Tring Corinthians - Icknield Way

Tring Corinthians
Icknield Way
Tring
Hertfordshire
HP23 5HJ

01442 828883
Official Website 1
Official Website 2
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Ground Number: 865
Saturday 13th July 2019
Tring Corinthians 0-0 Aylesbury Vale
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TRING CORINTHIANS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1956 by Fred Evans (who worked at the local bus station) and Tug Wilson (headmaster at the local Osmaston boarding school and the first-ever president of Chesham United). The premise was to give a chance to players that had been turned down by Tring Town FC. They joined the Aylesbury & District League at Division 2 level, this time whilst playing at their initial home of Beaconsfield Road where they got changed in a disused railway carriage. They moved to their current ground in 1984 and after progressing through the Aylesbury & District League, joined the Spartan South Midlands Division 2 in 2005. They've played there ever since, enjoying two 4th place finishes in their first two seasons, there best to date. The last few seasons have seen form take a nosedive and last season they resigned from the league after 9 games due to lack of players. The town of Tring has a population of 11,730 and is the birthplace of former referee Graham Poll. It also has its own brewery.



MY VISIT

I had a number of options drawn up for this day. The first one was seeing my own team Wycombe play at Barnet, doubled up with the Ealing Beer Festival. But the fact that I'd been there recently and the cider list at the festival was not as big as I'd hoped, meant that I passed it up. The second option was a double - Hitchin Town at the Baldock Arena and Letchworth Garden City Eagles. In the end, though, I opted for the nearest option - Tring Corinthians. They were originally supposed to be playing Prestwood, a team local to me who I'd fancied visiting for a while. But over the week before the game, they pulled out and were replaced by two games - one against Aylesbury Vale at 12:45 and another against Fire United at 3. I was pleased to be able to include taking Anwar for the first time this season, even though it would be a detour, the company would be appreciated and he'd help out with fuel costs. I woke around 7 on the day of the game, having some breakfast and finishing up my blog of last night's Marlow v Kuwait game. Leaving at 10:50, I was in Aylesbury half an hour later. I went to B&M Bargains - getting some chicken & Irn Bru and Lidl - getting a cake and some cider for later. It took me 15 minutes to get to Anwar, much longer than usual and he had brought his son Hicham and mate Thomas for the game. It was a 20-minute drive to Tring, with us getting to the ground at 12.30.



The ground didn't have a rail around the pitch like I expected, but it was a pretty decent setup. The first game kicked off at 12:50 and was not Aylesbury Vale Dynamos as expected, rather a side from the Aylesbury & District League. The  visitors were the better side and could have taken the lead, had it not been for some smart saves from the Corinthians goalkeeper - a Portuguese chap who was making his debut and who hap apparently played for Fire United last season - this after being turned down by Fiorentina due to work permit issues, or so I was told. Tring soon improved and they had a goal chalked off on 48 minutes for offside. It had been a disappointing first game, but the second improved a bit.  Fire United looked technically good but lacked the finishing touch. Tring Corinthians took the lead a few minutes before half time, a good through ball found a player who finished low from the edge of the area. Fire United came close to equalising shortly after half time but they spurned the chance from a few yards out. The same player equalised soon after, rounding the home keeper and finishing into the empty net. The hosts had a couple of good chances to win it - narrowly missing connecting with a cross and then hitting the post right at the death. It was around 5.10 by the time we left and so after dropping the lads off, I was back home by 6 for dinner. I spent the evening catching up and typing my blog, the dreaded Sunday morning at work looking as grim as usual.




THE GROUND


ICNIELD WAY is a rather basic setup, not even a rail around the pitch. It has a fairly small footprint, so there's not a lot of room around the edge of the pitch. The only end with any space is as you come in and this is the car park.  At the ground is a small clubhouse and this offers drinks and a basic range of snacks as well as hot food. Further afield, the town is around a mile away and has a decent range of places to eat and drink.