Hereford FC have another go at
playing the match against Kettering that resulted in a number of wasted
journeys from Herefordshire in January, as the hosts announced a late
postponement. The litres (gallons for you Americans/Brexiteers) of fuel, which
could have stayed in the county but were quite literally (sic) poured down the
drain on an unnecessary hack across to that bit of the country that isn’t quite
anything, would have outraged Extinction Rebellion. Luckily XR (sic) have never heard
of such parochial, backwater notions as either ‘Hereford’ or ‘Kettering’.
Kettling yes, Kettering no.
So, Kettering. The club had
been struggling after promotion in 2018/19, and obviously saw the need to act
in an attempt to secure their place in the National League North next season.
To this end, they appointed a new manager in Paul Cox, and he started his time
in the Poppies hot seat in determined fashion, overseeing an upturn in form
that saw the club pull away from immediate danger of relegation. However,
recently they’ve reverted to type and sit just a point below Hereford, but with
a game in hand.
Over the last four league games, they’ve drawn two and lost
two. They managed to match Hereford in drawing at home with Curzon Ashton, and that
0-0 presumably redefined ‘ugly’. I’m not brave enough to have looked too deeply
into it – my sanity’s too important to me. The Poppies did somehow beat
Brackley 3-0 in a county cup game in the midst of that current poor league run,
but presumably the latter fielded a team of very young children.
A single Jordan Nicholson goal
was enough for the Bulls to take the points at Edgar Street when these two met
in September.
It’s safe to say, therefore,
that this probably won’t be one for the purists, but the attritionalists will
be flocking to Poppy Park in their droves for a bit of self-flagellation, and in
eager anticipation of a nice juicy long-ball 0-0.
With the York game postponed on
Saturday as Storm Dennis did its worst (and Dennis proved to be a right Menace in
my neck of the woods), the players will be well rested for this one, and
presumably keen to deliver Josh Gowling his first win as head coach.
Jordan Cullinane-Liburd starts
a three-match suspension here, but Martin Riley returns from injury as a
like-for-like replacement. He seemed to be just starting to look like the sort
of presence at centre half the Bulls have needed for the last two seasons (no
offence Josh) before his injury, so his return is warmly welcomed. Unfortunately
Ben Pollock, another who has recently started to look like the sort of player
who could play a role next season in a team competing at the other end of the
league table, is still suspended. The Shop will hopefully have a much greater
opportunity against Kettering than he would have had on Saturday against York to
prove that he should be playing at a higher level.
In the preview for the
postponed game, I wrote: “With all hopes
of a late rattle into the final play-off place now extinguished, one is
inclined to think that the most likely outcome this season is a finish a couple
of places and a handful of points above second bottom. That’s assuming that the
current general trend of drawing at home and losing away every fortnight is
improved upon.
With the focus
now on the bottom rather than the top of the table, any sort of improvement in
results will hasten the arrival at a points total that should ensure safety,
which in turn will allow the club to plan for how to get it right next season
in the NLN. Third time lucky, perhaps? The sooner that’s achieved, the longer
the board has to plan. A continuation of current form will allow no such
luxury, with contingency plans needed in terms of budget, squad size, player
shopping lists etc in anticipation of another season at least in the Southern
League Premier. So, however
unlikely, it would be quite useful to win this one.
Unfortunately nothing that’s
happened in the intervening few weeks has improved this situation one iota, so
it would still ‘be quite useful to win this one’, and the club still have to
keep one eye on the act of self-harm that would be relegation. It’s just that
they’ve now got less time to legislate for that worst-case scenario.
And Extinction Rebellion –
given the state of north Herefordshire and south Salop yesterday, and the fact
that my garden is now on the road outside, more power to your elbow, I was only
joking about the implied metropolitanist focus. Well done to the club by the way for the support they're offering to flood victims in Hereford.
We can win this match. I’m sure
of it.
COYW