Saturday, November 13, 2004

Young Bulls draw with Cobblers

Northampton Town's under 18s drew 1-1 with Hereford United at Moulton College earlier today in the Football League Youth Alliance action reports the Northampton Website.

The Cobblers took the lead in the first half when Danny Mitchell scored his first goal for the club following good work from Danny Green. The Cobblers missed a number of chances to extend the lead and Hereford found an equaliser with ten minutes left after a defensive slip.

Meanwhile the Times printed an article this morning about the Swede Ritual:


AT EXACTLY 2.45pm today, a large swede will be placed carefully on the centre circle at Southport's Haig Avenue ground. A small yet dedicated band of Hereford United supporters will form a ring around the humble root vegetable and begin a ritual which, for them, is more romantic than the FA Cup itself.

Swede-worshipping has become a time-honoured tradition for the Hereford faithful, to the rest of the football world it is an inexplicable peculiarity. Kevin Wargen, a veteran worshipper, said: "It started in the mid-1960s, when a group of fans, tired of the 'you're just a bunch of farmers' taunts, decided to use an FA Cup game at Edgar Street (Hereford's home ground) to turn the joke on its head and pay homage to a swede."

The ceremony always follows the same procedure. Before any FA Cup tie, home or away, the worshippers purchase a large, locally produced swede and paint it black and white to resemble a football. Fifteen minutes before kick-off, they emerge from the tunnel clutching the vegetable.

"We place the swede on the centre circle, get down on our knees and bow three or four times," Wargen, a Liberal Democrat councillor in Hereford, said. "The vegetable is then kicked towards the goal where the Bulls fans are assembled. When the swede hits the back of the net, the service is over and the game can begin."

Swede-worshipping has become a family affair for the Wargen clan. Wargen's 31-year-old son, Adrian, will make his worshipping debut at Haig Avenue today, kicking the vegetable towards the Blowick End, where the Conference club will be expecting victory against their Conference North opponents.

"It's part of our club's great tradition," Wargen said. "The swede signifies all that's romantic about the FA Cup."