A return to the hallowed and storied Edgar Street turf this weekend for Hereford FC, as the Bulls entertain Boston United in the National League North, and the hosts should have recharged their batteries following defeat up at Chorley, having had a free midweek for a change.
These two clubs are competing to be top of the ‘best of the rest’ table at the moment, with the final play-off place the prize for the leaders of that particular unofficial competition currently. It’s presumably going to be the case that one or two of the top six will at some point run out of puff and be catchable, but they’re all currently flying, although Southport did finally lose in midweek.
When these teams met in October, a limited Boston, expert in manipulating the referee, took the points with a 1-0 win. There’s now a lot more ‘game management’ experience in the Hereford ranks to match them in that regard, with Krystian Pearce and a fit-again James Vincent offering a bit of nous.
Boston shrewdly identified Harry Pinchard as a threat in that game, and essentially marked him out of it. That sort of tactical awareness wasn’t enough to keep manager Craig Elliott in his job as Boston manager however, and he was sacked a month ago having failed to inspire the squad to live up to their billing as one of the pre-season favourites for automatic promotion. Following that sacking, the club drew at Gloucester and then lost to Morpeth in the FA Trophy (been there, got the t-shirt), which was followed by another draw at Spennymoor. However, Kettering manager Paul Cox was then brought in, and since then Boston have recorded back-to-back wins. They beat Farsley 3-0 (OK, maybe that doesn’t really count) and last weekend won 4-0 at home to Chester, all of which leaves the Pilgrims seventh in the table.
Danny Elliot has ten league goals to his name so far this season, and, along with fellow striker Fraser Preston with seven, will gleefully take advantage of any charity dished out by the Bulls defence. Worryingly, they also have a long-throw expert in Joe Leesley.
Given that the new boss isn’t averse to a direct approach tactically, once he’s watched the Chorley video he’ll be even more convinced that putting high balls into the box at every opportunity from open play, free kicks, corners and throw-ins is the route to success against an apparently frail Hereford back line.
Not a lot has got past young Jamie Egan in his performances for the Bulls to date, and his contribution against Kidderminster made that back line look anything but frail, so perhaps he’ll get a start here in anticipation of a bit of an aerial onslaught. Besides, sitting on the bench isn’t giving him much ‘work experience’, which is reportedly what he’s at Hereford for. It’s like giving the office apprentice all the photocopying instead of a really exciting spreadsheet to work on.
The Hereford squad has had some interesting changes made to it this week, with George Forsyth departing, and Cardiff’s Keenen Patten coming in on loan to replace him. With a name like that he should be a natural midfield general, but this match may come too soon for him to make his debut as the deal is subject to international clearance, and that seems to take longer to come over the border from Wales than it would from Mongolia or Venus. In addition, and intriguingly, a new goalie has been brought in. Young Andreas Sondergaard will be at Edgar Street for the rest of the season on loan from Wolves, and if he’s as capable as Peter Gulacsi, brought in on loan by Graham Turner from Liverpool, or Matt Murray, also from Wolves, in the past, clean sheets and play-off participation could result.
Hereford head coach Josh Gowling was rumoured to be in the frame for the Boston job before Cox was appointed, but that seemed largely because his Grimsby base is relatively close to the town, and thus people put two and two together and made five. Again, following defeat, it was reassuring on Saturday to hear the frustration in his voice as he gave his thoughts to the media. He clearly cares as passionately as supporters do, and one just has to recall the anodyne offerings of Marc Richards when interviewed following instantly forgettable 1-1 draws with the likes of Guiseley to realise just how much progress has been made in terms of having professional and inspiring leadership.
Once again, it would be something if a full 90-minute performance could be found for a change, and if the defence can hold firm there’s plenty of creativity further up the pitch to do enough to take the points here and get back on track.
It would also be fitting, with a certain anniversary being celebrated this weekend, if the club could mark that with a win. Yes folks, unbelievably, it’s a whole year since that famous 1-0 win against Leamington in the FA Trophy fifth round. Oh, and some other 50-year thing is taking place too.
COYW