.png)
Results of tonight's National North League games:
Alfreton 1 Southport 1
Bedford 1 Macclesfield 2
Scarborough 0 Radcliffe 3
South Shields 2 Peterborough Sports 1
Hereford remain in 20th position in the table but they have played up to four less games than other clubs in the league.
Former Hereford United chief scout Bill Clayton has died aged 70.
He worked for manager/chairman Graham Turner from 2005 to 2010 and brought a number of players to Edgar Street during that period.
Having drawn 1-1 at Worksop on 6th December, Evesham-born Preece said his side were "nowhere near good enough" in the first 20 minutes. But in his post-match interview, he felt the team reacted just the way he wanted them to and ultimately did enough to get a point out of the game.
"The performances haven't been that bad, we just haven't been getting results," Preece told the club's YouTube channel.
"Thankfully, we're starting to pick up some points and not lose games, not winning enough, but we're not losing like we were previously. You have to make progress, whatever progress it is, whether it's slow, quick or whatever, you've got to start making progress."
Having been knocked out of the FA Trophy at the first hurdle by Worksop in the third round, the side were without a game on Saturday.
"We get a couple of weeks and to just reset, have a look at things," Preece said.
"See if we can get some help for the lads here because we are a little bit short on bodies. "
He said the side are relying on young lads on loan, such as 18-year-old Preston North End midfielder Max Wilson - but Preece admitted he has "got a massive future".
The 58-year-old boss, who used to be at the helm of Bury, Worcester City and Airbus UK Broughton, then admitted: "We are stretched a little bit at the minute.
"Probably come at a good time to have the rest, a few of the lads have played a lot of games.
"It's good to come off a result when you're going into that period where you haven't got a game and then we can look forward to the Christmas period."
Despite two weeks without a game, the Magpies host Hereford on Saturday before a trip to league leader AFC Fylde on Boxing Day before returning to Victory Park as they face Fylde four days later.
The former striker, who has been in charge at Chorley since 2022, added: "It's really difficult because we are down to the bare bones and a lot of players have played a lot of minutes."
Meanwhile, Hereford go into Saturday's match unbeaten in four, including a 1-1 draw at Chester and 2-0 win at Peterborough Sports in the league.
Chorley currently lie 12th in the league with 27 points from 21 games - eight places above the Bulls with 20 points from 18 games.
On a freezing cold night 28 years ago. Hereford United defeated Division Three side Colchester United in a FA Cup 2nd round replay
The visitors took the lead early in the 2nd half through Steve Forbes, but a minute later Neil Grayson equalised. The game went to extra time and penalties.
Hereford goalkeeper Andy deBont was the hero when he saved the final spot kick. It would be Tranmere at home in the 3rd round for the Bulls.
The below footage is the penalty save and the pitch invasion celebrations.
Four National North League fixtures are set to take place tomorrow evening.
Alfreton v Southport
Bedford v Macclesfield
Scarborough v Radcliffe
South Shields v Peterborough Sports
Should either Peterborough Sports and/or Alfreton win their games then Hereford will drop into the relegation zone.
Bath City v Southend United
Walton & Hersham v Brackley Town
Woking v Macclesfield
Yeovil Town v Alvechurch
Eastleigh v Southport
Marine v Gloucester City
Kidderminster Harriers v Morecambe
Chatham Town v Carlisle United
Wealdstone v Dagenham & Redbridge
Hornchurch v AFC Telford United
Ebbsfleet United v Forest Green Rovers
Hereford v AFC Fylde
Tamworth v Rochdale
FC Halifax Town v Anstey Nomads
Leatherhead v Horsham
Scunthorpe United v Clitheroe
Ties will be played on Saturday, January 10, 2026.
Kidderminster have sold 450 of their 700 ticket allocation for the Boxing Day game at Hereford.
They will be housed in one half of the Len Weston Stand.
No tickets will be available on the day at Edgar Street for Kidderminster supporters.
Hereford will travel to Bridlington on Tuesday January 6th for the rearranged game against Scarborough.
Kick-off is at 7.45pm.
So what is wrong with the pitch?
It seems a combination of factors.
It appears the last time the pitch was drained, back in 2013, the drains were placed too far below the surface of the pitch. It's understood the drains should be 280mms below the surface, the current ones are around 100mms deeper.
It also appears that some of the stone used around the drains was not of the correct type required. Pea gravel is usually used.
On top of that the heavy machinery used to lift the new floodlights into place recently compacted the ground more than was initially thought.
And last summer's dry weather hasn't helped as the soil around many of the drains is still quite dry. The recent wet weather hasn't reached some of the drains because they are too deep.
A lot of work is going to have to be done after the end of this season to ensure the problem is solved.
Given the time needed there may be a case for moving some or all of the post-season HFA finals to another venue.
This would allow groundsman Ben Bowen those extra couple of weeks to complete the work.
Whilst the laying of the new drains should not take too long, the pitch will have to be reseeded and then given time to grow.
It's not known how much this work will cost or whether any external funding is available but the money will have to be found.
And, unlike last year, the aim has to be that the pitch can be used for at least one, if not two, pre-season friendlies.
Updated 5pm Monday with corrections.
Hereford FC took on Crusaders at the Hereford FA 3G pitch today, with an early 12.00 kick off.
Hereford kept the same formation as last week with centre back Matilda Harris starting in mid field and Katy Huntbach on the bench.
It was a fairly even game for the first twenty minutes, each side cancelling the other out .
On 23 minutes Crusaders right winger skipped past Hereford's Molly Camden and beat Hannah Pritchard at the far post.
Hereford got back into the game for the remainder of the half and kept the score at 0-1 thanks to some good goal keeping from Pritchard.
HT Hereford 0-1 Crusaders
While some Hereford players were late appearing from the dressing room, Crusaders were knocking the ball about and keeping warm whilst waiting - this worked for them as 3 minutes into the second half they doubled their lead and while Hereford were still napping made it 0-3 just one minute later again due to some poor defending.
On 61 minutes Crusaders again found the net when a spilled ball fell to the strikers foot for an easy finish. With the game won Crusaders spent the remainder of the game keeping possession and trying the odd shot but the game was over and Hereford offered very little.
Hereford looked slow and lethargic at times, the team set up didn’t work and they had very little creativity. Hannah Pritchard made some great saves and tried her best to organise the back line into some sort of shape.
Up next is away to Redditch United on January 4th.
Hereford are away at Chorley next Saturday.
Tickets for the game are available from Chorley.
Adult tickets cost £17, Concessions £13, Under 18 £5
Hereford Women lost their 'home' game earlier this afternoon.
Final Score: Hereford 0 Crusaders 4
The game was played at the HFA Ground and was refereed by Mark Ammond.
A selection of pictures from after the end of yesterday's FA Trophy game at Edgar Street.
Highlights of yesterday's FA Trophy tie between Hereford and Radcliffe are available to watch:
https://herefordfc.co.uk/2025/12/highlights-hereford-fc-1-4-2-1-radcliffe-fc/
A selection of pictures from the second half of yesterday's FA Trophy game.
Tickets for the away game at Merthyr on December 30th are now available to purchase.
Kick-off is at 7.45pm.
Please go to: https://www.merthyrtownfc.co.uk/events/away-fans-hereford-vmerthyr-town-fc
Just a few pictures from the first half of yesterday's FA Trophy tie at Edgar Street.
A few photographs from before kick-off at Edgar Street yesterday afternoon. As this was a FA Trophy game there was a much reduced attendance.
The draw for the Fourth Round of the FA Trophy will take place tomorrow at 5pm.
It will be live on TalkSport2.
There will be 32 clubs in the draw.
Ties will be played on Saturday 10 January 2026.
Winners will receive £5,250, losers £1,500.
Teams in the draw:
AFC Fylde
AFC Telford United
Alvechurch
Anstey Nomads
Bath City
Brackley Town
Chatham Town
Clitheroe
Dagenham & Redbridge
Eastleigh
Ebbsfleet United
FC Halifax Town
Forest Green Rovers
Gloucester City
Hereford
Hornchurch
Horsham
Kidderminster Harriers
Leatherhead
Macclesfield
Marine
Morecambe
Rochdale
Scunthorpe United
Southend United
Southport
Tamworth
Walton & Hersham
Wealdstone
Woking
Yeovil Town
A change of venue and a kick-off time for Hereford Women today.
Their League game gainst Crusaders will now take place at the HFA County Ground as Edgar Street needs time to recover from yesterday's FA Trophy tie.
Kick-off has been brought forward to 12 noon.
Radcliffe's joint manager Anthony Johnson has heavily criticised the Edgar Street pitch as his side were knocked out of the FA Trophy by Hereford.
Hereford won 4-2 on penalties with the score 1-1 at full time, but Johnson was blunt in his assessment: "I didn't think the game should have been played, if I'm totally honest."
With sand covering four corners of the pitch, which hasn't seen first-team action for more than a month with rain and drainage problems causing untold problems for groundsman Ben Bowen, the pitch passed an 8.15am inspection and it was game on.
Though when the match officials arrived, along with both sets of management, there were calls to postpone the tie due to the playing surface.
In his post-match interview, Johnson said: "Both sets of management expressed concerns with the pitch. I actually feel sorry for the groundsman; he's got to try and put this right."
He added: "The reason we expressed concern was the safety element. We've actually picked up a rolled ankle in one of the areas over there, Olly Thornley, and he [the referee] wasn't bothered, he wasn't interested in that.
"So when they walk around with a ball, dropping the ball and the ball doesn't bounce and they still play the game anyway, you're like, 'what's the point?'.
"We've all watched what you've done. You've made a bit of a clown of yourself by doing what you're doing. You and your mates dropping a ball into an area, there's no bounce.
"Then he comes over and asks for our opinion whether we think it should be played; we said no and he played it anyway.
"We're getting to a stage where I seem to be talking about officials quite a lot. That today, in my opinion, shouldn't have been played.
"It was, that's not sour grapes, absolutely nothing to do with the result."
Later in the evening, Johnson then posted on X: "The game shouldn’t have been played, the pitch is a disgrace, your manager and staff agreed."
With new drains now installed at Edgar Street, and Bowen putting in long hours with late nights and early mornings, hopefully Hereford's pitch problems will soon be behind them.
The next home game will be Boxing Day for the derby against Kidderminster Harriers - a money-spinning fixture, if the pitch holds up.
 |
| Jaiden White's spot kick saw Hereford through |
Hereford, without key players such as the injured Kyle Howkins and Remaye Campbell, as well as Omari Sterling-James who could be leaving Edgar Street, could name only three outfield players on the bench. It was pleasing to see Jaiden White named in the starting XI for the first time since returning to Edgar Street on loan.
While the visitors took the lead in the first half which they dominated as Rick Smith bundled the ball home from a poorly-defended corner, Sam Osborne's penalty in an improved second half forced the game to penalties, in which keeper Theo Richardson proved to be Hereford's hero as he saved two spot kicks.
With the pitch arguably looking better than what some Hereford fans may have feared, Radcliffe's management made it clear from their arrival that the game should be postponed, with the four corners of the pitch covered with sand.
With the game happening whether Radcliffe liked it or not, they switched ends having won the toss. Attacking the Blackfriars End in the first half, they caused an early scare for the hosts as David Ball intercepted Lewis Hudson's header back to Richardson, though he couldn't find the target after pulling the trigger.
But despite an early corner going Hereford’s way after pressure from Andy Williams, which Radcliffe ably coped with, they were soon, once again, on the back foot early at home as Radcliffe drew first blood.
A needless corner was conceded by Richardson as he got his fingertips to a low shot from winger Michael Afuye going yards wide of his goal, but poor defending saw Rick Smith find the back of the net with only nine minutes on the clock.
Though the Bulls had the ball in the back of the net courtesy of lone striker Andy Williams, who was deemed to be offside as he turned home a White cross, Radcliffe kept up the pressure.
Hereford slowly started to grow into the game as the game edged towards the half-hour mark, which is a worrying trend at home, Jaiden White was hacked down by Olly Thornley whose woefully late sliding tackle earned him a yellow card from referee Sam Read.
Half time: Hereford 0 - Radcliffe 1
With Hereford looking to be heading out of the FA Trophy unless they put in an improved second-half performance, they did have a spark after the restart. While one penalty shout came in the 48th minute as Osborne's cross looked to have hit a Radcliffe hand, two minutes later the referee did point to the spot.
Radcliffe then found themselves with three bookings in quick succession, including Greenfield for delaying taking a corner and Willo being sumo-wrestled to the floor by goalscorer Smith; just as he brought down a Richardson free-kick and turned on a sixpence to rifle a shot towards goal. His fitness cannot be questioned, mind.
From the resulting free kick, Osborne stepped up in Sterling-James's absence and, while he beat the five-man wall, his curling effort was too high for the top corner where he was aiming.
As a rattled Radcliffe looked to calm, D’Ath popped up with a powerful strike off target in the 71st minute to keep them on their toes. Chances followed as, having flown out of his area, Halstead was beaten to the ball by Osborne; but with the goal gaping, his cross-cum-shot drifted wide having been just inches too far in front of the onrushing Willo.
There was a final chance for the hosts in the first minute of four added on, with Afuye's corner into Hereford's box turned towards goal by Sargent but was denied by the foot of the upright.
Full time: Hereford 1 - Radcliffe 1
With spot kicks now deciding the side to make it through to Monday's fourth-round draw, Hudson opted for penalties in front of the Blackfriars End having won the toss.
With Hereford up first, Osborne duly converted his second penalty of the winter's afternoon before Richardson pulled off a fine save to deny Rick Smith.
Sponsors' man of the match: Sam Osborne
The penalty shoot-out made for a slightly exciting end to a dreary afternoon at Edgar Street. A pitch which has clearly seen better days, a team which is guilty of not playing as a team, and an immobile, vulnerable defence could lead to a very long season. That said, £4,500 in prize money on top of the £3,750 earned after beating Sudbury will at least aid Paul Caddis's recruitment efforts - or some drain repairs...
Hereford: Richardson, Skinner, Quansah, Preston, Hudson, Mafuta, D'Ath, White, Edwards (Nto 73'), Osbourne, Williams.
Subs not used: Lewis, Richards, Rooney
Radcliffe: Halstead, Roscoe, Smith, Thornley (Hulme 75'), Miller (Park 82'), Afuye, Glendon, Greenfield, Sargent, Hope (Taylor 75'), Ball (Partington 75')
Sub not used: Hewlet