Hereford FC trek up to York on
Tuesday for the first in a run of four tricky away matches, before finally returning
to Edgar Street to host Gloucester on 21 March in the derby they’re all talking
excitedly about, if, that is, ‘they’ are clinically insane.
If, over the course of those
four matches, the Bulls’ away form continues to be dreadful, and Blyth somehow
pick up the odd point here and there, and Gloucester continue to be a pale
imitation of their near neighbours (yes, somehow being worse than Hereford is
apparently possible), that derby match could be massive in terms of who drops
out of the division. However, Blyth probably won’t pick up the odd point here
and there so the Gloucester game will just be another match to tick off as
everyone feverishly craves the end of the season. Regrettably, and with the keenness
of a junkie needing a fix, Bulls supporters need May to come to the rescue just
as the Conservatives didn’t.
Admittedly none of this is
anything to do with Tuesday’s game (rearranged after Ciara, Dennis, Jorge or
whoever gatecrashed the party by adding an unholy amount of water to the River
Ouse and its environs), but not a great deal has happened in the interim to
make my original match preview seem too wide of the mark for this one.
So, given that no-one expects
anything other than a mauling from this match, as sad and embarrassing as that
is, it’s probably more worthwhile to look ahead instead.
Northern teams still occupy 75%
of the relegation positions in the National GM Bananarama League Vauxhall
Conference National division. Chesterfield are irritatingly putting some form
together, and could very easily pass Maidenhead, Dagenham and Eastleigh, all of
whom are stubbornly very southern indeed, and will probably remain so unless
tectonic drift kicks up a notch. It would be handy if Wrexham could be dragged
back into it, but they’ll presumably find a way to stay safe. All of this is
relevant when one looks at National League South, which is a who’s who of
non-league non-entities. If things stay as they are the Bulls would presumably
be moved across, especially if Gloucester get relegated.
OK it’s a bit defeatist, but
National League North seems to be so hard that it would be useful to simply bypass
it and win NLS at a canter next season instead. Admittedly that could then lead to a
season of utter shame in the division above, but there’d be some momentum
again, and there was momentum in spades prior to Peter Beadle’s sacking, and
momentum felt good. It gets you a long way, momentum.
Anyway, back to the match. York
are back at the top of the league as Kings Lynn are, rather wonderfully,
showing signs of running out of gas like the ghastly bunch of pub-team chancers
they are. However, as strong as the Minstermen are, if there was any justice in
the world this would somehow end 2-3 as a reward for those brave and loyal souls
making the trip to Yorkshire to back a team that repeatedly does little to
suggest that 17th best in the division is anything other than a
realistic reflection of its abilities. Sad but seemingly true.
COYW