Match Report:
Tring Athletic Reds 0 - Chalfont Wasps 2

Excellent application against a strong Chalfont team
We again setup with a 4-5-1 formation, looking to match Wasps in midfield and use our pace and strength out wide to put Chalfont under pressure.

We started slowly, with Chalfont putting us under pressure for the first few minutes with long balls into our box. We absorbed this pressure comfortably and the game quickly evened out, with both teams dealing well with the conditions to try to play fast, passing football. We were unfortunate to give away a penalty in the 14th minute after a slightly clumsy challenge inside our box - the Chalfont player took the penalty well - 0-1 to Chalfont. Other than a header off the bar following an excellent pass/cross from Chalfont, the rest of the half was very even - with our boys working extremely hard to try to play around a very congested midfield.

Half Time: Tring 0 - Chalfont 1

At half-time I praised the boys for their work ethic and physicality in the game, where they were clearly matching Chalfont in all areas of the pitch. We spoke about the 'frantic' nature of our play and the need to have a little more courage, a little more quality and composure when in possession.

The first 20 minutes of the 2nd half where extremely difficult for us, our formation left us very exposed in midfield and Chalfont made full use of the slope to overload us on a number of occasions. Charlie's keeping and our defence were excellent throughout. Chalfont had a number of clear cut opportunities that they failed to convert due to great goal keeping and excellent last ditch tackles from the boys (and some poor finishing on their part) - our commitment today was never in doubt. We changed our shape in the final 20 minutes and looked more balanced - we enjoyed more possession and had a couple of half-chances to get back into the game. On the 88th minutes, Wasps converted a free-kick to run out 0-2 winners.

Final Score: Tring Athletic Reds 0 - Chalfont Wasps 2

Today's result was disappointing but our performance was not. We have had no competitive football since 27th January and we could looked out of shape and rusty this morning - we did not. After the first couple of minutes we were competitive all over the pitch, we continue to struggle to make chances - we'll work on that but our fitness and desire has developed enormously. As we try to make sure the whole squad get a reasonable amount of football, it's not always possible to play the idea formation for the conditions or opposition - that happened today and the efforts of Dylan, Harrison and Alex should be recognised for the work they did during these periods.

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, Dylan Whitehead, Alex Holmes
Subs
Connor Fitzgerald, Finn Euston-Moore, Jake Saunders , Tom Selwyn

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