a game in which they never looked like breaking their duck, going down to goals from defensive mistakes early in each half.

The opening goal came after just four minutes, when a Tilbury corner received two flick-ons from Tring defenders, and Steve Smith capitalised by heading in at the far post.

Tring might have pulled level four minutes later when a pass from Adie Corcoran set up Rob McKane with a shooting chance, but his effort went high and wide. In fact, Tring had the bulk of the possession in the first half, and were rarely troubled by the home side. The problem is the lack of threat up front, illustrated by the fact that they did not have another effort on goal until the last minute of the half when a speculative shot from Sean Sangster did not miss the target by much.

It was a similar story in the second half. Tilbury doubled their lead on 53 minutes when Paul Turner was outjumped by Kevin Mully as a cross came over, and Mully's header was too powerful for Keith McLoughlin to stop. That marked the end of the game as a spectacle, with neither keeper being seriously extended for the remainder.

Team: McLoughlin, Underwood, Simpson, Turner, Aldridge, Dale, Gerrard, McKane, Rawdon, A.Corcoran (Groves), Sangster (Walsh)