To use a highly over used footballing cliche, this was a game of two halves. The first half was pretty sluggish from the point of view of both teams, whereas the second was where the goals could be found, and it saw Green go behind, then equalise, then seal the victory right at the death in dramatic fashion as the tide of the game drifted from favouring one side to the other throughout the second half.

The teams got off to a fairly even start, and Leverstock had the first chance of the game in the 9th minute, after Paul Jefferies' free kick for Tring landed straight at the feet of Green's Elliot Bailey - certainly not what the Tring defender had intended. Meanwhile the opportunistic Bailey exploited Jefferies's momentary lapse of concentration and sped upfield with the ball at his feet, forcing a good save from Mike Underwood, who had to recover straight away to save the rebound from James Dabbs. He kept that shot out too, but that moment surely had a few Tring pulses racing.

Adiel Mannion's pace was causing Tring plenty of concern, and he had his first chance in the 14th minute, but Underwood bravely saved the ball from under Mannion's feet. With 20 minutes on the clock Green came forward again via some nice play involving Mannion and Gio Baptiste, setting up a shot for Adrian Colorado, but he sent it over the bar.

Tring were also looking threatening, and first Andy Hughes, then Rob Duncan had attempts on goal, but they too fired their shots too high. Green had another chance to go in front in the 29th minute, but Bailey was again denied by Underwood. Then came a slightly embarrassing moment for Tring in the 34th minute when, in their eagerness to test Green goalkeeper Tom Coulton, Tring teammates Che To and Reon Thomas got in each other's way in the Green penalty area, inadvertently tackling each other and allowing the defence to clear.

Reon Thomas had another chance to put Tring ahead in the 43rd minute, but fortunately Tom Coulton was carrying on his excellent run of form saved from Thomas' feet, denying him the chance to get a shot away. When the teams came in at half time, we were all left to reflect on what had generally been a fairly slow half, with only one or two clear goal scoring chances for either side.

The second half was a different story though, and after a few minutes that resembled the first half, the game sprang into life. Leverstock had a free kick in the 53rd minute, and Gio Baptiste found the hard working Jake Broome, whose powerful shot could only be parried wide by Underwood. With the ensuing corner Green had another chance, but Mannion's shot was just a bit too high. All the momentum at this point was with Green though, which made it all the more surprising when, against the run of play, Sam Jolliffe headed home from a corner to put Tring ahead. Buoyed by their goal, Tring proceeded to take control of the game, and for a while it started to look like Leverstock would rue those missed opportunities.

But in football a team's fortunes can change at a moment's notice, and that moment arrived in the 71st minute when an ill-timed tackle by Tring skipper Andy Hughes sent Elliot Bailey sprawling. For that, Hughes saw red, and while he was sent for an early bath, James Dabbs stepped up to equalise with a well taken penalty. With that, Green took the game by the scruff of the neck. Curt Dizon, who scored the winner against Haringey Borough last week, was having another positive game, and his speed and agility meant that he was proving tough for the Tring defence to contain.

With Green pressing hard, Tring were starting to struggle, and a rash tackle saw Jolliffe pick up a yellow card with 9 minutes of normal time left to play. Both teams had chances in injury time, and after Mannion shot wide, Dan Steadman forced a brilliant save from Coulton. Green weren't done yet though, and they had the final word in the game when some great work on the right wing by Dizon ended in a lovely cross towards Mannion, who capped a good team performance with a last minute winner. There were still a few moments left to play, but it was not enough for Tring to do anything about the score line and Green took a well deserved victory, meaning that they are now unbeaten in their last four games.

Green are away to Dunstable Town in the Spartan South Midlands League on Saturday 2nd March, meanwhile the reserves will be at home to Berkhamsted in the Suburban League Shield.

(Peter Berman)