Jersey had travelled to Tring the previous Wednesday (18^th) only to be met by a downpour that gave the referee (Billy Morgan of Hemel Hempstead) no option but to call off the game half an hour before the planned 7.15 start at Cow Lane. With the weather still uncertain the re-arranged fixture was organised on the 3G surface at Hemel Hempstead Town for the following Wednesday so bovine references were no longer possible. Billy Morgan was unavailable for the new date on his local ground so Ka-Ho Wong of Wycombe, who has refereed the Jersey first team previously took over in the middle with his assistants unchanged from the original date.

Jersey had to make two changes to the previous round as a pair of their stronger players were unavailable. Kyle Wilson stepped up to make his full debut in place of Fergus Boyle in defence with Damon Huckerby swapping flanks. The influential Barry Beatson was also missing in midfield with Ed Jeffries taking his place.

Tring had already won through four rounds with away wins at Northwood 5-2, Penn & Tylers Green 6-0 and Edgware & Kingsbury 1-0 before an impressive victory in the last round, 3-2 at home to Conference National club Maidenhead United. The delay in playing the match meant that the sides knew that the winner would be hosting Berkhamsted in the First Round “Proper”.

It turned out that the match could have been played on grass after all as the mild evening (9C) saw no sign of rain as Tring kicked off attacking the Park End at the South-West end of the ground.

Tring proved to be an impressive outfit, much stronger than the teams disposed of in the earlier rounds. They took the lead after a dozen minutes when Joshua Howgego held off Tomas Goncalves and broke down the right. His centre was not the best but Connor Lloyd’s partial clearance was seized upon by Noah Butler who held off Jeffries and from the edge of the box shot in off the base of the right post.

Tring again proved the stronger in the tackle when they added a second before half time. James Sales played the ball forward to Tring’s man of the match, captain Harrison Mead. He was too strong for Goncalves in the tackle and evading the incoming visiting captain, Charlie Brennan, he scored in the same corner as Butler.

They added a third twenty seconds after the interval. Jersey kicked off but lost soon possession to Jude McKay who set Howgego free down the right again. His cross was stumbled over by Goncalves leaving Butler with a simple tap in from six yards.

The fourth goal arrived from a free kick just outside the right corner of the box. Mead took it and the intended 1-2 looked to have broken down but Mead was too tenacious for Jeffries in the tackle and regained possession on the edge of the box.
From there he played a beautifully weighted pass for Howgego to run on to and from the right corner of the six yard box he slipped the ball in to the opposite corner.

Tring Athletic U18 4 (Noah Butler 12 & 46, Harrison Mead 39, Jonah Howgego 76); Jersey Bulls U18 0

Attendance – 198

Programme – No

Tring Athletic U18 – Vicente Luciani, Jude McKay, James Sales, Archie Fitzgerald, Jack James, Niall Cassidy, Noah Butler, Henry Dudley, Jack Thompson, Harrison Mead (c), Jonah Howgego
Substitutes – 12. Tom Craddock (not used), 14. Fran Oliver (not used), 15. Charlie Bradshaw (for Thompson 70), 16. George Davey (not used), 17. Malachy Bowyer (for Dudley 80), 18. Jamie De Beer (not used), 19. Curtis Lewinson (for McKay 55)

Red/Black/Red; GK Light Green/Dark Green/Light Green

Kieran Turner (Manager), Mike Thompson, Danny Wicks and Cameron Brooks (Coaches), Matt Bowyer (Physio.)

Jersey Bulls U18 – Tiago Duarte, Kyle Wilson, Damon Huckerby, Charlie Brennan (c), Tomas Goncalves, Connor Lloyd, Leighton Gilroy, Ed Jeffries, Conor O’Keeffe, Joey O’Toole, Callum Gilroy

Substitutes – 12. Daniel Andrade (for C.Gilroy 46), 14. Charlie Stirling (for O’Toole 55), 15.Casey Nixon (not used), only three substitutes

White/Light Blue/White; GK All Yellow

Paul Renton (Manager), John Lloyd (Assistant), Ciaran Pack (Physio.)

Formations
Tring Athletic U18 (4-1-4-1 R to L) – 1; 2-6-5-3; 4; 11-10-8-7; 9
Jersey Bulls U18 (4-1-4-1 R to L) – 1; 2-6-5-3; 4; 11-8-10-7; 9

Referee – Ka-Ho Wong (Wycombe)

Assistants – Adam Jackson (Aldershot) on the dug outs side and Alan Moorhouse (Dunstable) on the television gantry side

Cautions – none

Corners – not recorded

Player of the Match – Tiago Duarte

Added Time – 1.05 & 4.50 (5.55)