Hereford United recorded their second pre-season victory over Blue Square South opponents Bath City at Twerton Park this evening. The only goal of the game came from trialist Simon Johnson mid-way through the second half. Before the strike, the game was a poor affair with little action at either end but the goal lifted The Bulls and the final twenty minutes or so was far better.
The line up included three trialists, Lionel Ainsworth and Chris Zebroski, both who featured at Pegasus, and also Johnson, the former Leeds youngster and more recently of Darlington. There was one notable absentee though, with Ben Smith missing completely from the side. The captains armband was taken by Karl Broadhurst, partnered in defence by Dean Beckwith.
The first half was nothing short of dire though, as United struggled to string passes together. Kris Taylor's wild free-kick was the closest The Bulls came to opening the scoring, whilst at the other end, Beckwith blocked a fierce shot, deflecting out for a corner. The best move of the half came near the end, when Steve Guinan, Zebroski and Ainsworth linked up, with the little winger racing into the box, but his shot was weak and caused the 'keeper no harm. Zebroski's turn and powerful shot was also met by the 'keeper late on in the period. Beckwith went off late on with a knock, and was replaced by John McCombe.
With the poor showing in mind, substitutions were made with Wayne Brown being replaced by Adam Collin. Karl Broadhurst made way for another trialist, a central defender Hutchinson. Jordan Fitzpatrick took the place of Luke Webb, and up front, Guinan left the field with recent signing Clint Easton getting his opportunity to shine.
The second half started much like the first half with little in the way of goal-mouth action. After twenty minutes Marcus Palmer was introduced in place of Chris Zebroski and then the game started to come into life. It was Easton's blocked volley that was the nearest the ball came to threatening the net before Johnson took his chance to give United the lead. The praise should go to Ainsworth though, superb quick feet, and a neat through ball let in Johnson, who shot under the keeper to score the opener. The goal breathed confidence into the Hereford side, and finally, we saw some signs of the way the team could play. Easton tried his luck twice in quick succesion, with the second time, forcing the Bath 'keeper into a decent save whilst Johnson linked up with Ainsworth once again; the former Derby man firing across goal and wide. Sam Gwynne came on for Kris Taylor late on, before Richard Rose nearly capped his evening with a fine goal, powerfully bursting through but his drilled shot was beaten away by the sub Bath keeper.
373 fans were present with perhaps 60 fans from Hereford cheering on the side, and they witnessed a close game. However, after the goal from Johnson, there was a new found confidence in the side and the play was quicker and crisper. In particular, Ainsworth impressed again with his ability to beat defenders at speed, whilst Johnson looked a completely different player after his goal. The first half was frustrating for him, but the second half, he was full of running and constantly beat defenders, with pace and quick feet. Graham Turner's latest signing Easton looked very assured on the ball, and showed some nice touches when drifting in from the left wing. His experience could be vital for this coming season. Next up is West Brom on Friday; this shall be a real test of the current playing squad and trialists.
Hereford: Brown, McClenahan, Beckwith, Broadhurst, Rose, Ainsworth, Webb, Taylor, Johnson, Guinan, Zebroski.
Subs: Collin, Hutchinson, McCombe, Gwynne, Fitzpatrick, Easton, Palmer.