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"Jaiden's loan will be up in the next week or so," said Caddis.
"We are currently speaking to Sutton to see if we could do something about that."
Meanwhile Harley Hamilton missed today's game as he was cup-tied.
In truth Hereford didn't offer much in the first half of this afternoon's FA Trophy Tie against AFC Fylde so only a small selection of pictures.
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| Lawson D'Ath scored Hereford's first just after half-time |
Hereford have missed out on a place in the FA Trophy last-16 as AFC Fylde edged through on penalties following a dramatic 2-2 draw over 90 minutes.
After a first half in which the Bulls were second best for long spells and went in two goals down, Paul Caddis’ side showed far more urgency after the break. Goals from Lawson D’Ath and Lewis Hudson dragged Hereford back into the contest, but missed penalties from Remaye Campbell and D’Ath allowed Fylde to claim a 4-3 shoot-out victory.
Paul Caddis made three changes from the side that drew at Merthyr Town, with D’Ath restored to the starting line-up alongside new faces Keziah Martin and Justin Donawa. Harley Hamilton was cup-tied, while Matt Richards and I-Lani Edwards were omitted and have since departed the club. Fylde also shuffled their pack, making four changes after their victory over Bedford.
After a minute’s applause to supporters who have died over the last year, it was the visitors who looked sharper from the outset. Within 10 minutes, Luca Thomas cut inside from the left and sent a curling effort beyond Theo Richardson, only for the crossbar to deny what would have been a spectacular opener.
Hereford struggled to gain any rhythm in the opening stages as Fylde enjoyed the bulk of the ball and applied steady pressure. Jaiden White blazed over after a rare break forward, but it was Fylde who continued to create the clearer openings. Tom Whelan flashed a shot narrowly wide before Richardson was forced into a smart save to push another effort away.
The deadlock was broken just after the half-hour mark. A swift Fylde move ended with Ryan Colclough’s shot striking the rapidly turning Gus Mafuta - with referee Kavan Hurn, who had already punished Hereford with several soft fouls, pointing to the spot for handball. That left Danny Ormerod to step up and confidently convert to give the visitors a deserved lead.
With the home support visibly deflated by yet another first half performance where Hereford failed to score or keep a clean sheet, the half ended with Fylde firmly in control.
Half time: Hereford 0 – AFC Fylde 2
The Bulls returned after the interval with far greater intent and were rewarded almost instantly. Within the opening minute, a simple ball over the top from Keenan Quansah released D’Ath, who raced through and finished calmly past Pat Boyes.
That goal changed the mood inside Edgar Street and Hereford began to push Fylde back. Donawa produced an excellent touch to bring down a long pass before driving into the box, only to be denied by a fine save. Martin then went close with a low effort from the edge of the area as the pressure built.
Fylde were increasingly forced onto the back foot. D’Ath forced another outstanding stop with an acrobatic, overhead volley in the 74th minute, before Donawa’s similarly spectacular overhead attempt from the resulting corner clipped the bar.
The equaliser arrived with two minutes of normal time remaining. Kyle Howkins saw his header cleared off the line, but the ball dropped kindly for Hudson, who kept his nerve to fire home from close range and send the tie to penalties.
Despite six minutes of time added on, neither Hereford nor Fylde could do enough to stop the fourth round tie from going to penalties.
The shoot-out proved cruel for the hosts. Skinner converted the opening kick, but Campbell’s effort was saved and D’Ath fired over. Although Keziah Martin and Jaiden White kept Hereford alive, Corey Whelan stepped up to convert Fylde’s final penalty and seal their progression.
Full time: Hereford 2 – AFC Fylde 2 (AFC Fylde win 4-3 on penalties)
Attendance: 1,372 (52 away)
Sponsors’ man of the match: Lawson D’Ath
Hereford were left to rue their trademark sluggish first half that left them with too much to do, but the response after the break showed real character. On another day, their late pressure might have been enough to complete the turnaround. Instead, penalties brought an abrupt end to their Trophy run.
With more new additions seemingly on the horizon, it's essential that the Bulls stop giving teams a head start by starting strongly.
The road to Wembley is over for another year. Oh well, time to focus on the league...
Hereford: Richardson, Skinner, Quansah, Howkins, Hudson, D’Ath, Mafuta, Martin, Donawa, White, Williams (Campbell 52’)
Subs not used: Lewis, Preston, Rooney
AFC Fylde: Boyes, McFayden, Taylor, Merrie, Thomas (Mitchell 75’), Mayor (Wilson 61’), Healy-Byrne, C. Whelan, T. Whelan, Colclough (Ustabasi 70’), Ormerod (Hunter 80’)
Subs not used: Jones, Coates, McKay
Only three National North League games were played this afternoon, four others were postponed.
Oxford City 2 Buxton 1
Scarborough 1 Chester 0
Worksop 3 Merthyr 5
Hereford remain in 23rd position.
Some pictures from before kick-off at Edgar Street this afternoon. Given it was a FA Trophy tie it was surprising to see so many mascots of all ages.
Whilst it was cold, it was also very sunny at least in the first half. And despite all the recent rain the pitch played quite well no doubt thanks to the hard work of groundsman Ben Bowen.
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| Given Hereford Only Had Four Subs, Mark Bond Offered His Services |
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| Remembering Supporters No Longer With Us |
Paul Caddis gives his post match reaction to todays FA Trophy tie, and also gives an update on the playing squad.
Click the play button to hear his thoughts.
Keziah Martin and Justin Donawa get their first starts for Hereford in this afternoon's fourth round FA Trophy tie against AFC Fylde.
Central midfielder Martin is on loan from Buxton and winger Donawa arrives from Brackley Town.
Hereford can only name two players on the bench, along with assistant manager Adam Rooney and young keeper Ollie Lewis.
Richardson, Skinner, Quansah, Howkins, Hudson, D'Ath, Mafuta, Martin, Donawa, White, Williams.
Subs: Lewis, Preston, Rooney, Campbell
Today's FA Trophy Tie between Hereford and AFC Fylde goes ahead following a pitch inspection earlier this morning.
Perhaps slightly surprising is that the bookmakers have priced a Hereford victory at 13/5.
Fylde are currently 2nd in the National North League table whilst Hereford are 23rd but the home side have played four less games.
However this is a 'cup' game and sometimes league positions are not quite as important.
Hereford 13/5 Draw 18/5 Fylde 7/8
The latest transfer news from the National League North:
Chester have signed striker Zak Emmerson on loan from FC Halifax Town until the end of the season as they look to push towards the National League North play-off places.
The 21-year-old has EFL pedigree, becoming the second-youngest player in Football League history at Oldham in 2019, and has also had spells with Brighton, Blackpool and Eastbourne Borough. Emmerson scored four league goals for Halifax last season but has featured only once this term.
Spennymoor Town have brought in young forward Jake Waters on a one-month loan from Sunderland. The 19-year-old has progressed through the ranks at the Stadium of Light and is described as a powerful, old-fashioned centre-forward.
Waters has been part of Sunderland’s Under-21 setup after prolific spells at youth level, with his development interrupted by injury last year. He is now back to full fitness and will be keen to make an immediate impact at The Brewery Field.
Merthyr Town have completed the loan signing of teenage attacker Tate Xavier-Jones from League One side Luton Town until the end of the season.
The 19-year-old spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Scottish Championship side Airdrieonians, making 14 appearances. A product of Luton’s academy, Xavier-Jones scored heavily at U18 and U21 level last season and can operate as a striker or winger as Merthyr push for promotion.
Chester defender James Jones has left the club by mutual consent and quickly joined Cymru Premier side Connah’s Quay Nomads. The 28-year-old made 15 appearances for the Blues this season, scoring a late equaliser against Marine in November.
Jones brings significant non-league experience to the Nomads, having previously featured for Barrow and Altrincham, where he made more than 185 appearances. He links up again with manager John Disney, a former teammate.
Chester have confirmed that Hayden Carson and Lewys Benjamin have both been recalled by parent club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Defender Carson made 17 appearances after joining in August and played a key role in the club’s FA Cup run, starting every round through to the First Round Proper.
Goalkeeper Benjamin impressed during pre-season but saw his campaign disrupted by injury. The Blues thanked both players for their contributions and wished them well for the future.
Buxton have signed young defender Tristan Gill from Derby County on an initial one-month loan. Gill, who can play at left-back or left centre-back, stepped up into Derby’s Under-21 squad ahead of the 2025/26 season, having joined the club at Under-12 level.
The move gives Buxton extra defensive cover as they navigate a busy period in National League North, with the Rams youngster now gaining valuable senior experience.
Oxford City have added physical presence to their back line with the signing of defender Aaron Harper-Bailey. The 6ft 4in left-footer joins after leaving League of Ireland side Drogheda United and returns to English football following spells with Rushall Olympic, West Bromwich Albion and Kidderminster Harriers.
Harper-Bailey, who played men’s football from a remarkably young age, links up with Ross Jenkins’ side ahead of his first taste of National League North action.
Speaking at his home in the Herefordshire countryside he also spoke how football had probably led to him having two operations recently.
To watch please click on: https://www.itv.com/watch/news/former-wolves-and-shrewsbury-town-boss-has-foot-in-both-camps-ahead-of-fa-cup-clash/t7mmksn
Three more players have left Edgar Street.
I-Lani Edwards is back at Aston Villa, Callum McFarlane has returned to Solihull Moors and Matt Richards has been released.
Richards hopes to find 'some more regular football'.
The three are in addition to Sam Osborne and Eno Nto whose departures from Hereford had previously been confirmed.
There's no mention, so far, of what is happening with Jaiden While who is on loan from Sutton.
Whilst Hereford, Kidderminster and a couple of other National North clubs have FA Trophy ties tomorrow, there were seven League matches set to take place.
However three of these matches have already been called off. And there is a pre-match inspection at Leamington tomorrow morning.
Curzon Ashton P-P Bedford Town
Darlington P-P Radcliffe
King's Lynn Town P-P Alfreton Town
Leamington v Spennymoor Town (Pre-Match Inspection)
Oxford City v Buxton
Scarborough Athletic v Chester
Worksop Town v Merthyr Town
Meanwhile in the FA Trophy Kidderminster's tie against Morecambe has been postponed and will now be played on Tuesday January 13th.
And there is a pre-match inspection at Edgar Street (8.30am) where Hereford are set to face AFC Fylde.
There will be a pitch inspection at Edgar Street tomorrow morning at 8.30am.
Hereford are set to play AFC Fylde in the FA Trophy and the timing of the inspection is early enough to stop them setting off should the game be called off.
Whilst Hereford didn't have as much snow last night as was forecast, there was a lot of rain.
Currently (3pm) it is dry.
2026 NEW YEAR 500 CLUB WINNERS!
🎉 Congratulations to first prize winner of £1000 - Stuart Tolley from Hereford
Check out our lucky winners here: https://www.hust.org.uk/2026-new-year-500-club-winners/
Mitch Roberts has returned to Edgar Street after his loan spell at Gloucester came to an end.
One other Hereford player, Preston Bitemo, remains on loan with Kettering but he may be back soon as manager Paul Caddis will need every player he can muster given the fixture list.
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Having been without sparks for the last twelve hours and under a foot of snow in my neck of the woods, unless things are markedly different in HR1 Hereford FC’s scheduled hosting of AFC Fylde this Saturday in the FA Trophy looks like it will be another game to fall victim to the weather.
At this rate, the fixture pile-up is becoming something that could eventually lead to three games having to be played over the course of some weeks in spring to enable the Bulls to complete their season, and that would be tough on part-time players, not to say impossible in some cases.
But let’s just pretend that there’s a chance that this one will go ahead somehow…
The visitors, relegated to this level last season, have bounced back very well, and sit in second position in the National League North table. Like South Shields, they’re a full-time club with financial backing that really should see them competitive in the division above.
The Coasters are managed by Craig Mahon, and the last time he was seen at Edgar Street he was walking down the tunnel following a red card for Curzon Ashton last season. Mahon has started well at the club, but he’ll need to continue to build on that success as the club tends to get through one manager a year.
Centre forward Danny Ormerod has 16 league goals this season in 21 appearances, which isn’t bad for a 19-year-old. He’s contracted to the club for two years, on full-time terms of course, with the option of a third. That just illustrates the difference in how these two clubs are run.
That goal return isn’t quite on a par with ex-Merthyr striker Ricardo Rees, who had scored as many goals as the whole Hereford squad combined this season before departing for the sunlit uplands of the Stroud valleys, but it’s a pretty healthy return.
Jon Ustabasi will be familiar to Bulls fans from his time as a stand-out performer with Chorley, and winger Luca Thomas came through the ranks at Leeds and weighs in with goals and assists aplenty.
In October, when these sides met in Lancashire, Hereford put in one of their best performances of the season and were somewhat robbed in coming away empty-handed following a 2-1 loss, the aforementioned Ustabasi getting the winner in the 94th minute.
With a variety of players coming and going recently, in addition to the glut of postponements, this season is starting to feel like two mini-seasons. Everyone connected with the Bulls will be fervently hoping that mini-season 2 is a significant improvement on mini-season 1, and if this game represents the start of that second phase what better way to kick it off than to beat a form team and progress to the last 16 in the Trophy?
New recruits Justin Donawa and Keziah Martin should start here, with Donawa offering the width that’s no longer offered by Sam Osborne or Omari Sterling-James, and Martin providing what will hopefully be an influential presence in the middle of the park.
It was heartening that Sam Osborne was so keen to stay at the club even though a deal couldn’t be done to make that happen. Despite things not going to plan this season so far, it does suggest that Paul Caddis has an excellent working relationship with his players and that the dressing room is a happy one given that Osborne wanted to remain in it. It will of course also be a dressing room full of players frustrated that they’re not winning football matches. That’s not been made any easier recently by not actually playing any football matches of course.
That togetherness does at least give some sort of positive base from which to launch mini-season 2, but something that would add to that positivity would be a goalscoring striker looking for a happy dressing room in which to feel at home.
£5250 goes to the winners here, which would presumably cover Ormerod’s goal bonus. Let’s hope he doesn’t qualify for it. As with the previous round, it’s straight to pens if the sides are tied after 90 minutes, which of course went very well against Radcliffe.
Given that it never rains in East Anglia, next weekend’s game at Kings Lynn should be on, and if so will be the first league game for Hereford in well over half a month. With the Linnets having a thoroughly average season, it’s a great opportunity for the Bulls to make amends for that horrible home defeat to them in August, and to finally start climbing the table.
COYW
A large selection of HFC pin badges will be on sale pre match this Saturday v Fylde. The badges pictured are available at £1 or £4 each ( cash only ) from a sales point in front of the matchday ticket office. All net proceeds go directly to HFC.
It’s called British Football’s Greatest Grounds, and it includes famous big grounds like the Emirates and Tottenham, and obscure little non league grounds.
Most importantly it includes Edgar Street!
Howard Clark scores a late equaliser from the penalty spot.
Darlington 1 Collier 2 Appleby 3 Cross 4 Himsworth 5 Crosby 6 Pearson 7 Gaughan 8 Shaw 9 Ellison 10 Chapman 11 O'Shaugnessy Sub Painter Attendance 1,710
Herefordshire will be under an amber weather warning for snow tomorrow (Thursday) with Storm Goretti set to batter large parts of the UK.
The county has escaped the worst of the weather this week, with only light snow falling in some parts. That is in stark to contrast to other parts of the country, with Scotland in particular experiencing heavy snow.
Yorkshire has also been hit by the white stuff, resulting in Hereford's away match at Scarborough being called off in Bridlington.
However, Herefordshire is definitely going to experience severe weather conditions on Thursday, although how bad it will be remains to be seen.
Rain is due to arrive in the county in the early afternoon and will soon become heavy.
As we enter the evening, the weather is due to become more wintry which could result in sleet or snow. Looking at the forecast, it looks like Hereford may escape from the worst of the snow, with most of it falling in the north of the county.
Things are due to settle by rush hour on Friday, however roads could still be treacherous in places. Dry conditions are forecast for the whole day, with there being sunny spells in the afternoon. However, temperatures are only due to reach a maximum of 3C and will fall to zero overnight and into Saturday morning.
Therefore, there is a possibility that Hereford's FA Trophy match against AFC Fylde could be at risk of being postponed, with the temperature at kick off only due to be 3C.
Head groundsman, Ben Bowen will no doubt do his hardest to get the game on - as he always does - and the fact that there is due to be a 24 hour spell of dry weather from Friday afternoon to kick off, will obviously help. The issue will be how much damage the storm may have caused to the pitch beforehand.
If it does end up being postponed, it will add to Hereford's already stretched fixture list. They will have to play it on Tuesday (January 13) meaning that it will be the start of an horrendous schedule of 10 midweek games in a row.
