4/12/99: Ryman League Division Three

Tring Town 2 Clapton 1

Tring got back to winning ways at last on Saturday, but it was a close thing as they had to rely on a last-minute goal to overcome Clapton in another match in which they made all the running.

The opening stages of the match produced very little action of note. Paul Aldridge on 4 minutes and Scott Walters on 16 minutes both headed wide from corners as Tring held the bulk of the possession but did little with it. The game needed a goal to liven it up, and it duly arrived on 29 minutes. A long throw-in found its way to Rob McKane inside the area, and McKane turned and fired home to end Tring's goal drought at 378 minutes.

The lead would have been doubled three minutes later but for McKane being guilty of one of the misses of this or any other season. Steve Groves' cross found McKane barely a yard in front of an open net, but he somehow only got a glancing header on the ball which wasn't enough to divert it inside the post. Another chance went begging on 35 minutes when McKane's pass put Walters through, but his eventual shot was wide.

Tring still struggled to find the vital second goal after the break. Walters was twice clean through on the keeper, but saw one shot saved and the other go wide. On 67 minutes Groves had a great chance, but the keeper saved the shot with his legs and also saved the follow-up effort from McKane.

For the second week running Tring found themselves playing against ten men. Clapton's Fraser McLean got his marching orders on 73 minutes for a second bookable offence. However, this seemed to galvanise the visitors, and five minutes later they equalised. Tring got into trouble on the halfway line, and despite having several chances to clear, the ball got through to Marcelo Zanoni, who lifted it over Keith McLoughlin to score from their first real chance of the match.

It looked as though Tring were going to pay the price for not taking their chances, and several more were spurned over the closing minutes. However, as the game went into injury time, Eddie Gerrard broke clear down the left. He squared the ball for Matt Rawdon, who put the ball past the keeper, but the final touch was applied by Matt Myatt, who netted his first goal for the club to put Tring back in front.

Even then they almost blew it in the dying seconds when a low bounce caused McLoughlin to spill a simple take, but Zanoni could only shoot across the face of goal from a narrow angle as he pounced on the loose ball. A few seconds later the final whistle brought Tring a very welcome three points.

Team: McLoughlin, Bartlett, Simpson, Woolf, Aldridge, Myatt, Gerrard, Boad, McKane (Rawdon), Walters, Groves.