Hereford FC entertain Southport
at Edgar Street on Saturday, kick off 3pm, in what could be seen as the first
match of a tricky seasonal run in. Just two points were garnered from a run of
three winnable matches recently, and it would be ironic if the Bulls started winning
and racing to safety now that the opposition is becoming arguably more classy.
That’s not to say that
Southport offer the most challenging task of those fixtures to come, and the
new-found optimism and solidarity that Josh Gowling’s appointment as gaffer has
engendered should ensure that there’s nothing to fear here and loads to gain.
(And how refreshing that he’s not the grandiose ‘director’ of anything or
encumbered by a dugout full of cagouled hangers-on).
There’s a school of thought
(which admittedly I may have just made up) that suggests that such a long run
of dreadful form is as hard to sustain as months of winning matches, and can be
turned on its head as quickly. Another defeat away last Saturday was admittedly
depressing, but the signs are there that a win, and dare I say a winning run,
is imminent. A springtime surge would bring some belated cheer to the torture
that has been the 2019/20 season to date, and would make it very difficult to
look past Gowling as head honcho for the 2020/21 National League South
promotion push.
The Bulls go into this match with
options, as players come into form apparently inspired by Gowling’s way of
doing things. Players such as Alex Bray and Jason Pope finally seem to be
stepping up to the plate, either goalie would give a reassuring presence behind
the back four, Tom Owen Evans looks to have been given a new lease of life
playing ‘in the hole’, Jevan Anderson looks like a decent prospect on loan from
Burton, and Kieran Thomas should now be fully fit and challenging for a
starting place. Up front, a start for Reece Styche at the expense of Rowan
Liburd looks increasingly hard to resist. Dawson, Vincenti and Sodeinde have all
now departed, but Brad Ash comes back into contention following his loan spell
at Weston.
Southport sit securely in
mid-table, three points shy of the play-offs having played two games more than
a resurgent Gateshead in seventh. Liam Watson’s charges have arrested a ropey
recent run of six losses on the bounce with a win and a draw in their last two
matches. However, to put that into perspective they beat Gloucester and drew
with Bradford, so it’s not necessarily an upturn to be overly concerned by, given that my cat could beat those two. Top
goalscorer David Morgan has ten goals to his name so far this season.
The club have drawn just two of
their 13 away games this season, so perhaps the Hereford speciality of a home draw
might not be the given it usually is this week. And if a draw is unlikely, by
my reckoning that only leaves one possible alternative – a home win.
Watson was reportedly quite
bullish about his club’s promotion chances this season, going so far as to
suggest that they’d be fine in the division above too, unlike Chorley. For
whatever reason, that optimism has proved unfounded, but many Bulls fans will
remember Hereford United and the Sandgrounders meeting regularly in the old
Conference, so the pedigree is there at the Merseyside club. They are of course
also a fellow ex-football league club, tumbling down into non-league in 1978,
never to return.
Last
season, Southport did the double over Hereford and finished just above the
Bulls in mid-table. They comfortably won 3-0 at Edgar Street in what was one of
the lowest points in a season of low points. Earlier this season Hereford’s
porous defence and profligacy from the penalty spot saw them lose 3-2 at Haig
Avenue.
Saturday’s visitors have been
pretty woeful recently, leaking goals galore. If the Bulls players can just
keep the faith, and with a bit of luck score first, everyone connected with the
club could well finally get a reward for enduring the long months of utter
misery. This looks like a 5-1 win, as sure as eggs is eggs.
COYW