Alvechurch manager Ian Long has suggested that Hereford FC have been awarded a lot of penalties this season and so has called on the referee at Saturday's game not to be 'affected by the occasion'.
"We need the referee to be strong, there’s going to be a huge crowd at
Hereford and we need an official who won’t be affected by the occasion," Long told the Redditch Advertiser.
“Even if we did lose to Hereford, nothing would be settled and we’ve still got to play them at home.
“But getting something from this game would be huge for us and really set up a title challenge.”
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| Malcolm Steward Leading Out The Teams At Edgar Street On September 12th |
Steward has refereed at Edgar Street already this season. He took charge of the game against Boldmere St Michael on September 12th.
Update: BN has received the following comment from a Hereford Supporter about Ian Long:
I love this league and the mutual respect shown by clubs and fans alike; I've been to most grounds HFC have visited and it's been great. But you have to laugh at this guy. A few weeks ago he was barking on that it would be a disaster if we didn't win the league....no it wouldn't, we know what a true footballing disaster is here in Hereford and we're loving our new life win or lose. Now it's too many penalties according to him, I'm no football manager but my eight year old daughter commented that if you spend most of the game in the attacking third as we try to do we will get more penalties than teams that don't, it's obvious. If you have players that try to beat opponents (as we do) instead of hoofing long balls, more tackles will be mistimed leading to penalties. I know Sir Alex and Jose play mind games but they have other attributes from which lesser managers might want to try and take inspiration.
Meanwhile Hereford FC have said that they have already sold 1000 tickets for the game including 40 to Alvechurch supporters.