The Bulls kicked off their 2010/11 season with a hard-earned victory at Gresty Road this afternoon. A goal from Captain Kovacs after a quarter of an hour and 90 minutes of solid teamwork proved too much for Dario Gradi's men.
Manager Davey unexpectedly elected to seat Kenny Lunt on the bench choosing to start with a midfield of Thompson, Colbeck and McQuilkin with Manset, Fleetwood and Canham providing a three-pronged attack.
The Bulls were the quicker into their stride as a Ryan Green through ball just beat Canham to the bye-line before Manset, Thompson and Fleetwood combined to provide Quilks with a chance from the edge of the box which he fired just wide.
Manset was harshly penalised when he clearly got the ball but Westwood's free kick sailed straight into the arms of Bartlett. Crewe should have opened the scoring when Thompson softly conceded possession to Murphy in midfield and Donaldson was put clean through on goal but Bartlett narrowed the angle and the former York City player's effort went wide off the Hereford keeper. The Bulls broke down the right flank through Fleetwood and his cross was met by a Canham header which was deflected wide for a corner from which Kovacs thumped a header passed home keeper, Rhys Taylor.
Valentine picked up an opening day caution when Donaldson collapsed under the slightest of contact and the resultant free kick caused some panic in the Bulls' back division before eventually being scrambled away. Canham just failed to make contact with a Valentine cross while at the other end, Miller missed what was really an easy tap-in at the back post from a low driven cross as he stormed into the Hereford box having left Thompson stranded in midfield.
HT Crewe 0 Bulls 1
The first half had started with United having the upper hand but with the hosts actually producing the greater and better scoring chances despite The Bulls shading the possession.
Hereford again started the brighter but Crewe still showed that they were far from out of the game with some tidy midfield work. Davey responded by introducing Kenny Lunt at the expense of Sean Canham and the former railwayman immediately took the momentum out of the Crewe game with some close control and distribution that had earlier been missing from The Bulls game. Colbeck’s snap effort was just over and Bartlett did well to turn Millers shot away for a corner. Thompson picked up a yellow for a robust challenge but the referee surprisingly ignored the retaliatory kick from the home player.
Fleetwood and Quilks fashioned a chance for Manset but the big man failed to trouble the keeper as the ball went wide and Bartlett blocked a couple of Crewe attempts as the second period finished with honours pretty much even.
FT Crewe 0 Bulls 1
Attendance 4343 (905 reportedly from The Shire)
Hereford – Bartlett, Green, Kovacs, Townsend, Valentine, Thompson, McQuilkin, Colbeck, Fleetwood, Canham (Lunt 58), Manset. Subs unused - Connor, Rose, Weir, Gwyne, Stratford, Malsom.
Crewe – Taylor, Tootle, Ada, Artell, Blanchett, Murphy, Bell, Westwood, Donaldson, Zola (Grant 69), Miller (Leitch-Smith 90) Subs unused - Moore, Mitchel-King, Dugdale, Powell, Barratt.
New captain Kovacs probably shared the man of the match performance with James McQuilkin but it was a good team effort that won the game. The Beast and Fleetwood were the pick of the forwards and the midfield looked more balanced with the late addition of Kenny Lunt. So, an encouraging start from Davey's new squad and signs that after a few more games there is the strength and quality to trouble most teams in this league.
See you all on Tuesday.