Draw doubles Hereford advantage
Hereford United drew 1-1 with Dagenham & Redbridge at Edgar Street tonight.
Daggers
drawn as Hereford are held
Hereford
United 1 - 1 Dagenham & Redbridge
 |
| Ben Smith After His Goal - Picture Copyright Andy Compton |
Hereford United
drew 1-1 tonight with Dagenham & Redbridge at Edgar Street.
The result doubles the Bulls advantage at the top of the table
over Chester City.
The first half was a scrappy one and chances were few and far between. Neither side created many clear cut chances before the last five minutes of the half. Before hand, Ben Smith had been booked for a sliding challenge on Dagenham's winger Tony Scully. Smith was one of seven players to be cautioned in the game which was far from dirty. The referee seemed to needlessly hand out yellow cards throughout the ninety minutes and Mr. Green generally had a poor show in front of the cameras.
After forty minutes Hereford created a wonderful opening which was close to breaking the deadlock. A magnificent passing move down the Hereford right-wing led to the ball being laid off to Michael Rose, who smashed a low left-footed drive from the edge of the area, only to see it skim the foot of the post and go out of play.
The second half, however, was much more eventful. In the early stages, Dagenham striker Alex Meechan twice hooked the ball over Matt Baker's goal before Hereford made it 1-0 in the fifty-fourth minute.
A throw in on the left wing was played to David Brown, who knocked the ball on to Smith. He took the ball into the area and hit an unstoppable shot high into the goal, which left 'keeper James Pullen with no chance.
The goal added a spring to Hereford's step as they attacked in numbers. Brown may have added a second just minutes later when his volley went wide after Steve Guinan had crossed.
In the sixty-fifth minute, though, the Daggers were level. A corner was swung in and punched away by Baker. The ball fell to Lenny Piper twenty-five yards from goal and his powerful effort was cleared off the line by Smith, but the ball dropped two yards out for Dean Bethwick to tap in.
Both teams searched for a winner, but neither could create much as the defences continued to look strong. Danny Carey-Bertram was subbed on for Brown, and his pace nearly created a winner for United when he raced clear from the halfway line, playing the ball to Paul Parry, who was denied by the advancing goalie, Pullen.
The result left the majority of the 4,325 disappointed, with the twenty eight travelling fans from Dagenham excepted, but the draw was probably a fair reflection of the game. The referee and his officials left the game to boos and jeers.
The first half was a scrappy one and chances were few and far between. Neither side created many clear cut chances before the last five minutes of the half. Before hand, Ben Smith had been booked for a sliding challenge on Dagenham's winger Tony Scully. Smith was one of seven players to be cautioned in the game which was far from dirty. The referee seemed to needlessly hand out yellow cards throughout the ninety minutes and Mr. Green generally had a poor show in front of the cameras.
After forty minutes Hereford created a wonderful opening which was close to breaking the deadlock. A magnificent passing move down the Hereford right-wing led to the ball being laid off to Michael Rose, who smashed a low left-footed drive from the edge of the area, only to see it skim the foot of the post and go out of play.
The second half, however, was much more eventful. In the early stages, Dagenham striker Alex Meechan twice hooked the ball over Matt Baker's goal before Hereford made it 1-0 in the fifty-fourth minute.
A throw in on the left wing was played to David Brown, who knocked the ball on to Smith. He took the ball into the area and hit an unstoppable shot high into the goal, which left 'keeper James Pullen with no chance.
The goal added a spring to Hereford's step as they attacked in numbers. Brown may have added a second just minutes later when his volley went wide after Steve Guinan had crossed.
In the sixty-fifth minute, though, the Daggers were level. A corner was swung in and punched away by Baker. The ball fell to Lenny Piper twenty-five yards from goal and his powerful effort was cleared off the line by Smith, but the ball dropped two yards out for Dean Bethwick to tap in.
Both teams searched for a winner, but neither could create much as the defences continued to look strong. Danny Carey-Bertram was subbed on for Brown, and his pace nearly created a winner for United when he raced clear from the halfway line, playing the ball to Paul Parry, who was denied by the advancing goalie, Pullen.
The result left the majority of the 4,325 disappointed, with the twenty eight travelling fans from Dagenham excepted, but the draw was probably a fair reflection of the game. The referee and his officials left the game to boos and jeers.
Written by Brian
Goodwin - 13th October 2003.
| Hereford United | Dagenham & Redbridge |
| Matt Baker | James Pullen |
| Ryan Green | Tarkan Mustafa |
| Michael Rose | Ashley Vickers |
| Jamie Pitman | Dean Beckwith |
| Tamika Mkandawire | Paul Bruce (off, 82 minutes) |
| Tony James (captain) | Lenny Piper (off, 74 minutes) |
| Danny Williams | Mark Bentley |
| Ben Smith | Chris Piper |
| Steve Guinan | Tony Scully |
| David Brown (off, 68 minutes) | Danny Shipp |
| Paul Parry | Alex Meechan (off, 68 minutes) |
| Subs | Subs |
| Richard Teesdale | Tony Roberts |
| Ben Scott | Alan Kimble (on, 82 minutes) |
| Daniel Carey-Bertram (on, 68 minutes) | Danny Hill (on, 74 minutes) |
| Dean Craven | Lee Matthews |
| Jordan King | Leon Braithwaite (on, 68 minutes) |
| Yellow cards | Yellow cards |
| Ben Smith (foul, 32 minutes) | Dean Beckwith (unsporting behaviour, 60 minutes) |
| Tony James (unsporting behaviour, 49 minutes) | Chris Piper (unsporting behaviour, 73 minutes) |
| David Brown (unsporting behaviour, 58 minutes) | Danny Hill (unsporting behaviour, 79 minutes) |
| Steve Guinan (dissent, 58 minutes) | - |
| Red cards | Red cards |
| - | - |
| Scorers | Scorers |
| Ben Smith (54 minutes) | Dean Beckwith (65 minutes |
| - | - |
| Man of the Match | Tony James |
| Attendance | 4325 |
| Referee | Mr. T. Green (Leicester) |