Tring Athletic 5 v 1 Hullbridge Sports

Saturday 6th January 2018
FA Vase Fourth Round
Grass Roots Stadium, Tring
Admission including Programme: £6.00
Attendance: 217
Match Rating: 3

For my opening game of 2018, I certainly wanted to take in a FA Vase game today, and the only comfortable options for me were at two clubs in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division. Tring Athletic won my vote in the end, mainly due to an interest to see how Hullbridge Sports got on, who I had seen triumph in a feisty tie on home soil in the previous round.

The Grass Roots Stadium is about a 20 minute walk from Tring train station, although as I arrived nearly two hours ahead of kick off, I carried on walking for about another mile, to visit Tring Brewery shop, to pick up a few bottles of local brew, as my after effects of a heavy cold meant I didn’t fancy sampling any today. Back at the ground, spectators enter through a smart black wooden turnstile lock, entering the ground along one length. To the left of the entrance, there is a long large black building, housing the changing rooms and the clubhouse which, although spacious inside, was extremely busy today. To the other side of the entrance and straddling the half way line is a tall, narrow stand, offering four rows of elevated and quite intimate seating. It offers good views of the action, although supporting pillars get in the way. Behind the goal closest to the clubhouse, there is narrow cover, about half of which covers a row of seats, the other half a step to stand on. There is just hard standing around the rest of the ground. It is an interesting ground with a nice location – trees tightly line the end with the narrow stand, a field with trees just beyond is visible behind the length opposite the stand, while the town’s rugby club is situated behind the other goal, with their pitch backing on to the football ground. The 40 page programme was a really good publication, with an attractive cover and layout inside, interesting material to digest and an acceptable proportion of advertising. Considerable credit to the club for including this in the already reasonable admission fee, much more what should be the combined cost for step 5 football.

Neither club are having great seasons in their respective Step 5 division. Tring were in 18th place in the 21 team Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division, having won five and drawn two of their 17 league games so far. Hullbridge Sports were in 20th place in the 21 team Essex Senior League, having won five and drawn four of their 22 league games. Tring were given a bye to the Second Round Proper of this year’s competition, when they beat Ely City 4-1 and then local rivals Berkhamsted 1-0, both at home. Hullbridge entered at the Second Qualifying Round stage, since when they have dispatched Ilford 0-3 away, Colney Heath 0-1 away in a replay. Wembley 3-2 at home, and Enfield 3-2 at home.

On a mild afternoon, with intermittent spells of misty rain, the home side took the lead on 13 minutes in very fortunate circumstances. An initial shot following a surging run into the area was parried, and when a Hullbridge defender tried to knock the ball behind for a corner, the ball hit his team mate and spun sideways and into his own net. The game was generally a midfield battle throughout the first half, and the closest Hullbridge came to levelling was on 27 minutes, when Michael Salako took hit time to flight a good shot from just outside the area but the ball came back off the crossbar. It was the home side who held a slender lead at the interval, but with the outcome still very much in the balance.

I did feel that the visitors had not made the most of kicking down the slope in the first half, and their task became a lot more difficult within two minutes of the restart when Tring doubled their lead, Jack Read diverting a low cross inside the keeper's near post. Tring seemed to put the result beyond doubt on 58 minutes with a very good goal by Chris Vardy. The ball was played low into him and with a lovely first touch flicked the ball past a defender before gently poking the ball past the keeper and into the net. There was still time for Hullbridge to make an unlikely comeback into the game, and they were given hope on 67 minutes when they were awarded a penalty when a defender pulled back former manager Rob Hodgson in the box, and Jimmy Cox drilled the ball into the bottom left corner, just beyond the keeper's dive. But any hope Hullbridge had was extinguished six minutes later. Their keeper parried a low cross shot wide for a corner, from which Mark Ruddock just beat the keeper to head the ball home. As the match entered added on time, Tring added a fifth with a really good goal. Following a smart passing move, the ball was swung over to the left of goal, played first time into a central area for Max Hercules to strike the ball first time beyond the keeper's grasp and into the net. There was still time for the visitors to force a save with the rebound bundled just wide, but it was Tring who comfortably progressed to the final 16 for the first time in their history. The scoreline was flattering to the hosts, although they certainly deserved to progress. It also meant the me of the line for Essex Senior League participation in this year's competition, and Hullbridge will be disappointed at the way they caved in during the second half, although that should not detract from a good effort to get this far, the fourth time in their history this has proved the insurmountable obstacle for them.