GREAT WIN FOR U18'S

Kick off was delayed by several minutes due to Balham being delayed in the evening traffic making the 2 hour journey from south London.

Tring got off to a very intense start and kept pressure on Balham from the very first whistle. Several chances were saved or were just wide of converting to goals. The deadlock was finally broken when Bogdan Marian scored directly from a corner on the twenty minute mark.

The intensity didn't drop from Tring, Balham battled hard to try & contain Athletic's midfield with Wainwright, Lawless and Barnes creating openings on goal for Lorimer, Robinson & Marian. As the game approached half time it seemed only a matter of time before Tring would score again.

Balham seemed to be relying on the counter attack to try and breakdown Tring but Blair, Deschamps & Coffie created an unbreakable defensive line. In an almost faultless half from Tring's defence the tide turned when what can only be described as a calamitous attempted clearance from the Tring defence gifted Balham their only chance of the half and they calmly slotted the ball in the net giving them a much needed lifeline and a huge morale boost as the teams walked in for half time.

At half time Tring made a change bringing off Whicker for Goulding and after a slugglish first 5 minutes kicked back into gear and began to break down Balham FC in midfield and create a wave of chances. A very dubious goal line handball from one of Balham's defenders kept them from going behind and despite the players and crowds disapproval the referee waved play on and Tring had to battle on and find a way through Balham's strong back line.

A couple more changes from Tring to freshen things up saw Alex Bailey and new first year signing George Rice join in on the FA Cup action to complete the maximum allowed 3 substitutions.

Some silky footwork from Wainwright saw him dribble through Balham's midfield and create an opening for Goulding with a perfectly weighted pass and put Tring in front 2-1.

Balham heads went down and Tring took the opportunity to play in Balhams half for long periods with some fantastic football on show. Captain Taylor Robinson finished the game off making it 3-1 for Tring on the night and a well deserved win for the young Tring side.

A joint man of the match award to both Cameron Blair and Bogdan Marian who both produced outstanding performances on the special night for Tring Athletic.

team:

Sean Locke Hart, Cameron Blair, Max Deschamps, Ellis Coffie, Mason Barnes, George Wainwright, Fin Lawless, Lewis Whicker, Jamie Lorimer, Taylor Robinson (Captain), Bogdan Marian.

Subs: Ethan Goulding, Alex Bailey, George Rice, Vinny Esteban Wade, (not used), Kai Borrett (not used)

Goals: Bogdan Marian, Ethan Goulding, Taylor Robinson.

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