You strike the woodwork once then count yourself unlucky, but for a player to do it three times, - well, it's just not his day is it?

Unluckiest footballer of last weekend therefore was Aveley midfielder Gary Lynch with two well-hit efforts from range, and a header that hit a post and then fell into the goalkeeper's arms.

Lynch unbelievable misfortune apart though, Millers never really looked like breaking through against mid-table Tring and so for a fourth Saturday on the trot the one- time league leaders failed to collect three points.

In an effort to turnaround his side's fortunes, manager Steve Mosely signed two East Thurrock players, defender Wes Faulkner and striker Danny Curran for a second spell at Mill Field.

Neither was to have games to remember, for the right reasons. Faulkner's weakly hit back-pass led to Scott Walters putting Tring two up on 53 minutes and not long afterwards substitute Curran somehow failed to head into a gaping goal from Lynch's cross.

Shortly afterward Lynch struck wood for a second time and at that moment you had the distinct feeling the Essex team would travel home pointless.

This was a disjointed Aveley display with a number of players out of sorts and they certainly missed Jamie Reilly up front who was absent because of work commitments.

Unlike Aveley, Tring are currently full of confidence with just the one defeat in their previous dozen starts.

The home side took the lead on 22 minutes. Darren Smith came a long way out of his goal to punch clear Ben Chesters' corne,r but only succeeded in returning the ball to the kicker who this time lobbed the ball into a net that was significantly short of any Aveley covering defenders.

Not even Mark Robson's arrival for the second half after he'd been with Charlton's youth team at Ipswich improved matters.

And the cause was well and truly lost in the 70th minute when Walters went down the right , cut in past Faulkner and set up Tring top scorer Alex Kingsley to fire in at the far post.

Published Monday, March 18, 2002