Tring Athletic FC (TAFC) have seen an agonising end to what has been a dramatic FA Vase run, losing out in third-round penalties.
The Tring side defeated Dunstable Town, Saffron Walden Town and Harleston Town to make it to the Third Round, where they faced their toughest opponents yet, Fleet Town.
In a nail-biting match on Saturday, December 14, a 2-2 draw saw the game go to dreaded penalties after the Tring side twice managed to claw back from behind. Penalties were a fingertip too far for the Tring boys, who sadly accepted their defeat, sending Fleet Town through for the first time in the club’s history.
Manager Ryan Sturges headed to social media and said: “Absolutely gutted for my Tring Athletic boys.
“Losing at this stage of the competition on penalties is never easy to take – especially after a dominant performance. Sometimes the better team lose and, in my opinion, that was the case yesterday. Nevertheless, I’m still super proud.”
Speaking to TRINGnews, TAFC chair Darrell Osborne said: “We’ve made it to the fifth round twice in the last six years, so in a way coming out at the third round is a bit disappointing.
“We’re pleased with where we got but we felt we could have gone further, so we are undoubtedly disappointed. But we have a really busy schedule coming up this year and are focusing on getting to the playoffs, especially since we missed out last season by two points!
“This season, we are going for it!”
Heading into the new year, the boys sit at a comfortable eighth place in the Spartan South Midlands Football League.
Photo credit: Heidi Bjornsgaard
0 Comments