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Hereford United have made the draw for the F.A. Cup second round, but their first round opponents Shrewsbury Town will also join them, as the two rivals drew blank at Gay Meadow this afternoon.
United were forced into three changes from the side that has served them well in recent weeks with John Eustace and Neil MacKenzie ineligible, and Stuart Fleetwood missing with a virus. Up stepped Andy Ferrell, Richard Rose and Tim Sills to fill the gaps in the eleven, meaning a return from injury for Trent McClenahan, but only to the bench, alongside Gareth Sheldon and Sam Gwynne.
The home side had in general the better of the opening stages, but ironically it was Hereford who came closest to scoring, as The Shrews lacked firepower in attack. Sills failed to capitalise on a sliced clearance, and shot first time wide before he almost broke the deadlock in front of the travelling army of 1,414. Rose had advanced to the by-line before centring, where Ben Herd missed the ball, allowing it to fall to Sills twelve yards out. He shot first time towards the far top corner and had 'keeper Scott Shearer beaten; he also had the upright beat though, and so the score remained blank.
Between Sills' opportunities Town had been building pressure with some good wide play, but Wayne Brown wasn't forced into any real work until thirteen minutes when the hosts almost opened the scoring, but were denied by some frantic last ditch defending, a good stop by Brown, and the cross bar as the ball bashed about the box, before The Bulls were able to clear their lines. Both Gavin Cowan and Stewart Drummond went close.
At the other end, Hereford broke and Alan Connell had a delightful chance to give United an advantage, but scuffed his shot in front of a goal covered by a couple of recovering defenders. Andy Williams had lifted a ball over the defence for Rob Purdie to race onto and, having been met by Shearer, Purdie got around the goalie and clipped a ball to the edge of the six yard box, where Connell failed to get the decisive touch.
Hereford then had a hand ball claim turned down by the referee, when Connell's shot crashed against a defender, but just before half time a perhaps more viable claim was turned down when, once again, Connell shot and the ball clearly rebounded off the hand of Neil Ashton. Before the second claim came around United had a great chance to go in front when Connell had a shot charged down but the ball fell kindly to Sills, but he couldn't beat Shearer, who made himself big as he closed down, from close range.
Shrewsbury went closest in the first half though, seven minutes from the break when Drummond's effort from just inside of the box rebounded off the cross bar.
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| Williams Is Carded |
The second half wasn't quite so entertaining, but once again The Shrews enjoyed the most possession. This half, Hereford seemed to play more cautiously and got more players behind the ball, soaked up pressure, and didn't throw so many players forward as they had done so previosly. Town seemed able to command play as they dominated a weakened Hereford midfield.
Ben Davies was the creative flair in Shrewsbury's side, and he went close with a drive from twenty yards out before Phill Gulliver thundered a header just wide from Purdie's corner. Purdie then volleyed over, while Drummond went close for the home side, who were, despite their greater possession, unable to trouble Brown in the Hereford goal greatly.
Sills had a quieter second half, with only one notable chance that flew over from long range, but it was Connell who had the best chance of the half. Before hand, Dean Beckwith had met a Purdie corner unchallenged, but his header landed in the arms of a grateful Shearer. Connell's chance of a winner came with around ten minutes left when Purdie had ventured into the Shrewsbury box and his cross caused a mix up in the defence, allowing Connell to nip in and get a shot away. His low drive was pushed away by the outstretched arm of Shearer before the ball was hooked away to safety.
All in all it was it was a decent enough performance in a reasonably entertaining game, with a good atmosphere in front of a crowd of 5,574. Hereford, missing vital players will be happy enough with the performance, and will be confident that they can secure their place in the second round when the two meet at Edgar Street a week on Tuesday, following this 0-0 draw.
HUFC: Brown, Beckwith, Mkandawire, Gulliver, Purdie, Jeannin, Ferrell, Rose, Connell, Sills, Williams. Subs: McClenahan, Thompson, Gwynne, Sheldon, Webb.
STFC: Shearer, Aston, Herd, Cowan, Edwards, Davies, Sorvel, Drummond, Asamoah, Langmead, Symes. Subs: MacKenzie, Burton, Hall, Fortune-West, Cooke.