With the club’s cutbacks, Martin Foyle made one change from the side that drew with Forest Green; With Micah Evans returning to Burnley, Dan Walker came into the starting XI in his place.
Hereford started off brightly with Rankine carving out a goal-worthy opportunity. Daniel Lloyd-Weston kicked the ball up field to Rankine from a goal kick. Rankine did well to turn and run forward and chip the ball over advancing Southport keeper Danny Hurst. The ball agonisingly curled wide past the post.
Bush used his long throw to give Michael Rankine another attempt on goal, but his goal-ward bound shot was blocked and cleared by Matty Flynn.
As the half wore on, Hereford kept creating chances with Sharp’s shot inching just over, after he picked up a misguided cross field ball by Southport’s left back Fitzpatrick. Minutes later, Brown worked well down the right wing to cross the ball to the sliding Sharp, but he wasn't able to slip the ball home and the ball went harmlessly out of play.
Collins sent a long ball up field to Sharp on the left wing. Sharp did well to get past his man and get a shot away. Hurst parried Sharp’s shot to the feet of midfielder Jon Brown, who made no mistake in firing the ball home to send the hosts ahead.
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| In The Back Of The Net |
HT: Hereford 1 – Southport 0
Eight minutes into the second period Rankine doubled the Bulls lead when he received the ball from Walker, he turned and saw his powerful shot rattle in off the far post with winger.
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| Michael Rankine Rushing To The Corner Of The Meadow End After His First Goal |
With the hosts desperate not to fall to their sixth loss in the last ten, they gave themselves a glimmer of hope when John O’Sullivan’s corner was headed home by Steve Akrigg.
Southport’s goal was not enough to knock Hereford’s confidence as they tried their best to build on their lead. Rankine could have scored the Whites’ 4th of the afternoon, but the goal was quickly deemed to be scored from an offside position by referee Daniel Cook.
Then, on 72 minutes, left back Dom Collins was subbed in favour of Danny Leadbitter. Leadbitter made an almost instant impact on the game when he got past 2 defenders and won a corner. Walker’s corner was met by Rankine’s head, but his attempt was off target.
Akrigg was dismissed by Cook, after the goal scorer received a second yellow following a poor challenge on Leadbitter.
From the resulting free kick, Chris Bush played the ball short to Sharp who crossed into the box, but Rankine lost possession and the visitors immediately cleared the ball from the danger area.
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| Arkigg Went Straight Through Leadbitter And Was Shown A Second Yellow Card |
In a final push from Hereford, Michael Rankine grabbed the Bulls’ fourth and final goal of the game when Chris Bush’s cross flashed across the face of goal for Rankine to tap home at the back post.
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| Hurst Is Beaten For The Fourth Time |
Att: 1,569 with 41 travelling from Southport
Sponsors’ MotM: Chris Sharp.
Hereford: Lloyd-Weston, Bush, McDonald, Graham, Collins (Leadbitter 72’), Brown, Artus (Purdie 87’), O'Keefe (Edge 81’), Walker, Sharp, Rankine. Subs not used: Evans, Williams.
Southport: Hurst, Fitzpatrick, Akrigg, Flynn, Smith, O’Sullivan (Osawe 73’), George, Ledsham, Brown, Dilion, Brodie. Subs not used: Wimmer, Milligan, Almond, Daly.
After all the off-field troubles, this was a welcome relief to see the Bulls put in arguably their best performance of the season to date, on a pitch which, considering the amount of rain it has had to soak up, held up pretty well and credit must be given to the ground staff. A mention must also be given to the fans who turned out today and created a good atmosphere (even the drummer!).
See you Saturday for the visit of Salisbury.