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Next Game: Rushall At Home In The League On Saturday 30th November At 3.00pm

Friday, November 23, 2018

Match preview - Hereford FC vs FC United of Manchester


Hereford FC entertain FC United of Manchester for the second time in a fortnight tomorrow, kick off 3pm, as they embark, in the third qualifying round, on what will hopefully be a lengthy FA Trophy campaign this season.

While it may not be a fixture to set pulses racing or turnstiles spinning, it nevertheless offers a very useful opportunity to judge the progress being made by the no-longer-new management team. Two weeks ago, the visitors never looked troubled in winning 3-1, with Hereford’s goal very much a late consolation, and in the interim there followed another largely one-sided capitulation against fellow strugglers Southport, and then a battling draw up at Darlington, in which the two Bulls goals owed at least something to opposition errors.

A more equal encounter tomorrow would offer clear evidence that progress is in fact being made, even if that isn’t being reflected in terms of results and league position. Also, if newcomer James Wesolowski lives up to his billing as a leader on the pitch with a wealth of Football League experience, he could contribute considerably to an upturn.

Whether his influence can extend to stretching the opposition sufficiently to allow our strikers to score a goal or two remains to be seen, but here’s hoping.

Since the last encounter, FCUM have only played one match to Hereford's two, losing 2-1 at home to Telford, although reports suggest that the two teams were evenly matched. Indications are that the new manager at Manchester has had an immediate impact and is guiding the club up the table.

For the Bulls, Danny Greenslade sits this one out after his red card against Southport (we’ll quickly gloss over the fact that I erroneously said the same thing ahead of last Saturday’s match too!). As mentioned last week, when I demonstrated an utter ignorance of the suspension rules beneath the fifth tier, Mike McGrath could be an option at left back after manfully filling in there against Southport. I, for one, would get a bit itchy if Marc Richards saw it as an opportunity to go 3-5-2, although the temptation will clearly be there as he continues to collect midfielders.

Encouragingly, Eliot Richards and Lance Smith must be close to a return from injury, and Mike Symons admirably put a promising shift in against Darlo. Whether his 'offering something different' contribution is enough at this level, given that his goals-to-chances conversion rate was never Millsesque even in the Midland League, is open to debate, but it's great to see him back anyway. And whether the various bits of Ryan Green that weren’t working now are working is anyone’s guess.

The combination of another new face and the fact that league points aren’t at stake could allow the team to play with a bit more freedom, and offer an opportunity to show more than just rare glimpses of the sort of quality that will now be needed to start moving away from the National League North danger zone. 

A win may not result in three points tomorrow, but you know what they say (I expect it was Plato or someone originally): a win’s a win. And was it Socrates who proclaimed that winning becomes a habit? And Zico who added that winning breeds confidence? Winning’s great, if I remember rightly, although that Truro comeback is all sepia-tinted in my mind, with everyone running around in big baggy shorts at double-speed to a Pathe News soundtrack, smoking Woodbines.

Wembley here we come.

COYW