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Aggrieved at the points deduction announced in midweek, Hereford responded with a tremendous team display at Edgar Street this afternoon, seeing off table-toppers Chesterfield with some ease, and capping the performance with two contenders for goal of the season. It was shirtsleeve order as the warm spring sunshine seemed to lift the unchanged home side to a level not witnessed at home for some considerable time.
The Bulls forced an early corner, and Steve Leslie’s kick was claimed by visiting keeper Tommy Lee, still looking the part after his former career in rock and the video market have long since gone. Jimmy McQuilkin then planted a free kick onto Stuart Fleetwood’s pate, and the ball skewed wide. Fleetwood’s constant harrying and willingness to chase a lost cause was causing some concern to the visitors, and almost bore fruit when he robbed a defender and laid a smart ball back for Joe Colbeck. Lee once more dealt effectively with the shot.
Fleetwood scores his 17th of the season On 11 minutes, Joe Heath then made a dart down the left flank and passed to Leslie, who delivered a hanging cross to the far post. Colbeck carefully nodded the ball back across goal to the waiting Fleetwood, who beat Lee with a glancing header. Buoyed by this, the Bulls continued to press. Fleetwood laid a ball off to McQuilkin, who shot narrowly wide, and he then unselfishly tried to tee up Nicky Featherstone when perhaps a direct shot would have been the better option.
Stam watches as Lester dives - Pictures from Andy Compton of the Hereford Journal Little was seen of the much vaunted Spireites, other than a couple of tame shots from Jack Lester, who was also guilty of his trademark simulation in the vain hope of being given a penalty. Lester also headed wide when an accurate Danny Whitaker free kick found him unmarked, but the confident pairing of Michael Townsend and Stefan Stam snuffed out any real dangers. Nicky Featherstone gave a terrier-like performance in midfield, and was instrumental in creating other chances for the home side. One delightful pass to Fleetwood was met by a clever chip which beat the far post, and then these two put Colbeck in, and his rasping shot was diverted past a post. An overlapping Ryan Green and Colbeck also did well to create another chance for Fleets as the Bulls continued their ascendancy until the interval.
HT: HUFC 1 CHESTERFIELD 0
The opening ten minutes of the second half was the only period that caused home fans concern. Slow to restart, a previously ineffectual Craig Davies was afforded too much space by the Bulls rearguard, and the pink-booted striker crashed a shot off the woodwork. Lester over-hit a through ball and Hereford passes were starting to become intercepted too readily for comfort. One piece of poor distribution by Adam Bartlett led to a promising move from the away side which led to a foul on Dean Morgan. A well weighted delivery was met with a downward, bouncing header; Bartlett certainly made amends with a great save to preserve the advantage.
These relatively minor scares acted to waken the Bulls, as once more they gained the upper hand. Townsend covered every angle and impressed by calmly shepherding one pass to safety, and then applying more direct measures when necessary. Dwayne Mattis seemed unaware of a lurking Fleetwood as he attempted a back pass, and was fortunate to see the ball rebound off his opponent before he could control it. Leslie then had a curling effort deflected to allow Lee to make the catch, and then Fleetwood set up McQuilkin for a shot wide of the goal. Stam then did well to put off Davies, though an offside flag halted the move in any case.
A neat passing move involving Colbeck and Featherstone then created the second goal for Hereford. With 76 minutes gone, Leslie was the recipient some 25 yards from goal, and he fired a spectacular, raking effort into the far corner of the net, giving Lee no chance of a save. You wait a long time for such a goal to celebrate, and, just as in the apocryphal case of the buses, another turns up straight away! 81minutes on the clock and Colbeck makes his entry for the Goal of the Season, smashing an unstoppable shot into the opposite corner, again from fully 25 yards.
What joy! Shell-shocked Spireite fans pouring out of the ground, the game played in an excellent spirit, and the Met men saying that there is “more to come” on the weather front. In regaining the three points controversially removed by the league, one could see that our strength is not in never having fallen, but……………..you know the rest. As a footnote, it is to be hoped that the unfortunate injury sustained by Gregor Robertson is not as serious as it looked.
FT: HUFC 3 CHESTERFIELD 0 Attendance: 2492(including 629 from the Land of the Crooked Spire), oh and one from Maryhill FC, nr Glasgow.
HUFC: Bartlett, Green (Purdie 64), Townsend, Stam, Heath, Mcquilkin (Rose 86), Lunt, Colbeck, Featherstone, Leslie, Fleetwood (Fairhurst 78). Chesterfield: Lee, Robertson (Breckin 66), Griffiths (Boden 66), Holden, Whitaker, Mattis, Davies, Lester (Allott 58), Morgan, Smalley, Talbot.