Possession was shared evenly as the second half progressed but it was Buckingham who increased their lead.  Matt Myatt was clearly fouled just inside the Tring half and players half expecting the referee to blow, were caught when the ball played through, with a suspicion of offside, was latched onto, the Bucks striker finished well.  With Bucks changing formation at the back Tring pushed on, and eventually the pressure paid off, a superb cross from the right caught the Bucks goalie in two minds, his hesitation was Tring's gain as Richard Yeatman went for the ball and got a touch that forced the ball over the line.But alas, as the  referee signalled a goal, the linesman from forty yards away had flagged for a foul on the keeper, and the "goal" was ruled out.  With 15 minutes to go and Tring having their best patch of the game, a goal now would have certainly set up a furious finale but it came too late with Massey rounding the keeper, two minutes from time to pull one back. But the performance was good, and Tring go into Monday's FA Youth Cup-Tie against Southall with confidence high.

With Richard Massey and Ossie Bilir controlling midfield, the back four looking very tight and the forward runs and strength of Andrew Pollard causing havoc with the Southall defence, the goalmouth action was plenty. But they just couldn't apply the finishing touch, and with Jamie Parkin's outstanding ball control and skill going close, Pollard missing inside the six yard box and Bilir with two 25 yard screamers going just wide, you felt it wasn't going to be Tring's night. Especially at the other end when capitalising on a loose ball, Southall went in front with a deflected goal that seemed like slow motion as it hit the back of the net.

This was the half time score, and you felt that the tide must turn after the interval. Tring again had a lot of possession, but Southall had a ten minute spell when they looked dangerous, playing to their strengths with direct balls to their speedy front runners. However, the Tring defenders, marshalled well by Matt Foulis stood firm. With time ticking away Tring's Matt Myatt was wrestled to the ground inside the box, but with the linesman failing to keep his flag up, the ref waved play on. A scorcher of a free kick from Parkin looked destined for the top left hand corner, but the Southall keeper produced a great save, tipping the ball just over the bar for one of the saves of the season. Then with Massey through, his attempted lob clipped the keeper and the ball ran to safety.

As Tring pushed up with minutes to go, leaving holes at the back , the inevitable happened with Southall on the break scoring with a header at the far post. Seconds later the ref blew and Tring bowed out with dignity and the belief that they did the club proud with a superb footballing performance.

Man of the match: The whole side.

For the first 15 minutes it was Flackwell who made all the early running, going close to scoring on several occasions, but Tring held firm with Pej Rojo, coming in for the injured Matt Foulis, doing a fine job.

It was against the run of play that Tring took the lead with Andrew Pollard controlling the ball well in the box and firing home. From this moment the game changed completely, with Tring taking command, playing the more controlled football, and going two up when Jamie Parkin turned well and crashed home a superb shot from the edge of the penalty box.

2-0 up at half time, Tring came out for the second half on fire, and it didn't take long for them to add to the scoreline. A good move down the left flank saw Pollard again on the end of a fine move for the third, then Richard Massey latched on to a through ball to round the keeper in fine style and make it 4-0. Having a lot of possession and creating much space, the game opened up with Tring on the rampage. Sub David Barnard went on a tremendous 30 yard run to slip the ball past the oncoming keeper, and Pollard completed his hat-trick again by being in the right place at the right time. Credit to Flackwell who battled well and on another night may not have found Tring in such rampant mood, but for this game anyway Tring were "alright on the night".

Man of the match: Andrew Pollard - a superb hat-trick coupled with a strong hard- working display.

With both sides battling against the condition it was Thame who took the lead from the penalty spot after a Tring defender handled in the box. Tring were finding it difficult to get themselves or the ball out of their own half, so it was no surprise when Thame increased their lead. After a mix-up in defence, the Thame striker was allowed to tap into an empty net, then minutes later another defensive error was capitalised on and Tring found themselves with a mountain to climb at half-time.

After a stern half-time talk Tring came out a lot stronger and within eight minutes of the restart should have been level. Again Craig Ellis took a pass from Parkin and did everything right except hit the net, then Ossie Bilir blazed wide from ten yards when it would have been easier to score. Eventually Tring did score from the penalty spot when Parkin was brought down after a mazy run and slotted the spot-kick home himself, then for the remainder of the half Tring had the more pressure, the more chances and the most possession, but unlike Thame in the first half, failed to take advantage.

Pushing up in the closing stages and going three at the back, Tring conceded a fourth goal for an unjust scoreline, but at the end of the day they paid the price, not for the first time this season, of failing to take their chances.

Man of the match: Colin Smith - competent, intelligent, strong display.

But after a shake-up at the interval and with the emphasis being on pride, Tring came out with a positive attitude, and within minutes of the restart, wing back Colin Smith finished off a fine move, striking home from just inside the penalty box. More fired-up Tring begun to get their act together and started to string a few moves together. But as often happens pushing forward to claw back the deficit, the gaps appeared at the back and from a quick break Oxford regained their three-goal advantage. Tring replied straight away with Jamie Parkin turning well inside the box to strike a fine left-foot effort past the goalie, and again Tring looked the better side at this stage. If a fine effort from Stuart Lumm, making his debut, had gone in instead of crashing against the crossbar, then an explosive finale would have been on the cards, but Tring just didn't have the final push and a fine solo goal from Oxford on the stroke of full time sadly put the result beyond Tring's reach.

Man of the match: Michael Napolitano - playing his first full game showed plenty of enthusiasm and worked hard.