The opening day of a normal season saw a trip to Tring Corinthians. August is always a strange month, and nothing changed, with a depleted squad on the road for this fixture. The last meeting was held at the rec and saw Bradwell pick up 3 points.
From the off Bradwell looked to dominate the ball, which was the theme for the whole game. We continued to probe however the structure of Tring was hard to breakdown, as we looked to force the play too much. There were no real events of note in the opening exchanges, until Tring pounced on a defensive error towards the end of the half. A pass was well read and the Tring forward was slipped in and finished well at the near post.
Half Time: Tring 1 - 0 New Bradwell
The second half saw an increased intensity and desire from Bradwell straight from the off, but needed a little bit of individual brilliance to make the breakthrough. This came as Anning cut inside to play an intricate one two with Lee, before going past another defender and finding the bottom corner with a well struck effort.
The first goal was a starting point for Bradwell, as they continued to look for ways through a resolute Tring defence. The second however did come shortly after as the ball dropped to Webb, who volleyed into the far corner past the stretching keeper. A precision finish.
Instead of continuing to press, following 2 goals in a 7 minute spell, Bradwell sat off a little. Tring sensed this and began to take more risks in forward areas. They looked more dangerous in forward areas, which culminated in the chance of the game. Some nice play saw the Tring forward in on Burberry, who make a superb save at close range, only to see the ball pop back up to the Tring forward. By this time Hawkins had managed to get himself between ball and goal, and somehow deflected the forwards follow up effort over and away. This was to be the final chance of the game.
Full Time: Tring 1 - 2 New Bradwell
There's no doubt that Bradwell were nowhere near their best, however to pick up 3 points on the opening day of the season was the most important outcome. Now already a week off, before a trip to Sarratt.
Photo: Tring Corinthians FC