 |
| Rob Elmes Scored Two Of Hereford's Goals |
BN Looks back to October 2000 and one of Hereford United's best results of that season. The Bulls were 2-0 at half-time but four goals in just seventeen minutes turned the tables on the visitors.
HEREFORD UNITED 4 - 2 DOVER ATHLETIC (Oct 21st 2000)
After only one win in their previous seven matches, Graham Turner was eager to get his side back to winning ways this afternoon as Hereford United entertained Dover Athletic. United were abysmal in midweek, when they were eliminated from the Nationwide Variety Trophy at home to Kettering Town, but Turner implied that it was a waste of time, as United couldn't make any money from the competition. Meanwhile Dover Athletic were last weekend disappointed after drawing 2-2 with Morecambe, and manager Bill Williams was also looking for a win to move his side up from fourteenth place.
The Bulls made four changes to the side which lost to Kettering on Tuesday night; Matt Gardiner replaced Tony James, Paul Parry and Craig Hanson were dropped for John Snape and Ian Rodgerson, and in attack Gavin Williams returned to partner Jimmy Quinn. Dover were without five players; utility player Jake Leberl missed the game with a knee injury, Stuart Munday, a defender, was suspended, and Dave Clarke had a ruptured ankle ligament. Meanwhile, James Virgo was recovering from a heart operation and Steve Brown was also out with a virus.
In the opening half, the affair was very drab and the home fans became quite agitated with the performance of Hereford. Comparisons were being made to the defeat on Tuesday, and some players were singled out for poor performances - Jimmy Quinn being the main culprit. However, their criticisms were not unjust, as the Bulls were 2-0 down within the opening eight minutes.
Neil Le Bihan, not the most prolific Conference goalscorer this season by a long way, made Hereford pay for two defensive errors. The first, on six minutes, came from a throw in, and Anthony Hogg's cross from the right which went deep into the area. Le Bihan then knocked the ball in from close range at the far post, unmarked by the Hereford defence. Scott Cooksey got a hand to the ball on its way through, but it was not enough to prevent Dover taking the lead.
If the first goal was easy, the second goal just a minute later was gift-wrapped and handed to Dover by the home defence! A Steve Norman corner fell to the unmarked Le Bihan, who couldn't fail to score past a helpless Cooksey, who cannot be faulted for the goal as his defence left him open. John Snape had the perfect chance to clear, but he failed to do so and Le Bihan made him pay the ultimate penalty.
United will be disappointed that they didn't close the gap before half time, especially when they were handed the perfect opportunity to do so through a penalty. Captain Ian Wright was brought down by Lee Shearer. The former Northern Ireland striker, celebrating his fourty first birthday next month, stepped up and missed in spectacular fashion. His effort almost went closer to the corner flag that the goal, leaving a very relieved Dover defence! The miss was Hereford's fourth from the spot in the previous five matches, and Graham Turner will have to do something to rectify the situation.
However, Hereford could so easily have levelled the scores before the break. Both Ian Wright and later Gavin Williams had efforts cleared very close to the goalline, with Williams and McIndoe linking well again to cause trouble for an ordinary Dover defence. The away side were quick, though, in the first half, to stub out any Hereford attacks and this made Jimmy Quinn look particularly bad.
Dover almost increased their lead to 3-0 at the end of the first half, when Carruthers received a good ball but the Dover midfielder couldn't find the touch to pass Cooksey, who smothered the ball at the final moment.
United looked under par in the first half, with the likes of Jimmy Quinn and Matthew Gardiner looking particularly disappointing. Graham Turner must have had words with the team at half time, as they came out looking refreshed. The Hereford boss also made two fundamental substitutions at half time when Matt Gardiner was replaced by Tony James and Robin Elmes entered the field of play at the expense of Jimmy Quinn. It only took fourty five seconds for the effects to become apparent, as a long Chris Lane ball met with Matt Clarke in the area, who controlled well before beating Dover 'keeper Paul Hyde from the edge of the six yard area. Clarke celebrated his first goal for the club in almost two years, after moving from Kidderminster Harriers in November 1998.
Hyde's afternoon was destined to get much worse as the game progressed. On fifty three minutes, Ian Wright drew the scores at 2-2 when he beat Hyde from close range. A throw in on the far side met Elmes, who knocked the ball through to United's captain to do the honours.
Just two minutes later, Robin Elmes, who had replaced the appalling Jimmy Quinn at half time, made his mark on proceedings with a third goal. Hereford gained the lead as Michael McIndoe's cross was hit through a cluster of players, and then it was cleanly headed goalwards by Elmes, and beat the goalkeeper easily.
Elmes doubled his goal tally for the match and put the match beyond Dover's reach soon after, as his partner up-front Gavin Williams hit a ball back to Lane. The Liverpudlian knocked a good ball into the box, which Elmes met with a superb drive from just ten yards out.
Dover never looked like getting back into the match after a shocking ten minutes of defending, and Hereford took the game to the away side. It was a surprise that they didn't increase the scoreline. The confidence in the United side was apparent - the likes of John Snape looked revived from an atrocious first half, and Lane, Clarke, Robinson and James looked much improved. Williams and McIndoe showed their skill as the half progressed, and Robin Elmes was winning balls in the air, something that hasn't been seen this season. Ian Wright and Ian Rodgerson were consistent, and formed a great team overall commanded from the back by influential goalkeeper Scott Cooksey.
United should have increased their advantage, but efforts from Williams, Elmes, McIndoe and also Rodgerson were wasted. Nevertheless, United fans will go home happy with the second half performance and the victory. Dover, however, could have made it very interesting in the final few minutes if they hadn't missed a close shot, but Scott Cooksey managed to keep Hereford's advantage in tact.
Referee, Mr K Pike of Gillingham, Kent, officiated the game to a reasonable standard; better than some that have been at Edgar Street this season, and cautioned Le Bihan, Hyde, Carruthers and Godden of Dover, and Hereford's McIndoe in front of a crowd of 1,903, the lowest at Edgar Street this season in the Conference.
The Dover fans must have been devastated to go home as losers after such a good start. They looked like an average Conference side in the opening fourty five minutes, but an increase in the Bulls tempo put paid to any hopes immediately after the break.
Hereford - Cooksey, Lane, Clarke, Robinson, Wright, Gardiner, Rodgerson, Snape, McIndoe, Quinn, Williams
Substitutions - Elmes, James
Man of the Match - Ian Wright
Written by Terry Goodwin - 21st October 2000.