Well that was much more entertaining! Following Saturday’s comeback win, giving the league table a much more reassuring look, Hereford FC are quickly back in action on the Edgar Street turf tonight (kick off 7:45pm) as they entertain Brackley Town in a match that was initially postponed due to Brackley’s FA Trophy activities.
While the three points against
Darlington was very welcome, some of the play from both sides at times was
reminiscent of the Keystone Cops, and anything similar from the hosts tonight
will be punished by a very strong Brackley side, featuring 18-goal man Lee Ndlovu, and it’s unlikely that they’ll
be anything like as charitable as the Quakers were at the back.
The Saints are familiar
opponents this season, with the sides having met twice already, and in both
games there was really ever going to be one winner, and it wasn’t Hereford.
Following defeat in the play-offs at the end of last season, Trophy holders
Brackley are yet again flying high in the League, and come into this one on the
back of a hugely impressive 1-0 win against Stockport, a team who, beforehand,
were starting to look like they wouldn’t drop another point all season. Overall recently tonight's visitors have won seven of their last eight league matches, and only narrowly lost to Orient in the Trophy, and they look to be play-off bankers again.
So this one’s going to be
tricky, although unlike recent matches the opposition will be expecting to win
and attack accordingly, which could leave space to exploit if the Bulls can get
behind them. Also, having been comfortably beaten twice by Brackley already,
there’s surely some motivation there for the home side to exact a degree of revenge, not to
mention the fact that another three points would put Hereford on 42 points, with 45ish looking like a reasonable yardstick for avoiding the drop. Also, hopefully, with
the threat of relegation diminished, there will be a greater feeling of freedom
and the players can express themselves a bit more, particularly as we approach
the ‘playing for contracts’ point in the season for those not already
contracted for 2019/20.
James Roberts again struggled
to make a significant impact in the first half on Saturday, and with his
contribution after the break Kyle Finn surely warrants a starting place,
especially as he could do some of Mike Symons’ running for him, with the
ex-Gloucester target man tiring noticeably on Saturday, or perhaps feeling a
recurrence of his hamstring niggle. If Marc Richards feels that this match comes
too soon to risk Symons from the start, Lance Smith would be a popular
replacement. For supporters with long memories, Cardiff loanee James Waite also finally comes back into the reckoning for an attacking place, having served his three-match suspension for a red card at Leamington. New arrival Cameron Ebbutt again played no part on Saturday, so perhaps for whatever reason he’s not ready.
Elsewhere, with Eliot Richards,
Tommy O’Sullivan and Tom Owen Evans now established as starters, James Wesolowski's comeback will have to come from the bench if it's to come at all, and the centre-back
partnership will hopefully put Saturday’s wobbles behind them and revert to the
promising understanding that’s been developing of late. They'll certainly have to remain vigilant for 90 minutes to keep the aforementioned Ndlovu quiet.
Kieran Thomas can hopefully make his presence felt without picking up a yellow card, and Danny Greenslade can expect to be severely tested defensively, so it would be really encouraging to see him step up to the task in his core left-back duties in the same way that he's starting to flourish in more attacking areas of the pitch.
Kieran Thomas can hopefully make his presence felt without picking up a yellow card, and Danny Greenslade can expect to be severely tested defensively, so it would be really encouraging to see him step up to the task in his core left-back duties in the same way that he's starting to flourish in more attacking areas of the pitch.
While Saturday was entertaining, and offered some much-needed light relief, this
will be a far stiffer test, and the players will have to remember that football matches last for 90+ minutes. However, supporters will go into this one in a far
more buoyant and optimistic mood than would have been the case if Darlington
had held on to their half-time advantage, and tonight’s opponents are the sort
of team the Bulls will need to be competitive against if they’re to feature at
the right end of the table next season.
So, it may be a stiff test, but let’s be buoyant and optimistic and put things into perspective: it’s Hereford vs Brackley under the lights at home, so, although confidence has been dented in recent months, players, coaches and fans should go into this one fully expecting to win. Taking an underdogs mindset into matches like this is a clear indication that the upward trajectory of the flight of the phoenix has stuttered, with gravity waiting to do its thing, and that will never do.
So, it may be a stiff test, but let’s be buoyant and optimistic and put things into perspective: it’s Hereford vs Brackley under the lights at home, so, although confidence has been dented in recent months, players, coaches and fans should go into this one fully expecting to win. Taking an underdogs mindset into matches like this is a clear indication that the upward trajectory of the flight of the phoenix has stuttered, with gravity waiting to do its thing, and that will never do.
COYW