A comfortable victory, the first home league win of the season, saw the Bulls climb off the foot of the table this afternoon. Indeed, only a late equaliser for Barnet against Shrewsbury prevented an escape from the murky waters of the relegation zone. Jamie Pitman, or possibly a lookalike sporting a natty suit, was able to name an unchanged side as Ryan Green served the second of his two game ban.
In breezy conditions which made ball control problematic, the game began brightly. The artist formerly known as Eldinho, ex pantomime villain Anthony Elding, was first with an attempt on goal, but his long-range effort cleared the bar. Hereford were quick to counter, and received an invaluable gift with barely 3 minutes played. Kenny Lunt fed Stuart Fleetwood down the right, the Newent lad made a surging run and sent in a hanging cross. It did not seem destined for a colleague, but Andy Halls decided to intervene, smashing the ball past his own keeper for the opener. Buoyed by this confidence booster, the Bulls set about increasing their advantage, and the on-form Mathieu Manset should have converted a clear chance, though credit should be given to Matt Glennon in the County goal for a point blank save.
Lunt and Jimmy McQuilkin, together with Hull loanee Nicky Featherstone (now thankfully with us until the end of the season) had a stranglehold on the midfield, and the twin goal machine of Fleetwood and Manset were causing serious concern to the visiting defence. Stockport showed little guile and Adam Bartlett’s goal was rarely threatened, other than a curling cross from Stephen Husband which captain Jan Kovacs left at the last minute, a decision which served to distract the on-loan Ishmel Demontagnac. McQuilkin was cynically tripped from behind when bearing down on the penalty box, and Stephen Husband was shown the yellow card for his sins; the resultant free kick came to nought. Manset had the ball in the net but was denied by a tight offside decision. However, the Frenchman, being watched by any number of scouts, then embarked on one of his trademark irresistible runs. A trail of County defenders, unable to get in a challenge,was left in his wake, Manset rifled a low shot from the edge of the box into the corner of Glennon’s net to double the Bulls advantage on 25 minutes.
Manset celebrates another goal - pictures from Andy Compton of the Hereford Journal.In complete command at this stage, Joe Colbeck’s pace and the whole team’s determination to chase a lost cause seemed likely to bear more fruit. Lunt set up Manset, whose shot deflected for a corner, and from the resulting flag kick Kovacs got his head to the ball but was penalised for a push. Any chance of a comeback from Stockport then became even more unlikely. The hapless Husband decided, for reasons best known to himself, to perform a perfect action replay of his trip on our Jimmy on precisely the same sod of the Edgar Street turf. Deja vue in action! Anyway, the outcome was also the same- a second card, leaving his team-mates to face over half the game with ten men. A Husband sent for an early bath! McQuilkin only narrowly missed the target with the ensuing free kick. A Kovacs interception then found Lunt who ficked it to Manset, but this time the shot was a weak one. Finally, Colbeck’s shot was spilled by Glennon, who then made a rapid recovery before the alert Fleetwood could pounce.
HT: HUFC 2 STOCKPORT COUNTY 0
Lunt had an early attempt on goal as play resumed and some neat inter-passing from the Bulls created further half-chances. Meanwhile, in a rare break, Elding played a neat ball down the line for Halls, whose cross whistled dangerously across the goalface. Joe Heath had more freedom to join the attack now and sent in a couple of speculative shots. The full back then combined well with Colbeck and Manset, but the finish was lacking in accuracy. Fleetwood did very well to create a chance for Lunt, but this time an expert block from Mansour Assoumani was needed. Shortly afterwards Fleets appeared on the opposite flank and centered for Manset who attempted an ambitious backheel to no avail. Before his departure, Manset displayed more trickery that created a chance for his strike-partner, and doubtless led to some positive note taking by the watching scouts.
With both strikers having run themselves into the ground, fresh legs were called for in the shape of Sean Canham and Guillem Bauza. Canham looked energetic, but it was the Spaniard who really caught the eye. Two minutes after entering the fray, he latched onto a through ball and buried his shot into the far corner, to finally make the points safe after 86 minutes.
Bauza on targetA similar run shortly after saw him fire over, and there was still time for a teasing Colbeck cross with which Bauza narrowly failed to connect. An excellent performance and a thoroughly deserved victory as Hereford continue on their winning run. Onwards and (hopefully) upwards.
Footnote: Aggregate score this season: Bulls 8 Hatters 0. Can we play them every week?
FT HUFC 3 STOCKPORT COUNTY 0
Attendance: 3154, boosted by “Kids for a quid” and 334 from Greater Manchester.
HUFC: Bartlett, Rose, Kovacs, Townsend, Heath, McQuilkin (Stratford 92), Lunt, Featherstone, Colbeck, Fleetwood (Bauza 84), Manset (Canham 77).
STOCKPORT: Glennon, Lynch, Williams, Assoumani, Demontagnac (Poole 82), Halls (Vincent 78), Turnbull, Tansey, Husband, Griffin, Elding.