The Club is two thirds of the way in emulating the terrific record that the class of 2008/09 achieved under Manager Phil Casserley, his assistant Terry Nightingale and skipper Graham Hall of winning 3 Cup Finals in the last 3 games of that season. Their first scalp was Chalfont St Peter who they beat 3-2 with goals from Andy Mullins, Vinnie Iannone and David Whicker to lift the League Challenge Trophy. Then came success against Leverstock Green who we beat 2-1 with goals from Tony Fields and Ashley Addison to win the St Marys Cup and that was followed up by a 2-0 win over St Margretsbury with Graham Hall and Mark Burfott getting on the score sheet to claim the Premier Division Cup. All that was achieved within the period of just one week which was an outstanding performance and a significant entry in our record books.

Now following our 2-0 win over Aylesbury Vale Dynamos to lift Gladwish Challenge Trophy to add to the Herts Charity Shield we won on Tuesday when we beat Wormley Rover 2-1 we stand on the verge of repeating that record set 16 years ago if we can beat Harpenden Town in the final of the St Marys Cup on the 9 May. But Ryan and his Coaching Team and the players have the opportunity to create their own history because we also have the Play Offs to contend with when we meet Wormley Rovers for the 4th time this season in the Semi-Final at The Michael Anthony Stadium. If we can win that game we will then play either Cockfosters or London Lions at home to earn promotion to the Southern League and mark the season down as the greatest ever in our history.

So still a lot to play for but lets enjoy the moment as we lifted the Challenge Trophy for only the second time courtesy of a brace of goals from the prolific Harry Shepherd which takes his total to 26 for the season.

The game started at pace with both sides having very early chances. In the first minute Bailey came close with a glancing header from Tring’s very first attack. Aylesbury followed straight after with two big chances of their own but failed to convert. That was to prove expensive when with still only 5mins on the clock Shep latched on to a low pulled back ball from Jones on the right flank and dispatched the chance despite the best efforts of the Keeper.

Tring now settled into a pattern of play that saw them dominate possession and play some lovely flowing football, creating a number of chances. The best chance fell to Bailey who was put through but his shot was well saved. Half time came with the lads 1-0 up which was fully deserved, and in reality we should have been leading by a greater margin.

The second half was a different affair from the free flowing first half. Aylesbury changed shape and started to get some good possession themselves. Both teams seemed to cancel each other out and chances were few and far between. Aylesbury won a number of corners and set pieces but did not trouble Josh in the Tring goal. The pattern of play suited Tring to some extent who were able to control things for large periods, but without creating many clear-cut chances.

One such chance came on 65 mins when a free kick from Max found Jones unmarked but his bullet header was somehow kept out by the keeper. The Tring Army were just starting to get nervous that despite our control of the game, we only had a single goal lead to show for it. Any worries of a comeback were put to rest when on 84mins an Aylesbury clearance found Sheps on the edge of the box, and he unleashed a shot that found the bottom corner of the goal giving us a deserved 2-0 advantage. The closing minutes of the game were seen out without further action of note and there were jubilant scenes as Ref blew the final whistle.

This was yet another very good performance from the lads, with some lovely flowing moves and the discipline and quality to control the game for the most part when required. This performance has landed us with our second piece of silverware of the campaign – The Gladwish Challenge Trophy. Well done to the lads and now on to the pay off’s.

Thanks to our opponents Aylesbury and we wish them all the best going forward. Also, thanks to Biggleswade United for hosting – it was a long journey but worth it as you worked very hard to look after us as usual and made a great job of hosting.