Fledglings earn win at Tring

Tring 3s 0 -3 Leighton Buzzard Fledglings

The Fledglings started 2015 with a great team performance that saw them overcome Tring 3s, in a game of high quality hockey.

Leighton started brightly with midfielders Alex White and Reece Cook getting on the ball and driving the team forward. Good early link play between Joshua Gale and Matt Carter got the ball into the opponents’ “D”: the Buzzard’s front line looked sharp.

However play then settled down as Tring matched Leighton for effort and skill. It stayed even until three moments of quality, from Leighton’s three players of the match, broke the deadlock for the Fledglings.

White hit the ball into the “D” and Gale skilfully deflected the ball at goal. Though initially saved, the scrambled clearance was intercepted by Hugh Hatt-Lipscomb. His shot was only kept out by a Tring defender’s chest. A penalty-flick was awarded, and scored by White, to take Leighton into a one-nil half-time lead.

The Fledglings knew that they would have to continue to work hard to maintain the lead and use substitutes to keep their momentum. Determinedly Leighton started to create more chances as they upped their passing game. A driving run from White saw him lay the ball out to the wide right as Gale ran on to the well-weighted pass. An initial shot was well saved but Gale seized on the rebound and fired the ball past the keeper’s head and into the goal, scoring his first senior goal for Leighton Buzzard.

Five minutes later, Leighton scored again. Another White pass was picked up by Reece Cook, who skilfully created space to fire a shot past the keeper from close in. Despite the lead Leighton couldn’t relax and only a timely intervention by goalkeeper Stephen Farrell forced a Tring shot wide, protecting the goal. Leighton’s first clean sheet of the season was deserved reward for Farrell and the defence of John Field, Jordan Field, Joseph Giltrow and David Thompson. They set the foundations for a very encouraging result against a very good opposition.

Final score: 0 - 3 Leighton win, Tring 3s lose
Player(s) of the Match: Joshua Gale, Hugh Hatt-Lipscomb and Alex White