Hereford United may get a chance to test themselves against one of the top teams in the country, if the F.A. Cup third round draw is kind to them. The Bulls secured their place in the hat with a fantastic victory against League One outfit Port Vale at Edgar Street this afternoon, as F.A. Cup fever hit Hereford.
Changes had to be made by United, as loanee's John Eustace and Neil MacKenzie were ineligible, meaning a return to the side for Andy Ferrell and Luke Webb, who both started the first round replay against Shrewsbury. The two did not disappoint either, as both managed to get on the score sheet with fantastic goals.
It took a while for the Mighty Whites to break the deadlock, but when they did they tore their, supposedly, superior opponents apart. Port Vale had to whether an early storm though, and were fortunate to get to the twenty minute mark on level terms. Andy Williams could have given his home town side a dream start, but was quickly closed down as Tamika Mkandawire headed down to his feet inside of the six yard box. Tim Sills had an even better chance then, as he headed just inches wide of the far post when Williams turned provider and crossed from the right.
Sills went extremely close again as United dominated the opening stages, after some brilliant play between Webb, Rob Purdie and Alan Connell, with the latter cutting back to the edge of the box. Connell then slipped a pass to Ferrell who skipped past the challenge of George Abbey, but took a touch too many as he tried to find some space in the box. The ball made its way to Williams twenty yards out though, but he curled over the bar.
Port Vale managed to steady themselves then, but didn't look threatening and it was the hosts who went close once again with little more than half an hour gone. Williams managed to turn away from Abbey in the box, beat the 'keeper Mark Goodlad with a low shot, but Clayton Fortune was on the line to hack away. United's first half efforts did pay off before the break though, as Webb netted his second goal for the club, both of which have been F.A. Cup goals. Connell had just fired another warning shot before Webb's opener on forty one minutes. A bouncing loose ball sat up perfectly for the youngster twenty five yards out, and he struck it perfectly, as the ball flew in off the far post.
Vale were out early after the interval, and Jeff Smith hit the first shot on target within half a minute of the restart. Wayne Brown was alert though, as he dived to his left and tipped around the post. Hereford weren't allowing a come back though, and were 2-0 up four minutes into the half. After a goal kick, the ball was headed straight back from the midfield, and Sills raced ahead of a flat-footed defence, went to advance around Goodlad, who went straight through Sills and gave away a clear-cut penalty. The only mistake Mr. Probert made was only booking the 'keeper. Up stepped Purdie who, as expected, made no mistake from the spot, retaining his 100% penalty record this season.
If the 710 supporters were thinking about leaving in disgust, Purdie made a number of their minds up two minutes later as he made it 3-0, with his ninth goal of the season. He raced onto Connell's pass to the right, where he found himself in acres of space. He advanced into the box, took a touch and played what appeared to be a pretty poor low left footed cross. However, a defender took a swipe at it, missed it completely, and the ball curled into the far bottom corner. With the match as good as over with forty minutes left, a number of travelling fans decided that was enough.
United decided the damage was done and took a step back and allowed Port Vale some of the play, but Phil Gulliver, Dean Beckwith and Mkandawire did well to ensure Brown's goal was rarely under threat. Nathan Lowndes did manage to cross for Leon Constantine, but Vale's top scorer headed wide in a rare effort at goal. The Bulls were happy enough to charge away on the counter, and it almost paid off when Jeannin made an overlapping run before crossing to Connell, who fired wide under pressure from two defenders.
Around seventy minutes had gone when Williams was replaced by Stuart Fleetwood,
Fleetwood before the game - picture by Andy Compton of the Hereford Journal
who is back from a virus, and he was at the far post with Connell when Mkandawire's cross was turned over his own bar by Colin Miles. Graham Turner then replaced Connell with Sheldon and finally with five minutes left Richard Rose replaced Sills. However, that wasn't before Sills made an excellent contribution to Hereford's fourth and final goal. Purdie had released the front man down the right, and Sills showed great vision to pick out Ferrell's run to the edge of the box. The cross was perfect, and Ferrell's connection on the volley was just as good, as the ball flew into the top corner, capping a stunning performance in front of a crowd of 4,076. Ferrell's celebration was quite impressive as well!
Although some may well have backed Hereford, in front of their home crowd, to dump Port Vale from the league above out of the F.A. Cup, few would have predicted such a comprehensive victory. The Bulls showed their class this afternoon, and the result really will inject some confidence into the side. The wait is on now for the third round draw, which takes place tomorrow at 3.15 p.m.
HUFC: Brown, Gulliver, Mkandawire, Beckwith, Jeannin, Purdie, Ferrell, Webb, Connell, Sills, Williams. Subs: Travis, Rose, Sheldon, Thompson, Fleetwood.
Port Vale: Goodlad, Abbey, Fortune, Miles, Harsley, Smith, Sonner, Gardner, Whitaker, Moore, Constantine. Subs: Anyon, McGregor, Cardle, Briscoe, Lowndes.