Disappointing Day at the Lawn

It was bad enough realising there would be no beef pies on offer at the Lawn this afternoon but one did hope to see a bit more beef on the pitch.

However in truth it was a disappointing afternoon for Hereford United and their 171 supporters with few positives to take from their friendly against a quite lively Forest Green side.

The two managers

And with just one 'new' trialist on show, it does appear that the 55% wage cap is causing manager Jamie Pitman recruitment problems.

That trialist was 18 year old goalkeeper James Wren who was formally with Walsall. He didn't have the best of days - he was at fault for two of the Grumpers goals - and on this performance would be unlikely to be offered a contract.

Two other trialists, Danny Williams and Albert Jarrett, pictured, came on during the second half. Jarrett may be worth another look on Monday.

Several players missed the game because of injuries. Particularily noticable by his continuing absence is defender Stefan Stam. Ryan Green partnered Janos Kovacs in the heart of defence until Michael Townsend was introduced early in the second half in place of Kovacs.

Townsend is suspended for the first League game of the season and Pitman must be praying that Stam will be fit for the match at Southend. If not it looks as though Green and Kovacs is the only possible combination unless Pitman can bring someone in.

One positive was the performance of new striker Yoann Arquin (pictured before the game). Whilst he is a some way off the finished product, he did show some potential and a bit of aggression which was sadly lacking in some others on the pitch.

No doubt the message from Edgar Street will be that this afternoon was only a friendly with the result not meaning much and the real warm-up will be against Bolton on Monday evening.

However Southend is only a week away.

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