Hereford 4 – Alvechurch 2

Substitute Jamie Cuss Was Chosen As Man Of The Match - Click On Any Picture To Enlarge

Ahead of this afternoon’s Preliminary Round of the FA Cup against last year’s title rivals Alvechurch, Hereford manager Pete Beadle made only one change to the side that started at Shortwood United on Tuesday evening; with Tristan Plummer suffering with fitness, Joe Tumelty started in his place on the right wing.

With a strong wind behind them, Alvechurch got proceedings underway attacking the Meadow End in the first half; seconds after kick off, Jimmy Oates miscontrolled the ball which was picked up by Jack Cresswell and then brought down by Jamie Willets just outside the area. Cresswell stepped up and fired the free kick over the six-man wall and into the top left-hand corner of the net to open the scoring.

An Alvechurch Free Kick Sails Past The Wall

And Into The Net

Alvechurch continued to dominate the game and 10 minutes later they doubled their lead. Hereford lost possession in their own half, as Cresswell fed a neat through ball to Josh Sarmento. As Martin Horsell raced off his line to close Sarmento down, he clipped the ball over Hereford’s keeper with a right-footed effort.

Two To Alvechurch

And Manager Ian Long Probably Couldn't Believe It

The visitors could’ve scored a third with 29 minutes on the clock, but after weaving his way into the box, Sarmento could only fire a shot at Horsell, which was parried and eventually cleared by the Bulls’ defence.

Hereford registered their first shot in the 32nd minute after Pablo Haysham did well to force a corner. Haysham's subsequent delivery into the box was initially cleared by ‘Church, but after Ryan Green found Haysham on the wing, he cut into the box but could only fire his right-footed effort into the side-netting.

A second chance for the Bulls came just before the break following a foul on Haysham by Tom Turton, but Haysham’s shot from the free kick 30-yards out easily cleared the crossbar.

HT: Hereford 0 - Alvechurch 2

After a disappointing first half performance compared to the resounding 3-0 win against Shortwood midweek, Beadle replaced Joe Tumelty with Mike Symons at the start of the second half. With Haysham moving onto the left wing it enabled Symons to partner John Mills upfront. 

Despite looking more lively in the second half, Hereford still failed to have a shot on target until substitute Jamie Cuss, who had come on for captain Rob Purdie, combined effectively with John Mills to mount the comeback for the Lilywhites. After making progress down the right-flank, Cuss cut inside his man before playing the ball into the path of John Mills who coolly finished from 6-yards.

John Mills

Latches Onto A Pass From Jamie Cuss

And Hereford Have One Back

Less than a minute later, Hereford were back on level terms thanks to Cuss. Chris Barker’s cross in from the left evaded John Mills, but Cuss was on-hand at the back-post to divert the ball into the back of the net.

Jamie Cuss Looks Up

And Celebrates Scoring Hereford's Second Of The Game

The Bulls’ third goal in as many minutes came after a long throw into the box fell to the feet of Mike Symons who fired the ball home across Paul Evans in goal for the visitors.

Substitute Mike Symons Put Hereford Ahead

7 minutes later John Mills could’ve grabbed Hereford’s fourth, but his shot rattled off the post after being set-up by ex-Westfield’s skipper Jamie Cuss.

In the 87th minute Alvechurch had an equaliser disallowed following Chris Barker conceding a free kick in a dangerous position. Josh March headed the ball home past Martin Horsell, but the linesman flagged for offside.

Then in the dying stages of the game, Pablo Haysham was upended within the 18-yard box by Connor Deards, with the referee immediately awarding a penalty. John Mills stepped up in front of a very vocal Meadow End and converted the spot kick, firing low into the bottom left hand corner of the net to set up an away tie at Romulus on Saturday 3rd September.

Pablo Haysham Is Brought Down

And John Mills Scored With The Penalty

FT: Hereford 4 – Alvechurch 2

Att: 2,624 with 44 in the away enclosure

Sponsors’ MotM: Jamie Cuss

Hereford: Horsell, Oates █, Barker █, Edge, Green, Willets, Tumelty (Symons – 46’), Birch, Mills █, Haysham, Purdie (c) (Cuss – 64’).

Subs not used: Staley, Parry, Huntbach, A. Harris.

Alvechurch: Evans, Parsons, Foster █ (Deards – 80’), Bellis █, Smith, Paskin (c) █, Sarmento (Williams – 56’), Turton (Nadat – 73’), Spray, Cresswell, March.

Subs not used: Pendley, Spencer, Millichamp, Rostill.

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