After last Saturday’s disappointing false start against Farsley, Hereford FC travel to West Yorkshire this weekend to play Celtic’s near neighbours and bitter rivals Bradford Park Avenue, as opposed to actual Celtic’s near neighbours and bitter rivals…Partick Thistle.
The game will be played on a plastic pitch, which, given the size of the Bulls’ squad and the reputation of those surfaces for causing innocuous-looking but very nasty injuries, is a bit of a concern.
The bookies’ idea of the divisional whipping boys before a ball was kicked this season, BPA played up (or down) to that expectation in their opener, losing 1-0 at Kettering. Those same bookies are similarly scathing about the Poppies’ chances this term, so that loss looks like a bad one, and is form that makes this weekend’s match look like a golden opportunity for the Bulls to chalk up their first win.
Despite Bradford doing everything in their power to be the worst team in the National League North over the last two seasons, Hereford have made heavy weather of taking advantage, picking up just a solitary point over the five games between the clubs since the Bulls were promoted to the NLN. Having said that, before this recent slump in their fortunes, Avenue got to the play-offs in consecutive seasons.
James Vincent looks certain to have classy and influential games for Hereford this season, but last Saturday’s arguably wasn’t one of them as he looked to be getting up to match fitness following the hassle with his registration pre-season. Fellow hassle-victim Miles Storey had no such problems however, having looked to be playing at a higher level than everyone else on the pitch at times.
Joey Butlin’s midweek departure from the club should be something of a blessing – a striker who always looked more makeshift than progressive for a club with promotion ambitions. The possibility of now playing Storey up top with a tasty combination of Tom Owen-Evans, Ryan McLean and Maz Kouhyar in support is a tantalising one. The latter’s cameo on Saturday suggested that a start must be imminent, and that he’ll trouble defences all season. McLean’s impact on debut wasn’t quite as exciting as was hoped, but like left-back Mitch Hancox it looked like nerves or rustiness may have played a part, and both players will surely kick on from here. However, any combination incorporating TOE won’t be possible this weekend, as one of the Bulls’ main goalscoring threats is showing symptoms of concussion and must miss out, on doctor’s orders. Get well soon Tom.
New signing Harry Pinchard will presumably, given his pedigree and potential, start alongside Vincent in central midfield. The intention seems to be to out-football everyone this season, so that ugly goals from long balls and set pieces (like on Saturday) may quite liberally be conceded but more will be scored at the other end to compensate, with those compensatory goals being things of utter beauty, resulting from 50 passes on the floor, multiple step-overs, and someone who isn’t Joey Butlin there to finish things off. I can get on board with that, although in recent years the concession of ugly goals hasn’t been a problem - it’s the other bit that’s been elusive.
With what must still be one of the smallest squads in the division, it wouldn’t be too surprising if, by 3pm tomorrow, promising-looking Pinchard isn’t the only new arrival at the club.
Against Farsley, central defenders Ben Pollock and Luke Haines battled manfully throughout. Their attitude and application are clearly not in doubt, but do they have what it takes as a partnership to fend off, week in and week out, more fearsome attacking threats than Farsley’s, a club that will consider a top-half finish a success? Maybe – Mel Pejic was quite little from memory, and he was useful in that position. Maybe he was actually six foot but Keith Hicks was eight foot and made him look small. Keith Hicks’ chin alone was about a foot. Anyway, almost everyone looked massive then because it was the 80s and I was little.
It’s promotion favourites Fylde up next, which could determine whether the Bulls’ central defensive partnership is very much a makeshift arrangement or an absolute managerial masterstroke, and something that could work on a season-long basis. That match will be tough, so a win here would be very welcome, but although the visitors will be odds-on to win, supporters will recall early last season that Bradford, utterly unfancied, won at Edgar Street. Oli Johnson, who scored the goals for Avenue that night and played for the club during those play-off seasons, is still there. Very much one to watch out for. New signing Akeel Francis partners him up front.
COYW