In what may prove to be welcome break from the hiccup in the league and dramatic off-the-field events over the last fortnight, Hereford FC embark tomorrow afternoon on another FA Cup campaign, hoping once more to ‘go deep’ in the competition.
This will be the interim Davies-Green management team’s final game in charge, with new director of football Tim Harris about to take up his new role, and it’s hoped that his arrival will bring an improved performance from Hereford.
Facing a long trip up from Cornwall, Truro City are the visitors for this second qualifying round tie. How glamorous to enter the competition so relatively late - you can almost smell Wembley.
The White Tigers (nope, me neither) compete in National League South (putting THEM in North really would have been a perverse decision). This must be one of the few occasions when we face a club with similar geography-based recruitment headaches. Last season they finished a creditable seventh in NLS, but so far this season they’re finding life considerably tougher, sitting one place above stranded Weston-super-Mare at the foot of the table.
In contrast to the management team at Hereford, Truro’s Leigh Robinson is very long-serving indeed, having been in post for a fortnight. He started his tenure with a win away at Gloucester, but has since seen his team lose to high-flying Hampton and Richmond.
As for the Bulls, if you fancy a game you could probably get one. Suspensions and injuries have ravaged a squad already rocked enough by boardroom politics. Temporary player manager Ryan Green, Jordan Lam, Billy Murphy and Lance Smith recently joined Keyon Reffell and Mike Symons on the treatment table (not, like, literally, I assume), and Calvin Dinsley and Eliot Richards continue their suspensions for the naughtiness at Brackley.
Loanee Tom Harrison comes in from Bristol City as cover for Greener, and presumably knows Harvey Smith very well already. Gareth Davies seems to rate him very highly, so his capture could be an early coup for the new management team.
Hopefully one or two of those who picked up knocks against Ashton will be back in contention tomorrow, while international clearance for Marlon Jackson still seems to be as elusive as a Brexit deal.
While last week’s defeat to Ashton won’t live long in the memory of anyone but the most ardent masochist, it could perhaps be at least partially explained by all the upheaval of the previous few days. With the new man in charge, hopefully the players have been able to settle down and train properly, and therefore be better placed to give a good account of themselves tomorrow.
It seems that the HFC phoenix fairytale has been somewhat sullied in the eyes of the wider footballing community by the surprise sacking of Pete Beadle. A decent Cup run could go some way to generating some positive publicity around the club again.
COYW