Match Report: Tring Athletic 3-2 Dunstable Town

Photo: Alex Butt heads home for Dunstable.

Report and photos by James Smith.

Dunstable Town produced a game of two halves on a heavy pitch at Tring Athletic on Saturday.

The first half wasn’t of expectation and lacked energy and character, the second half was totally the opposite as they put in a much more determined performance to push their play off challenging opponents right to the end of the game.

Town were missing the suspended Lewis Smith and Luka Lodder through illness.

Tring took the game to their visitors with Bailey Osborne shooting wide in the 7th minute then Max Hercules followed suit two minutes later.

Harry Shepherd then got a swerving shot away that Sam Carman did well to block.

Midway through the half Tring were being allowed too much time and space which allowed Dylan Fitzpatrick to shoot but he also missed the target.

Dunstable responded with good work from Jake Anthony and Mulik Rickman which forced a corner that was eventually cleared.

On the half hour mark Tring were again given too much time as Carman made a brave save in the box then Shepherd shot wide.

Jack Harvey appealed for a penalty for the hosts when he went down in the area but his pleas were waved away by the referee.

Tring kept up the pressure and forced Blues defender Sam Nicholls to head off the line on 36 minutes but they opened the scoring seconds later when Shepherd was allowed to shoot unchallenged and find the top corner from twenty yards.

Two minutes before half time they doubled their lead when a cross from the right found Osborne for an easy tap in.

It was almost 3-0 in added time when a Harry Jones header came back off the post.

Dunstable came out for the second half a different animal and pulled a goal back three minutes in when Kodi Briggs delivered a free kick to the back post which was headed back by Jordan Wright to Alex Butt who powered a header into the net.

The goal sparked the game into life with tackles and incidents a plenty.

Carman had to be alert to deny Tring in the 65 minute before the lively Plamedi Bomolo went through on goal, he took a heavy touch but he managed to get a shot away which Josh Ameganvi saved with his legs.

Photo: Plamedi Bomolo’s shot is saved.

Mulik Rickman and Bomolo had shots blocked then on 71 minutes Town nearly equalised when a cross struck Israel Ajana in the face but agonisingly went straight to Ameganvi.

With Dunstable pressing for an equaliser Tring broke away with two minutes left to add a third goal, which was scored by Dylan Whitelock from close range.

The visitors didn’t give up though and pulled another goal back in added time when Rickman set up James Sales to volley home.

Photo: James Sales (middle) volleys home.

As much as they tried they couldn’t pull level.

If they perform like they did in the second half they will give themselves a chance of survival. With a bit of belief and courage like the last 45 minutes they will give themselves that chance.

Team: Carman: Nicholls; Kenna; Abraham; Wright; Rickman; Butt; Gleeson; Anthony; Briggs; Donkor.

Subs: Bomolo; Ajana; Silford; Sales; Darr.

Town man of the match: Alex Butt.

Match gallery to follow….