Richard O'Kelly didn't have to wait long for his first home win when he originally came to Edgar Street back in the summer of 2002.
The opening game of the season was against Farnborough which the Bulls won 2-1 with both goals coming from Jamie Pitman.
Hereford United 2 - 1 Farnborough Town
Hereford United opened their sixth Nationwide Conference campaign with victory over highly-fancied Farnborough Town at Edgar Street.
With John Grant, Ben Smith and Scott Voice all missing from the starting eleven, it was difficult to see where the goals were to appear from - the answer was Jamie Pitman.
On his return to Edgar Street following a four year gap, the midfielder notched up a brace to ensure three points and third spot in the table on the first evening of the season.
The Bulls included five debutants in their starting line-up, and two more made their debuts as the game progressed. Farnborough, under the management of Graham Westley, included Tony Pennock and Ken Charlery in their first team.
The away side seemed the more comfortable in the first ten minutes but after Pennock had to save twice from Bulls skipper Ian Wright in the Farnborough goal, Hereford seemed to push into the action more. Midway through the opening period, Gary Butterworth hit a shot narrowly over from the edge of Matt Baker's box but Hereford were next to have a goalscoring chance.
On twenty eight minutes, Paul Parry broke free on the right wing after a Farnborough corner broke down. Shrugging off the challenge of Michael Warner, he sailed over a cross which Pennock dropped, and Jamie Pitman was on hand to head home from close range. The Bulls had a 1-0 lead, and looked to build upon it five minutes later. A Danny Williams free-kick saw Steve Guinan volley on the ball, and it took a stunning save by Pennock to tip the ball around the post to keep the advantage at one goal.
After the break, the crowd of 1910 saw Hereford grow in stature. Once Hereford had dealt with the initial threats of a Dean Green shot and a twenty-yard free-kick, Michael Rose hit the top of the net with a cross from the left flank. On fifty seven minutes, Pitman picked up his side's first yellow card of the match after charging at Justin Gregory. The ex-Woking midfielder was, in some eyes, lucky not to have been sent off for the challenge by a referee not unhappy to bandish around his cards.
Twenty minutes from time, Farnborough had a good opening in which they could have levelled things as a Gregory cross was hit just wide by Lenny Piper. Two minutes later, a Christian Lee shot was blocked by the feet of Baker as Farnborough searched for that equalising goal.
Then, Hereford took the initiative. With twelve minutes to go, Matt Clarke and Pitman linked well on the right before Guinan fired a low ball at Pennock, and nine minutes later substitute Rob Purdie hit a ball from the right for Pitman to tap in unmarked on the near post. Hereford had a solid lead and surely the game was wrapped up.
However, things don't quite work like that at Edgar Street! With the five minutes of added time, Farnborough managed to sneak back a late goal as a Piper cross was headed home by Christian Lee, who was under pressure from Andrew Tretton. A late consolation goal for Farnborough did little to dampen the Hereford supporters' spirits, glad to emerge with another opening day victory.
The following Tuesday at Forest Green Rovers, O'Kelly had to warm the bench amidst his other duties. The Bulls won the game 3-1.
"We have just 17 players and now Richard O’Kelly has taken on a new role, not only is he physio and coach he’s now a player because he was on the bench on Tuesday night," commented manager Graham Turner.
Text at top (next game etc)
Next Game: Rushall At Home In The League On Saturday 30th November At 3.00pm