Tring 2’s began their league campaign at Milton Keynes on Saturday 23rd September.

The previous encounters between us have always been very competitive and close with two very evenly matched sides, and this was no exception.

In the bright sunshine the warmup went well. The usual early season introductions, clarification on positions and a rousing team talk set the scene. First blood to Tring, we won the toss, taking advantage of the low sun.

The first quarter was close, with both teams probing, but not quite being able to create clear chances, while working off the rustiness of not having played for some time. The positive thing was the encouragement expressed by the players and some of the passing and movement.

It felt a little against the run of play, but Milton Keynes scored first. A break into the D and some individual skill to wrongfoot the defence and the ball was passed beyond the reach of Rob. Tring continued to play as before, good passing and support movement. Alex Brown, Chris Barnes, John Brown and Andrew Claringbold started to dominate the midfield. A turnover ball was passed quickly forward Jake Aust reacted quickly and though his shot was saved on hand was John Brown to sweep the ball into the goal.

Second half again was close, but given the way the Tring backline of Gilbert Grace, Ian Grainger Ian Swift and Ralph Darvill were handling the MK attackers, it did not seem there was ever a panic. MK huffed and puffed. At this point the Captain, Ian Grainger decided to make a contribution but not the most positive. A short altercation with the MK captain resulted in both being sent off for a couple of minutes of reflection. MK had a short corner and the situation looked ominous.

What had seemed like the worst possible situation, transformed itself and went some way to assuage the captain’s guilt. A great save from Rob and quick clearance from the defence enabled Tring to break and a short corner was awarded to Tring. The MK player watching from the side line was their number one runner. With the extra time available Jake struck a clean shot past the keeper to give Tring the lead.

MK tried hard to create chances, but nothing seemed to work for them. Tring were in the ascendancy; Jake, Alex Ferguson and Jak Ambrose were causing the MK defence lots of problems. Making his debut in the team Aonghus joined the midfield, showing great skill and his energy was infectious. Though a hot tiring day the victory was Tring’s to savour. A great start to the season. Smiles all round, even more when Alex Ferguson piped up with “it’s a bit cold today” while basking in bright sunshine.