Press Round Up about Hereford's Win

Below are a few of the press reports on Hereford's 5-1 win against Darlington yesterday:

First the Observer:

The outstanding performance in League Two was Hereford's 5-1 win over Darlington, which pushed them from sixth to third. Their improvement since finishing 16th last season - their first back in the League - has stemmed from the fact that they made a large number of changes to their squad in the summer. They put the emphasis on bringing in players with greater league experience and in that respect there are not many who can rival centre-forward Trevor Benjamin.

Hereford are the 16th club he has played for and he is still only 28. The 6ft 2in Benjamin has become something of a cult figure with Hereford followers and it was not difficult to see why against Darlington, He caused the visitors' defence a number of problems and scored his team's fourth goal.

From Wales on Sunday:

DARLINGTON saw their goals against tally for the season doubled inside 90 minutes as the Bulls went on the rampage to maintain the pressure at the top of League Two.

Richard Rose, deputising for suspended Karl Broadhurst, thumped home a header from Clint Easton’s corner with just four minutes played.

But, against the run of play, the Quakers levelled on 16 minutes when Julian Joachim skated past Trent McClenahan and crossed for Joe Colbeck to sidefoot home.

Hereford deservedly regained the lead on 21 minutes when Trevor Benjamin slipped the ball through for Robinson to slide a shot into the corner of the net.

Alan White’s attempted clearance looped into the net off Ben Smith 70 seconds into the second half to extend the lead and Benjamin crashed in Lionel Ainsworth’s cross for the fourth on 58 minutes.

Easton slid in the fifth from McClenahan’s cross to complete the rout.

And this from the Sunday Mirror:

Graham Turner saw his Hereford side smash five past Darlington to leapfrog the Quakers in the promotion race with their seventh win of the season.

Hereford got off to the perfect start at Edgar Street with the shell-shocked Quakers briefly recovering before the Bulls claimed four unanswered goals to move into third spot with Darlington slipping to fifth place in the table.

United ended Darlington's remarkable defensive run in the opening four minutes when former Gillingham defender Richard Rose converted a corner with a firm header.

It was only the sixth goal Darlington have let in this season and ended the defence's run of 365 minutes without conceding. But few imagined the Bulls would score four more when the visitors responded 12 minutes later through Joe Colbeck's long-range strike.

Theo Robinson restored Hereford's lead after 22 minutes, and the Bulls reclaimed a two-goal advantage within 70 seconds of the restart when Ben Smith struck.

Trevor Benjamin added a fourth and Clint Easton a fifth as Hereford ended a three-match run without a win, and inflicted Darlington's second loss of the season, and first defeat in six matches.

Hereford struck first after Smith's shot had been diverted for a corner.

Rose, promoted from the bench in place of the banned Karl Broadhurst, met the cross to head low into the bottom corner from 12 yards as the Quakers' defence was breached for the first time since Rory Prendergast's 88th-minute leveller for Rochdale on October 2.

Bulls goalkeeper Wayne Brown saved comfortably from Tommy Wright five minutes later, and then Robbie Threlfall, making his debut after signing on a month-long loan deal from Liverpool, and Robinson each shot off target for Hereford.

On-loan Bradford midfielder Colbeck scored his first goal for Darlington in his second appearance when he drilled the ball in from 35 yards to equalise after 16 minutes.

But Hereford hit back, Robinson latching on to Benjamin's pass to fire in left-footed from 12 yards for his fifth goal of the season. Smith beat Darlington stopper David Stockdale with a right-foot shot from 12 yards immediately after the restart to put the Bulls 3-1 up.

Benjamin then ended a run of five matches without a goal when he notched his sixth of the season with a right-foot shot from 12 yards after Lionel Ainsworth's assist from the right flank.

Colbeck again tried his luck from outside the area without success before Robinson dragged a shot wide for the hosts. Easton forced Stockdale into a save after a 20-yard effort before Colbeck shot from 25 yards once again.

Wright, Darlington's leading scorer, was frustrated and withdrawn from the fray after 73 minutes but the fresh legs of Matthew Green failed to combat a stern defence and Hereford added a fifth.

Trent McClenahan's centre found Easton, who converted with a left-foot shot from six yards.

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