Three fixtures took place in the National North League this evening.
Farsley Celtic 1-3 Oxford City
Needham Market 2-3 Curzon Ashton
Spennymoor 2-0 Warrington
Curzon move above Hereford into 6th position.
6th - Curzon 40/69 GD+20
7th - Hereford 41/69 GD+18
8th - Kings Lynn 41/69 GD+6
9th - Buxton 41/67 GD +19
10th - Spennymoor 41/66 GD +22
Realistically Hereford need to win their game against Chester on Saturday or they could drop out of the play-off places.
This from the National League:
Farsley Celtic will be relegated from the National League North tonight if they fail to win at home to Oxford City.
Needham Market know that to avoid going down with them, wins must start coming. They look to make up the seven-point gap with a win at home to Curzon Ashton.
But the Nash have their own agenda - victory takes them into the play-off places.
Warrington Town also know time is ticking down and 13 points from safety, it’ll be all over bar the shouting if they lose at Spennymoor Town later on.
The chairman of National League Yeovil has decided to sell the club because of abuse from some fans.
Martin Hellier bought the club nearly two years ago. Stuart Robins will take over as chairman until a new owner is found.
"I am proud of the significant changes made around the club, changes that I believe will benefit it for years to come," Hellier said.
"Helping the club regain its place in the National League was a key milestone, and while the journey has had its challenges, real progress has been made.
"However, due to the pressures placed on myself and my family, I have made the decision to step away from my role."
Earlier he gave his reasons for wanting to sell.
"I fully intend to sell the club and leave as soon as a suitable buyer is found," he said '
"It's simply not worth losing the money to be abused and my children abused and so on.
"I would ask in the meantime that you stop the endless online harassment and abuse. You've done enough, it's worked.
"My investment provided the club with the funds needed to get through and provided you with football and promotion to the NL (National League) but has given me nothing but abuse and minus £4m personal deficit," Hellier added.
"So yes, I do not intend to be at YTFC next season. Your abuse has succeeded. Now leave me alone until the end of the season."
As of this morning Chester had sold 300 tickets for the game against Hereford at Edgar Street on Saturday.
Chester have been given 348 seated and 352 standing tickets, all in the Len Weston Stand.
All eyes will be on Tuesday's fixtures and in particular the games at Needham and Spennymoor.
Ideally from a Hereford point of view wins for both Needham and Warrington would be appreciated.
Farsley Celtic v Oxford City
Needham Market v Curzon Ashton
Spennymoor v Warrington
| 6 | Hereford | 41 | 69 | |||
| 7 | Kings Lynn Town | 41 | 69 | |||
| 8 | Buxton | 41 | 67 | |||
| 9 | Curzon Ashton | 39 | 66 | |||
| 10 | Spennymoor Town | 40 | 63 |
He 'scored' Hereford's second goal in their game against Farsley last Saturday.
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Hereford FC Chairman, Chris Ammonds, has expressed his disappointment and frustration after match officials at Saturday’s game at Farsley Celtic received reports of personal and offensive abuse being directed at the home team’s physio by at least one Bulls supporter.
Ammonds said:
“When there has been so much to be positive about at our club in recent times, it is incredibly frustrating to receive reports that an individual, or individuals, from our fantastic travelling support directed offensive personal abuse at a member of Farsley’s staff on Saturday.
“This type of behaviour is completely out of order and can only harm the reputation of everyone associated with Hereford FC.
“Personal abuse or discriminatory language of any sort is unacceptable at any time and if we identify the individuals involved, they will face robust action from the club. We will also involve the police if necessary.
“While on the whole our travelling support is absolutely brilliant, this is not the first time that a small minority have tarnished the name of our club. Setting aside the embarrassment and upset any incident causes, which is the main concern, fans should also remember that every time something occurs it creates a significant amount of work for club staff who have to put together a formal response to any reports or complaints that are raised.
“I’d like to once again remind supporters that every single one of us is an ambassador for our club and while showing passion is brilliant, please regulate your behaviour – and that of your friends – so incidents like the one reported on Saturday do not happen.
“We do not want to start banning individual fans for their behaviour,
but it is important that I make it clear that we will not hesitate to
do so if the actions of individuals are damaging the reputation of our
club, or are putting us at risk of financial penalties that we can ill
afford at any time.”
Harwood Bull watched Hereford gain three points from Farsley at Buxton on Saturday.
On paper this was a match that Hereford should have won easily, and that’s how it turned out. However as we know, matches aren’t played on paper, they are played on grass, or in this case, plastic, and you can never be sure how it’s going to go. The Bulls dominated this one from beginning to end and ran out easy winners but you have to admire Farsley. Despite being in a horrible situation they didn’t lose heart, defended stubbornly and made Hereford work for the victory.
The Bulls lined up with new signing Coates on the right of the back four with captain Hudson on the left, Preston and Howkins in between. Midfield was D’Ath, Tate Campbell and Babos in the 6, 8 and 10 roles respectively. White and Sterling James on the right and left of the front line with the always hard working Remaye Campbell as the focal point of the attack.
The Bulls were on the front foot immediately. After just 3 minutes Sterling-James came close with a free kick and there were chances for Tate Campbell from D’Ath’s cross, Hudson with a low driven angled shot, and efforts from D’Ath and Preston. The Bulls kept up the pressure and it was inevitable that they would score, although when the goal came it was a bit fortunate – White’s shot taking a huge deflection and bobbling into the corner of the net with Will Brook, the Farsley keeper, moving the wrong way.
The second half started well for Hereford. With 48 minutes on the clock, Sterling-James took a powerful free kick just outside the penalty area which curled and dipped against the crossbar, rebounding into the net off the back of Brook. I guess Brook must have realised then it wasn’t going to be his day.
However, a few minutes later the result was made safe when Tate Campbell made a break down the left flank and crossed low for Williams, who was on for Remaye Campbell, to tap home at the far post.
The Teams
Hereford: Richardson, Coates, Howkins, Preston (Skinner 63), Hudson, T Campbell, D'Ath (Mitchell 79), Babos (Ceesay 63), Sterling-James, White (Cowley 74), R Campbell (Williams 63)
Farsley Celtic: Brook, Abankwah, Janneh, Polwarth, Bumhira, Hyde, Monteiro, Mampala, Kondolo, Iwobi, Silva
Subs: Ameho, Youmbi, Emondson, Sheridan, Priestley-Standing
The Bulls needed 3 points badly and got the job done. New signing Coates slotted in well and looked to have something to offer going forward as well. Sterling-James had a strong game and D’Ath was neat and tidy in the holding midfield role. With Farsley not posing much of a threat Tate Campbell was able to get forward and created some chances and got the assist for the third goal.
Caddis received a couple of lengthy lectures from the ref about his behaviour but nothing seems to hold him back, he’s constantly in the ear of the fourth official and frequently has feisty exchanges with the other bench. It’s obviously just his make up and I doubt he’ll ever change, but we want him on the touchline at key moments not banished to the stands, so it would be nice if he could contain himself a bit more.
Quite a bit has been said about Ceesay and him coping with playing through Ramadan. A few years ago a group of Muslim colleagues where I worked invited us non-Muslims to join them in a day’s fast and then for the evening Iftar meal. It was an interesting experience. Not eating wasn’t that hard but not drinking anything was. That year Ramadan was at the height of summer and by the end of a long day I felt really dehydrated and had a thumping headache. Obviously as a practising Muslim he has a lot more experience of dealing with it and adjusting, but being a competitive sportsman under those conditions must be really tough.
The Bulls are still hanging on in the play off positions. I don’t like the term “six pointer” much, but if ever a game deserved that term, next week’s clash with Chester certainly does.
Come on you whites!
Page 1: New Hereford player-manager Colin Addison is revealed. Seems to have a decent pedigree - a rookie manager, though, so always a risk; I hope it turns out alright.
Page 2: Hereford are revealed as one of the previous edition's quiz answers, the question was: "who collected the most points in a Southern League Season?" HUFC: 72 points, 1964-65. Hereford topped Division 1, getting 72 points courtesy of an impressive 34 wins, with only 4 draws and 4 defeats. In 3 points for a win money, that would be a whopping 106 points - in only 42 matches.
Page 3: I believe that is Edgar Street perfectly framed by a very green looking Blackfriars Street starring in the main action photo.
In the News: An RAF Hercules crashed in Italy on 9th November 1971, killing 52 people. In more positive Italy-related news, the Spaghetti Junction - north of Birmingham - opened the next day. Legend has it that it has probably got about as much spaghetti in it as cement; that much was had away during the heyday of construction.
The Cairngorm Plateau disaster occurred on 22nd November when five children and an adult perished whilst on a school trip from Edinburgh.
Page 4: Mr. Hereford United Peter Isaac gets a mention after taking over as caretaker manager when John Charles left. It looks like Addison arrived in the nick of time, with Hereford struggling to only 6 wins and a draw in his 8 matches at the wheel.
Page 5: Former Hereford player Tony Jacques heads up the main article.
In the Singles Charts: Maggie May/Reason to Believe by Rod Stewart kicks the month off at No.1 before Coz I Luv You by Slade hits top spot on 13th November.
In the Album Charts: Imagine by John Lennon and Rod Stewart (Every Picture Tells a Story) trade the top spot throughout November '71 before Top of The Pops Vol 20 nips in for the last chart of the month.
Led Zeppelin released their untitled 4th album on 8th November. The Stairway to Heaven-containing album would go on to become their biggest seller.
On TV: Princess Anne opened the Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham on the 10th November, probably built with knock-off cement. Kids programme Play Away - the theme tune of which I am now carrying around as an ear worm, thanks - made its debut on BBC2 on the 20th November.
Page 8: A Cheltenham striker Pat Casey gets a mention in snippets from other clubs. I wondered if there was any relation to Kiddie late '80s goal machine Kim Casey - alas, I couldn't find anything. I did try, though, so you have to at least applaud that, and I did stumble upon these...
https://southern-football-league.co.uk/news/123986/Southern-League-Legends-Part-One
https://southern-football-league.co.uk/News/123993/Southern-League-Legends-Part-Two
https://southern-football-league.co.uk/news/124163/Southern-League-Legends-Part-Three
https://southern-football-league.co.uk/news/124308/-Southern-League-Legends-Part-Four
After ninety minutes against Farsley, Hereford had won 4-0 and the fans were happy.
A selection of pictures from the second half of yesterday's game between Farsley and Hereford.
