Tring Athletic Reds 1 - Langley Green 2
Match Report:
Tring Athletic Reds 1 - Langley Green 2
Scorers: Alex Holmes

Another close game slips away
Though Langley Green are sitting mid-table in Division 2, we knew this was likely to be a very competitive match as they are above the Windsor team who we have struggled with this season and have had some close matches against Division 1 opposition.

We again setup with a 4-5-1 formation, looking to be strong in midfield with attacking options coming from our wide players. Langley started with high energy, they had us under pressure from kick off and won a couple of corners in the first few minutes. We settled down and went ahead somewhat fortunately when Langley failed to deal with a high ball into the box and Alex (he says) managed to toe-poke' the ball into the goal in the 3rd minute. The high energy and full bloodied commitment continued throughout the half but the quality of our passing was poor and there were very few chances on either side. At halftime we had perhaps just edge it and deserved the 1-0 lead.

Half Time: Tring 1 - Langley 0

At half-time we spoke of the need to attend to a couple of their stronger players, the 14 and 7 stood out, remain competitive and win our individual battles and try to improve our decision making and quality in the final 3rd.

The 2nd half got off to a poor start for us when Langley were first to react to a rebound to score on the 50th minute, levelling the match at 1-1. In response we upped our work-rate, taking more control of the midfield and holding the ball up well in attack. We made a couple of decent chances, where we may have troubled the keeper if we'd had just a little more composure. However the match remained very even as we didn't look after the ball well enough and didn't make enough chances to dominate. At 1-1 we looked to be heading to a penalty shootout, however as we pushed on looking for the winner, we left ourselves exposed at the back and got caught out by a counter-attack that was finished well by the Langley striker. Our efforts to get back into the game in the final few minutes failed and Langley ran out 2-1 winners.

Final Score: Tring Athletic Reds 1 - Langley Green 2

While it's disappointing (again) to lose from a winning position and to a Division 2 side, there were plenty of positives in this weekend's performance. The effort and work rate of the entire team was excellent (certainly shaken off those post-Xmas cobwebs), Tom led the line with relentless hard work and (just about) the right level of aggression against two 'lumpy' defenders, Alex was tireless in midfield simultaneously taking care of his defensive duties while trying also to be our second striker and Charlie had an excellent all round performance, particularly when we lost Adam part way through the second half. So, these tough, competitive games are great to be involved in and I was delighted with the boys attitude and application throughout. Back to training on Saturday for some 'counter-attack' training and maybe some shooting practice.

Team as follows (all subs played)
Charlie McLeod (GK), Alfie Sharrocks, Adam Connors, Charlie Thomson, Josh Maxfield
Dylan McAuley, Harvey Chamberlain, Harrison Cornick, Tom Ainsworth, Michael Reeves, Alex Holmes
Subs, Connor Fitzgerald, Finn Euston-Moore, Jake Saunders , Dylan Whitehead

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