After being outclassed by promotion-chasing Gateshead on Saturday, it’s straight back onto the Edgar Street turf for Hereford FC on Tuesday evening as they entertain another promotion candidate, near neighbours Kidderminster Harriers. This National League North match was originally scheduled for the new year bank holiday, but with Covid decimating the Bulls squad at the time it has been moved to the graveyard slot of midweek in mid-January, with a resultant negative impact on the attendance and club coffers.
It seems increasingly apparent that there are four clubs this season who are playing at a different level to the rest in the NLN, as evidenced by the worrying gap in class between the hosts and the visitors on Saturday. Brackley, Gateshead, Chorley and Kidderminster look too good for this division, particularly when you look at the utter dross at the foot of the division above. Wealdstone, Weymouth, Kings Lynn and poor old Dover are all hopelessly out of their depth there.
I don’t know why, but AFC Fylde, who are absolutely in the mix and right among those four clubs at the top of the NLN, don’t float my boat as being quite in that same category of too-good-for-this-division-ness, but they did of course coast to victory at Edgar Street in late summer.
Admittedly Gateshead’s inherent quality on Saturday was enhanced by the confidence that comes from winning lots of football matches, whereas Hereford, blighted by injury and illness and the effects of ill-discipline, are in a bit of a mid-season malaise, where all of November’s momentum has seemingly been lost.
Feeding off scraps at home to Gateshead seems to be, regrettably, where Hereford FC currently are at, and there’s no dressing that up as anything other than depressing. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, and with Saturday home crowds down to 1400, even allowing for the Covid factor, it’s a pill people seem to be voting with their feet not to swallow, if that’s not too metaphorically muddled. Just for clarity kids, don’t try taking pills with your feet. Even the French don’t do that – they use…well, let’s not go there.
Reference seems to be fairly regularly made to having a small squad as one of the reasons why the club isn’t more competitive (and for some perspective on what it takes to be competitive in this division, Gateshead would love home crowds of 1400). I haven’t checked, but I’m inclined to believe that the Bulls squad at times this season has been pushing up towards 25 players, which possibly wasn’t the case even when Hereford United were in League 1. There are small squads and there are poor squads, and the latter could be 15 players or 45 players.
When Krystian Pearce started playing matches, the difference between his contribution and everyone else’s, regardless of where on the pitch they played, was worryingly conspicuous, and made you realise that if a player most recently with Solihull and Boreham Wood was that much better, the Bulls collectively are a long, long way off that level. That’s a horrible thought and I’m sorry for publishing it out loud.
Despite the NLN seemingly being a bit of a tough division to get out of (at least the right way) this season, everyone from Boston in seventh position down is bang average, which means there’s one play-off position for all of the nothingy teams to fight for. If, by some fluke, Hereford found themselves in the play-offs and then by a bigger fluke won promotion via those play-offs, they would, on all available evidence, be eaten for breakfast by most clubs in the National League. This suggests that it’s mere lip service to suggest that Football League status is still a realistic aim for the club any time soon, unless money can be found for a goalscorer, a natural centre forward, a Johnny-on-the-spot, a Glen Taylor. Another must-have is a settled core squad of players signed up for next season, a point referred to by Josh Gowling recently.
Meanwhile, Kidderminster continue to enjoy a wonderful season, fifth in the division, nine points behind leaders Brackley Town but with three games in hand, games they’re reasonably likely to harvest nine points from, and given that their goal difference is miles better than the league leaders they’re sitting very pretty indeed. Their squad includes goalscorers and players who have been with them for more than one season. They’ve won eight of their last ten league games.
Given the above fairly gloomy appraisal, this isn’t the most obvious home win ever, but the new-look squad, now minus Zeli Ismael, has now had a bit of time to gel, and surely, surely Harriers are starting to feel a bit leggy after such a busy first half to the season, and perhaps a little distracted by their forthcoming FA Cup fourth round match against Jarrod Bowen’s West Ham?
Hereford to finally get a few lucky breaks and win this at a canter. Not sure where the goals are coming from mind.
Here’s hoping.
COYW