Hereford United and Torquay United both had to be content with a share of the spoils as they drew 2-2 at Edgar Street this afternoon. Slack marking allowed Eunan O'Kane to fire the visitors into the lead but Stuart Fleetwood's tap-in levelled proceedings. Elliot Benyon fired in on the stroke of half-time but Mathieu Manset's cheeky back-heel mid-way through the second-half meant a point each, in front of 2373 fans, including 327 from Devon.
After the late defeat at Wycombe, Ryan Green returned to the starting eleven after serving his suspension and replaced Rob Purdie, who pulled up at Adams Park. Dominick Werling and Zak Evans replaced Sean Canham and Matthew Lund on the bench.
Jamie Pitman's men nearly made a dream start after a quick-throw by Joe Heath was delivered into the box by Guillem Bauza with his left-foot and it had to be pushed over by Scott Bevan. Chris Zebroski tamely shot at Adam Bartlett inside the box before Manset's 25 yard strike was off-target. Torquay took the lead in the 25th minute; Zebroski found space on the right wing and played a low pass into O'Kane, inside the area. The attacking midfielder must have been in shock at how much time he had, shifting the ball to his left before firing high into the back of the net. The Gulls could have been two up soon after when Ashley Hemmings raced away from Heath and cut inside, before smashing a left-foot strike against the bar.
Despite a very poor first-half showing, Hereford had something to show for their efforts when they equalised through Fleetwood. Nicky Featherstone's lofted pass over the back-line was raced onto by the former Charlton striker, and a defensive mix-up between defender and 'keeper saw the ball roll under Bevan, and Fleetwood steadied himself before slotting into the open goal.
Fleetwood rounds the keeper - pictures from Andy Compton of the Hereford Journal
This revigorated Hereford a little, with Manset's acute angle strike blocked by Bevan and a neat one-two involving the Frenchman opened up an opportunity for Green, with a low shot easily gathered. As half-time loomed, Torquay found themselves back in front courtesy of Benyon. Slack defending was again to blame, with Kevin Nicholson's cross from the left making its way to the un-marked Zebroski, who saw a strike blocked but it fell nicely to Benyon, again in too much room, who rifled past Bartlett from close-range. From the kick-off that followed, Fleetwood tried his luck from the half-way line with Bevan having to gather underneath the crossbar.
The early stages of the second period saw both sides stake claims for further goals. James McQuilkin's direct free-kick was pushed over by Bevan whilst a half-volley from Hemmings failed to trouble Bartlett. Manset was looking lively, with the ball beginning to stick to his feet, a mazy run from a central position saw the Frenchman place a shot just past the near-post from 20 yards, having ignored a number of other options. As Hereford seeked an equalised, Pitman opted to change formation from 3-4-1-2, to 4-4-2. To accomodate the change, Joe Colbeck and Kenny Lunt were introduced, replacing Featherstone and Bauza.
The equaliser didn't owe much to that formation change as a free-kick from the left-hand side was swung in dangerously by McQuilkin. Bevan came to catch the ball, but dropped after being pressurised by Manset and the ball dropped at the feet of the bulky striker, who back-heeled the ball into the goal from eight yards.
Manset celebrates his equaliser
The ten minutes or so following the goal saw Hereford come alive, perhaps for the first-time in the game. Fleetwood found space in the final third, bursting forward and picking out the run of Colbeck, with a shot pushed over by Bevan. Colbeck threatened once more, coming in off the left-wing with the ball, using his pace to get past two and shooting goalwards with his dipping effort causing Bevan to parry the ball. The rebound fell nicely to Manset who lashed a left-foot strike but Bevan made a fine reflex sase to deny the 'Beast' his second goal.
Chris Robertson replaced Guy Branston, who had pulled up in the middle of the park. Benyon nearly scored a fine winner for Paul Buckle's men; the nippy front man controlled a flighted ball from O'Kane inside the box, before turning his man and delightfully curling right-footed towards goal. His effort beat Bartlett but struck the inside of the post, before the ball was eventually cleared. At the other end, McQuilkin drifted in from the left-wing, hitting a right-foot shot that Bevan pushed away to safety. Late on, Daniel Stratford replaced Fleetwood whilst Torquay introduced Danny Stevens and Billy Kee, in place of O'Kane and Hemmings but all three had little time to effect the game.
The final score of 2-2 was a pretty fair result at the end of the game. After a dour first-half performance from Hereford, they looked much livelier in the second, with the change in formation coinciding with the upturn. Defensively, The Bulls look very shaky and lacked bite in the centre of the field. When Richard Rose was pushed into a defensive midfield role, it gave more protection to the back-line, allowing McQuilkin and Lunt to exploit the attacking space. Torquay looked a decent outfit, playing some neat football, with Benyon in particular a thorn in Hereford's side throughout. Next up for Pitman's men is a trip to Aldershot on Monday.
Hereford: Bartlett, Green, Kovacs, Rose, Townsend, Heath, McQuilkin, Featherstone, Bauza, Fleetwood, Manset.
Subs: Heister, Werling, Weir, Evans, Lunt, Stratford, Colbeck.
Torquay: Bevan, Oastler, Nicholson, Ellis, Branston, Zebroski, Marshall, O'Kane, Wroe, Hemmings, Benyon.
Subs: Potter, Rowe-Turner, Robertson, Stevens, Lathrope, Kee, Gritton.
Text at top (next game etc)
Next Game: Darlington Away In The League On Saturday 23rd November At 3.00pm