A gritty performance from Bedford Athletic did not help them avoid a 46-24 defeat at home to Tring.
In a match against opponents that they have never beaten, their cause was not helped by a red card in the first half and a yellow in the second which left the team fighting an uphill battle and with just a try bonus point to show for their efforts.
The home team conceded a penalty from the kick off which Tring scrum half Ben Hogan immediately converted for a 3-0 lead.
Bedford Athletic responded with a controlled and penetrating attacking game which paid dividends when Andy Ince picked up and went through a ruck and fed Lewis Sharp in support for a try under the posts.
The Bedford Athletic scrum was quickly dominant and this gave the team a platform and possession, but Tring had the better of the kicking game and eventually this found the home team working hard to get out of their own half.
A couple of lost lineouts did not help their cause but the hammer blow came on 23 minutes when an upright tackle from centre Nathan Litchfield saw him adjudged to have connected with his opponents head and receive a red card.
This immediately changed the dynamic of the game with Tring now looking for and finding the space to exploit.
Although Bedford Athletic were working hard in defence they could not stop Tring from finding the gaps and electric winger Charlie Goss-Lambourne benefitted twice, once on the left and once on the right for two tries; one of which was converted by Hogan for a 15-7 half time lead.
Ill discipline cost the Ath
The second half started badly for the home side as a speculative chip ahead from fly half Ben Criddle turned into a potent opportunity and his subsequent fly hack ahead wrong footed the defence and he was able to collect the bouncing ball for a score under the posts, making it 22-7.
Bedford Athletic responded with real grit and character and a move from a set piece saw them cut through the visiting defence with both Harry Sawford-Smith and Tana Stenson opening up the path for Josh Cassell to score.
Minutes later, fly half Foster put an accurate kick through to the Tring 5-metre line, Tring lost control of the ball from the lineout and the home scrum shoved the visiting eight backwards to allow scrum half Stenson to pick up and score.
This narrowed the gap to 22-17 with half an hour to play.
Tring were dangerous when they won possession close to the home side’s line and two tries for Ed Harrison and centre Richard Beeny which secured them the bonus point; Hogan converting one for a 34-19 lead with 15 minutes to play.
Bedford Athletic upped the intensity in response and scored a fine try when Tommy Prowse took the ball at the back of a line out and punched a hole for Sawford-Smith to run onto the ball and score.
At 34-24, the momentum appeared to be with the home side despite the man deficit but this was punctured when a strange decision to give a yellow card to Josh Cassell when running with the ball for leading with his arm stalled the home side’s progress.
Now playing with 13 men, Bedford Athletic could no longer close off the space and Tring found gaps and finished with two tries from distance.
The first was scored despite the home defender being blocked from making the crucial tackle and the second an interception when the home side had thrown caution to the wind, full back Ted Stanford and fly half Criddle the beneficiaries.
A late yellow card for visiting back row Harry McCartney made no difference.
It was a day when despite a lot of hard graft not much went the way of the home side and to compound the disappointment the scoreline meant that the team have now conceded an average of over 50 points a match in the last ten matches.
The onus will be in an improved defensive performance away to Letchworth this coming Saturday (21 September) with a 3pm kick off.
Words by Jeremy Tyrrell
