TRING ATHLETIC F C V DUNSTABLE TOWN F C - 19/10/19

MATCH REPORT

A TOUCH OF CLASS SEALS THE WIN

What an amazing performance! Full of attacking invention, creativity and flair. Enough about the rugby, our own match yesterday was dull and lacked any sparkle at times I thought I was still under the anaesthetic! The term scrappy was invented for this one.
However, you should never get complacent about winning and this victory took us to an amazing eleven consecutive league victories. Sometimes you just have to scrap it out and wait for your one chance, which is exactly how it panned out. The only goal of the game, in the 89th minute, was one of high quality, not in keeping with everything that had gone before - a trade-mark Max Mitchell free kick, brilliantly and athletically converted by Jake Carter.
Because of our magnificent defence, it was clear that we only needed one goal to take the three points. In league action, this was our fourth consecutive clean sheet and that is a very solid base to build from. If you are an opposing forward, the task of breaching our back four is a tough one, and even then you have to deal with Charlie Mann, who impresses every time out yet another faultless display today.
We had one let off early in the second half when Dunstable Towns striker missed something of a sitter, but we had much the greater share of play as the match wore on and we did manage to exert a bit of pressure leading up our goal.
Perhaps the reason we were a little disjointed was the number of changes we made to the starting 11, with Kieran Turner making a welcome return to the club and George Brinkman, on his first start of the season. Both players will get better as they settle into the unit, for we know they bring quality and attacking flair. Also making his debut off the bench was Cameron Brooks who looked bright but whose involvement was cut short due to a rib injury, when colliding with their keeper. Also coming off the bench and giving us a little more forward momentum was Frazer John, who had a useful 30 minutes of action.
And, of course, you must pay credit to our opponents who worked exceptionally hard, were well organised and highly motivated. This is what happens when you play the league leaders. Added to that was the return to Cow Lane of Chris Stapleton, Seb Smith and Luke Little, to add a little spice. Particularly pleasing was the return of Ryan Sturges, now the Towns Assistant Manager. Ryan was a tremendously popular player in Trings colours, playing more than 200 times for the first team and giving his 100% best on every single occasion. His playing career was suddenly cut short on medical advice and it is great to see him getting so much joy from his new dug-out involvement.
We remain 5 points clear and it is obvious that Newport Pagnell and Colney Heath are our challengers for the title. We go to Baldock Town next Saturday and then cup action the following Tuesday.

Team: C Mann, B Johnson, J Sunderland, T Fletcher, J Lovell, J Carter, L Dunstan, M Rickman (C Brooks 60m D Ferrigno 70m), G Brinkman (F John 60m), M Mitchell, K Turner.

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