A late first half header by Josh O’Keefe and a cracking second half finish by Ryan Bowman earned The Bulls three valuable points following the long trek to Cumbria on Friday evening.
Martin Foyle named Simon Clist at full back in place of Joe Heath and gave a debut to Simon Hackney in place of the rested Sam Clucas.
Anyone who watched the game on Premier Sports tellybox will be aware that this was no footballing masterclass but once again The Bulls demonstrated plenty of resilience and an ability to strike on the break.
Newcomer Simon Hackney skipped past his marker to deliver a pass to Bowman but The Bulls’ striker sent his shot wide before pressure from the hosts on the right was dealt with by Simon Clist. Smikle squared a ball to Will Evans and long range shot skidded wide of the upright. Hackney’s speculative effort ballooned over the bar off a defender before home keeper Danny Hurst did well to push a Bowman shot away for a corner. Louis Almond tried a couple of punts at goal but neither troubled Bittner.
Pell was upended when breaking through midfield although the blatant foul was not penalised but when Pell made a block on Almond’s cross sending ball out for a corner, the referee not only awarded a free kick but also issued a yellow card to Pell. Stam sent a long ball into the Barrow box and when Hurst punched to the edge of the box Bowman’s volley went over the bar. As play moved upfield, Hurst was seen to be holding his hand and subsequently had to leave the field with what appeared to be a damaged finger. Shaun Pearson replaced him between the sticks.
Referee Stockbridge then produced another surprise when he booked Josh O’Keefe for a fairly soft challenge on Richie Baker. Hackney sent a free kick into the box but Pell’s glancing header went well over. Without looking particularly threatened, The Bulls were slow to convert opportunities to break by delaying the quick and obvious easy pass. Adam Boyes got the ball into the net but the referee’s assistant already had his flag fluttering in the breeze. Almond turned across the box and lifted his shot over the bar as Hereford looked second to the ball at this stage. Rutherford got past Clist on the inside but, again, his effort was too high. Then, in the added time, The Bulls took the lead.
A Simon Hackney corner was half cleared and Stefan Stam lifted an inch perfect cross to the back post where Josh “Goal Machine” O’Keefe was darting in to head past Pearson.
HT Barrow 0 Bulls 1
The second period started with The Bulls looking more purposeful and Smikle soon released Bowman into the box but his shot on the turn screwed just wide. Barrow played some tidy passing football in midfield with Harvey, Baker and Hunter linking well but the lack of support for Boyes up top was their undoing.
Hackney got on the end of an Evans’ through ball and slotted into the net but was adjudged to have been offside. Flynn dragged Pell back as he looked to break but, again, the home player somehow got away without a card before another break saw Pell finish with an off-target shot when a pull back to Bowman might have been a better option. McQuilkin replaced Hackney with half an hour remaining. Almond and Rutherford both lifted shots over the bar before Smikle took a knock in the face and was replaced by Phil Marsh. Barrow manager Dave Bayliss threw caution to the wind and striker Jackson on for defender Byrne in a 3-4-3 formation but it did little more than provide a second goal for The Bulls on 77 minutes.
Harry Pell broke powerfully from midfield before threading the ball to Bowman who had pulled to the left. The Bulls’ top scorer cut inside and drilled into the far corner to give United a comfortable two-goal advantage.
Shortly afterwards, Kyle Perry replaced O’Keefe with the reshuffle finding Bowman on the right with McQuilkin moving to his preferred centre midfield role.The Bulls played out the closing minutes without threatening to add to their score or to concede at the other end.
FT Barrow 0 Bulls 2
Hereford: Bittner, Gallinagh, Stam, Graham, Clist, Smikle (Marsh 73), Pell, O’Keefe (Perry 80), Stam, Hackney (McQuilkin 65), Bowman. Subs not used: Hanford, Heath.
Barrow: Hurst (S Pearson 22); Flynn, Byrne (Jackson 76), M Pearson, Hessey; Baker, Harvey, Hunter; Boyes, Almond (McConville 83), Rutherford. Subs not used: Anderson, Skelton.
Attendance 867 with 37 on the terrace and 13 in the Stand celebrating the win.
Not the most exhilerating performance but you do have to admire the solidarity of this Bulls team. Bittner produced a polished performance while the back four (Stam in particular) rarely put a foot wrong. The holding midfield play was, in the first half, patchy but improved after the break. Hackney made a promissing debut and will probably improve with a couple of games. His workrate was good and he gave support to Clist when required. Harry Pell does seem to like the cameras and Bowman typically rounded off his days graft with a deserved and well taken goal.
Right, about these Spa attendants…