Hereford United completed the double over Cheltenham Town this afternoon with a thrilling 3-2 victory at Whaddon Road. Debutant Febian Brandy put Hereford in front in the 14th minute but The Bulls' cause wasn't helped with three first-half injuries to central defenders forcing three subs. Lloyd Owusu scored either side of the half-time whistle to put the home side in front but Sam Hewson scored with two free-kicks to hand Hereford the points and send the travelling support of 1,295 back home delighted.
After two weeks without a game, Graham Turner opted to change his team about with the introduction of new loan signings Peter Gulacsi in between the sticks and Brandy up front, replacing Craig Samson and Andy Williams, with neither featuring on the bench. Kris Taylor replaced Richard Jackson in defencec, with Richard Rose moving to right-back whilst Dean Beckwith came in for Karl Broadhurst. Matty Done had to be content with a place on the bench as Sam Gwynne took his place, with Jennison Myrie-Williams starting on left-wing against his former team. Another man lining up against his former employers was Steve Guinan, who was handed the captain's armband. The hosts named former Leeds' midfielder Ian Westlake amongst their starting line-up whilst Drissa Diallo captained the Robins; the former MK Dons defender has played against Hereford on a number of occasions in the past two seasons.
The home side carried out the early threats with Owusu latching onto a forward pass by Alex Russell to head past the post whilst David Bird's well-struck drive from 25 yards was held by Gulacsi. United took the lead early in the game after a mix-up between 'keeper and defender. Myrie-Williams had layed the ball back to Taylor whose first time cross wasn't claimed by goalie Scott P Brown after he collided with Lee Ridley and it fell to Guinan who struck goalwards with Brandy getting the final touch to make it 1-0. It was difficult to see who would claim the goal with Guinan saying after the match that he was, with Brandy being offside had he touched it but Brandy is being attributed with it in the press. The physical front duo of Owusu and Damian Spencer were putting themselves about and good link-up between them saw Spencer slice a left-foot shot into the away end. At the other end, a clearence by Beckwith was mis-judged by the Cheltenham back-line and Guinan raced onto it but his left-foot shot from a tight angle fell just past the far post.
Spencer's deft touch at the front-post to meet a low Owusu cross fell wide before Ashley Vincent was introduced with Nicholas Bignall making way. This was the first of three subs made in the first period, in a very stop-start game with a number of knocks being picked up. The next player to make way was Joshua Gowling, who departed with an ankle injury; Karl Broadhurst replaced him. In the period where Gowling was receiving treatment, an inswinging corner made its way to Chris Westwood but a scooped effort from the former Walsall defender failed to trouble Gulacsi. Toumani Diagouraga shot over after being set up by a chest down from Guinan whilst at the other end, Owusu spurned a fine opportunity to equalise. A powerful forward header by Ridley was flicked on by Vincent and Owusu beat the offside trap but he couldn't hit the target despite having plenty of time, eventually dragging a shot inches past Gulasci's far post.
The second injury sustained by a centre-half was to Beckwith, after he picked up concussion following a clash of heads with Owusu. Ben Smith came on for the defender, with Rose pushing to centre-back and Diagouraga slotting in at right-back. With the number of stoppages, some six minutes were added on and Cheltenham took advantage of this by equalising. A corner was hit towards the back-post and Russell headed down for Owusu who managed to wrap his foot around the ball under pressure from one yard out to equalise. It was a terrible time to concede for Hereford but they could have made amends within moments through Brandy after he closed down Ridley to nick possession and find himself with a one on one opportunity but Brown this time denied the Man Utd loanee with a smart save blocking a powerful effort.
During the break, it was decided that Broadhurst wasn't fit to continue with a dead leg and Simon Johnson replaced him. It meant Gwynne would push back to right-back, with Diagouraga playing at centre-half along side Rose whilst Johnson slotted in on right-wing. The second-half didn't start as Hereford would have wanted as they adjusted to the mass changes in defence; a long free-kick from Russell somehow made its way to the back-post where Vincent crept in behind the defence to shoot goalwards but Gulacsi made a good instinctive block to deny the pacey winger. At the other end, the Man Utd loanees linked up with Brandy laying off for Hewson but the midfielder's drilled shot went wide. The home side took the lead for the first-time in the game when Westlake sent an excellent corner into the box and Owusu rose well to power home a header to make the score 2-1.
Immediately after the goal, Hereford had strong claims for a penalty when Brandy latched on to a ball over the top from Rose and he went down from a challenge by Ridley but the referee pointed for a corner. It was the second time in the game that Brandy had appealed for a penalty after he had also looked to have been felled in the area mid-way through the first-half. The turning point of the game may have came when Cheltenham won a free-kick 25 yards out; Westlake, who had been taking all the set-pieces, stepped up to smash a left-foot shot against the far post before it was eventually cleared and moments after, Hereford equalised through a set-piece of their own.
Shane Duff became the fifth player to leave the field through injury with John Finnigan coming on. Good work from Brandy just outside the box saw him switch the play to Johnson but it was bought back for a late challenge on the pacey striker. With three players around the ball, Rose touched for Hewson to smash a shot off the inside of the bar and into the net. The Bulls then had the momentum and went close through Myrie-Williams after Guinan had switched the play to the Bristol City loanee, who saw his effort deflect over after a number of step-overs. Guinan nearly scored a goal of his own when he superbly rose at the back-post to meet a well-placed Taylor cross but the experienced forward's header was pushed away by Brown.
Two chances in quick succession were squandered by Spencer, firstly the strong striker's flick header went over after being set up by Owusu whilst moments later, a shot on the turn was easily held by Gulacsi. Soon after these chances, Hereford went back in front with Hewson again the goalscorer. This time, Taylor's persistance saw him win a free-kick in a similar position to the second goal. It was near enough a carbon copy with Hewson being set up by Rose again, but this time the shot needed a big deflection to wrong-foot Brown and trickle into the corner to send the away fans into a frenzy. Elvis Hammond replaced David Bird late on as Martin Allen looked to salvage a point but they couldn't muster up a late equaliser. Vincent turned Taylor but could only tamely shoot at Gulacsi whilst Owusu's header failed to trouble the Hungarian 'keeper. In stoppage-time, the Robins won a free-kick in a dangerous position but the drama occured before the taking of the set-piece. The referee produced a red card to Ridley, to sum up an awful day for the defender, for what we can only assume was foul and abusive language. The free-kick was eventually taken by Westlake but it was deflected out for a corner and Hereford held on to claim a priceless win.
It was an entertaining derby match at Whaddon Road with Hereford taking a massive three points. There were no stand out performers for The Bulls but the team showed superb character and versatility in a difficult game. The injuries to three centre-halfs is likely to result in Turner dipping into the loan market for an "emergency" centre-half whilst a number of other players were clearly struggling late-on. The Premiership loan trio of Gulacsi, Hewson and Brandy all had encouraging games with the latter showing glimpses of real quality but looked obviously shot of match fitness. Next up for Hereford is the visit of promotion chasing Leeds United and Peterborough, with the Elland Road based club visiting Edgar Street on Tuesday evening.
Hereford: Gulacsi, Rose, Beckwith, Gowling, Taylor, Gwynne, Diagouraga, Hewson, Myrie-Williams, Guinan, Brandy.
Subs: Veiga, Broadhurst, Smith, Done, Johnson.
Cheltenham: Brown, Westwood, Diallo, Duff, Ridley, Russell, Westlake, Bird, Bignall, Spencer, Owusu.
Subs: Puddy, Finnigan, Vincent, Hammond, Connor.