Hereford suffered a home defeat at the hands of Brackley Town on Tuesday evening, struggling to create anything going forward.
An impressive first half strike from Carl Baker gave the visitors the lead going into the half time break, with Jak Hickman turning the ball into the back of his own net in to double Brackley's lead.
Head Coach Marc Richards made one change to the side that started in Saturday's dull and uninspiring 1-0 win over Guiseley. Lance Smith was handed a start as Kyle Finn dropped to the bench after he came off in the second half with cramp.
Knowing that Brackley had won nine out of their last ten games, it was no surprise they looked slightly more a threat within the opening stages of the game than their hosts. Danny Greenslade conceded a free kick inside the first five minutes at Edgar Street, the resulting ball beat the wall, but was met with a really poor touch at the far-post to go behind for a corner.
Matt Lowe's cross moments later put Hereford's defence under pressure, but the ball was eventually cleared after being bounded around the box.
Attacking the Blackfriars End in the first half, the Bulls' first chance came courtesy of Eliot Richards but saw his effort put behind for a corner. The resulting corner was swung into the area and goalkeeper Danny Lewis spilled the ball, but Mike Symons was adjudged to have fouled him as he tried scrambled to turn the ball home.
With the Bulls inviting pressure from the league's in-form side, it was only a matter of time until they look the lead. In the 19th minute the home side fell a goal behind as Carl Baker struck a sweet shot into the top left-hand corner of Matt Yates' net.
Their defence wasn't really tested with a corner moments later, heading away Owen-Evans' inswinging ball from the left.
After the first 20 minutes, the game got bogged down in midfield. Hereford were able to string passes together without ever really moving forward. The only really chance worthy of mentioning for the Bulls' in the remainder of the first half was when Eliot Richards drilled a shot towards goal, but it was blocked.
For Brackley, a probing cross from Shepherd Murombedzi after he beat his man was met in the box by the side's top scorer Lee Ndlovu, but his looping effort rested on top of the net.
Referee Amy Fearn promptly brought the first half to a close, a half which saw Hereford really limited in their options going forward but they did at least manage to retain possession.
Half time: Hereford 0 - Brackley Town 1
Josh Gowling was unable to continue after the interval following a knock he'd picked up, meaning recent addition Louis Ezewele made his debut for the Edgar Street club alongside Jordan Cullinane-Liburd in the heart of defence.
Ezewele had plenty of pressure to deal with in the opening five minutes of the half, with Brackley miraculously unable to double their lead. A long ball upfield to Matt Lowe saw Hereford's defence beaten and Matt Yates well off his line. A stumble from Lowe gave Greenslade enough time to recover to make a tackle in front of the open goal.
Lee Ndlovu was next to breach Hereford's defence with a quick break down the left flank, but his low cross was cleared by Louis Ezewele in front of goal.
Ndlovu continued to threaten, crossing to the unmarked James Armson in the box, but Matt Yates pulled off a decent save to keep the deficit to just one goal.
Spirited runs down the right flank from Lance Smith were separated by a shot from Ellis Myles at the other end of the pitch that stung the hands of Yates, but neither of Smith's crosses really created anything.
The introduction of Kyle Finn and James Waite up front in place of Mike Symons and James Wesolowski didn't make an immediate impact on the game and Hereford helped Brackley double their lead.
In the 74th minute, an early cross from Ellis Myles from the right was turned into the net by Jak Hickman, with the Hereford defender under pressure from the lurking forwards.
A brief spell of danger from Hereford did come in the dying stages on the second half, but disorganisation up front meant Brackley had little difficulty in snubbing out the danger. A quick break then saw Hereford back under pressure as substitute Luke Fairlamb surged forward with Lee Ndlovu offering support, but Ndlovu couldn't keep his shot down after being teed up.
Overall it was another disappointing performance from Hereford, although there was a slight improvement from Saturday.
Full time: Hereford 0 - Brackley Town 2
Hereford: Yates, Hickman, Greenslade, Wesolowski (Waite 57'), Cullinane-Liburd, Gowling (c) (Ezewele 46'), O'Sullivan, Owen-Evans, Richards, Smith, Symons (Finn 72).
Subs not used: Wharton, Roberts.
Brackley Town: Lewis, Myles (Nti 85'), Murombedzi, Byrne, Hall, Dean (c), Lowe, Armson (Prosser 88'), Ndlovu, Baker (Fairlamb 69'), Walker.
Subs not used: Jeffers, Jackson.