Hereford out at first hurdle

Hereford United crashed out of the Carling Cup in the first round with a disappointing 3-0 home defeat against League One Colchester United. The visitors scored twice in the final five minutes of the first-half through a Dave Mooney double before an expert finish from Ian Henderson put the icing on the cake for John Ward's men, in front of 1,996 at Edgar Street.

United made one change from the weekend victory at Crewe, with Sean Canham losing his place in the team. Kenny Lunt came into replace the striker, allowing a more forward role for Joe Colbeck. The visitors were without first-team 'keeper Ben Williams so Mark Cousins deputised. John-Joe O'Toole was also missing; the former Watford midfielder scored a last-minute winner for Colchester at Edgar Street in the FA Cup last season.

A burst from the middle of the park by Henderson, after Mathieu Manset had given the ball away saw the winger move into the box but a strike with the outside of the foot was pushed behind by Adam Bartlett. The French striker atoned for his earlier mistake, with a header inside the box that narrowly cleared the bar. Andrew Bond dragged a shot past Bartlett's post before Stuart Fleetwood got goalside of his marker but could only shoot straight at Cousins from an acute angle. Manset was the dangerman for Hereford, and twice hit the target with left-foot shots. The first came after Colbeck had picked him out making way for a 20 yard drive into the arms of Cousins. The next chance was created by a James Mcquilkin header which let Manset break on the right-wing, but his eventual strike towards the near-post was held.

Colchester took the lead in the 40th minute, with a delightful finish by Reading loanee Mooney. Bond picked out an advanced Marc Tierney on the left who delivered a deep cross to Mooney; the Irishman expertly guided a right-foot volley in off the far post past Bartlett. The winger only had to wait four more minutes to add his second of the evening, as Colchester carved open the Bulls' backline. A clever pass into Henderson inside the area saw him pick out Mooney in acres of space and he side-footed past Bartlett. There was still time in the half for the U's to go close to a third as David Perkins fired a shot goalwards but Bartlett was equal to it.

The quick-fire double from the visitors effectively killed off the game and the second-half reflected this as Hereford failed to carve out any clear-cut chances. Instead, it was Colchester who pushed forward with Bond heading a deep cross straight at Bartlett. Dan Stratford replaced O'Neil Thompson, who had a poor game in the middle of the park, whilst the visitors introduced Lloyd James in place of Bond. A whipped inswinging cross from the left-wing was guided wide by Anthony Wordsworth but the visiting support of 79 didn't have much longer to wait for the third and final goal.

Stratford wanted too long on the ball, and it was nicked away from him allowing Colchester to break. A firm switch of play to Henderson saw the winger set himself before curling into the top corner from 20 yards. After that goal, Hereford bought on Sam Malsom and Canham for Colbeck and a fired-up Manset. Mooney's night was ended prematurely, on a stretcher, following a strong tackle by Michael Townsend. Kajode Odejayi replaced him and minutes later, Ashley Vincent came for Wordsworth. Hereford had some sustained pressure in the final five minutes with Stratford firing a left-foot shot inside the box goalwards which Cousins tipped behind. From a similar position, Townsend span inside the box but couldn't hit the target with a left-foot shot. In stoppage-time, Malsom slid in on a lost-cause and his lifted shot hit the outside of the post from an almost impossible angle.

After the impressive display at Crewe, United failed to followed this up in the Carling Cup. It was a below par performance, although credit to Colchester who looked a good unit. Simon Davey's men showed their frustration, picking up three bookings on the evening. As disappointing as the result is however, personally, I'd rather lose in the Cup than in League Two and hopefully Hereford will bounce back on Saturday against Gillingham at Edgar Street.

Hereford: Bartlett; Green, Kovacs, Townsend, Valentine; Thompson (Stratford 54), Lunt, McQuilkin; Colbeck (Malsom 76), Manset (Canham 76), Fleetwood.

Subs not used: Connor, Rose, Kanoute, Gwynne.

Colchester: Cousins; Wilson, Okuonghae, Reid, Tierney; Izzet, Bond (James 57), Perkins; Henderson, Mooney (Odejayi 72), Wordsworth.

Subs not used: Baldwin, Beevers, Vincent, White, Pentney.

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