After a string of home matches and a complete change in fortunes in November, Hereford FC move into December with a trip to the seaside. There are, however, pleasant trips to the seaside you make for fun, and challenging trips to the seaside you make out of obligation. There’s Lymington in September and there’s Southport in December, two very different beasts. Haig Avenue beckons in its challenging, beastly way, and the forecast is for gustiness and long throws, with the latter referring more to Southport’s tactical approach than being some sort of meteorological euphemism.
The Sandgrounders, like the Bulls, endured a slow start to the season, but had to play some strong teams as 2021/22 got started: Fylde, Kidderminster and Brackley for instance. Since then, they’ve put Chorley and Spennymoor out of the Cup and are unbeaten in six, winning four of those matches. They are nine games unbeaten at home. We’re not too far off ‘fortress’ territory with those stats. I’m not sure what the official definition is for being able to justifiably term your home ground a fortress. There’s a case maybe for clubs to move to actual fortresses so that it’s true even if they lose at home every week, but maybe there aren’t that many fortresses to go round these days. Probably all been turned into football pitches over the years.
To continue the medieval theme which seems to have emerged unexpectedly in this preview, this is one in which the Bulls defence will have to resist a battering ram approach at times, and in so doing earn the right to play the sort of football that broke out fitfully against Kettering on Tuesday evening.
Marcus Carver is the danger man for the hosts. Not conspicuously prolific in his career before this season, the ex-Chorley and Accrington Stanley centre forward has recently burst into life and tops the National League North scoring chart, with ten goals from 13 games, which is almost John-Mills-in-the-Midland-League-esque. Fellow forward George Newell, son of ex-Everton and Blackburn striker Mike Newell, has just come back from a long absence following a very nasty double leg fracture.
Josh Gowling’s assistant Steve Burr managed the Port for a grand total of four months during their 2017 relegation season, so hopefully he’ll still be sufficiently bitter and twisted about that to ensure that his pre-match pep-talk is full of motivationally hateful bile.
As for the visitors, the Bulls have now won five league games on the bounce and don’t need to fear anyone, fortress dwellers or not. The first half hour against Kettering wasn’t particularly easy on the eye, but Lady Luck continues to look kindly on the club (after looking daggers at the club in early autumn) and that first slightly fortunate goal gave rise to some lovely flowing football at times in the second half. Performances are gradually starting to match results.
If the likes of Miles Storey (whose concussion protocol absence should now be done and dusted), Harry Pinchard and Ben Pollock are available, the Bulls bench could be a very strong one, but in a different way to the strength of the bench presumably needed to support Kyle Perry on Tuesday before he took to the field of play in the second half.
The second goal on Tuesday was encouraging in that Jaanai Gordon was stood in the six-yard box waiting on the off-chance, and that’s an instinct that has been missing from the squad this season. Dan Smith was presumably brought in with the hope that he had that instinct, but if he can produce a few more passes like the one for the third goal on Tuesday Josh Gowling may be right in employing him a little further out from goal.
There’s something too about Victor Sodeinde, something to suggest that he’s not at all what tiring NLN defenders want to see coming off the bench with half an hour to go, something to suggest that he’ll score and create plenty over the course of the season.
Historically in the NLN, Southport haven’t been very charitable opponents, and in five matches the Bulls remain winless. However, that winless run was during a period of seemingly aimless and occasionally amateurish leadership at Edgar Street, whereas now there’s a real sense of professionalism, purpose, togetherness and intelligence. If the club is finally finding a way to become a force in the NLN, and a promotion candidate, previous head-to-head records, however poor, can be disregarded.
Southport have, despite that relative success against Hereford, failed to enjoy a decent season at this level since relegation in 2017.
Tough one this though, all the same.
COYW