Hereford won their opening Herefordshire County Cup game at Ludlow Colts 3 - 0 on a pitch which had seen a lot of rain during the day. About 300 attended with many being fans of both clubs and possibly 100 Bulls fans.
Hereford started with Osment in goal, Summers, Vine, captain Derricott and Bennett. In midfield were Bruton, Campbell, Davies and Holmes with Vine and Johnston up front. On the bench were Thompson, Jenkins, Marsh and Lewis.
Hereford started brightly and had the best of things throughout the first half. Holmes playing wide left looked a threat throughout and had already troubled the Ludlow back line before he scored. Campbell got possession in the middle of the pitch and played a glorious ball through Ludlow defenders into the inside left channel and Holmes was on to it and finished clinically across the keeper.
Campbell was running midfield popping up everywhere and producing a series of probing passes. Ludlow could not keep up with his energy and dynamism. It was like he was trying to play as Jude Bellingham had against Iran. Holmes hit a free kick from just outside the box just over the bar but it had enough dip on it to ripple the top of the netting.
Summers was not being worked hard defensively so took the opportunity to drive down the right wing on several occasions. Captain Derricott organised the offside line and was constantly talking and shouting. Ludlow offered little and their best opportunity came when Osment took a touch in the box and the ball stuck in the mud. Thankfully Seb recovered and cleared keeping things simple afterwards.
Just after half time Marsh came on for Bennett. Ludlow had their best spell of the match pressing hard with their mixture of veterans and youngsters with not much in between. The young Bulls defence dealt well with the threat.
Central defender Vine picked up a booking for a foul but the game was played in a good spirit. The Bulls regained control of the game with Campbell switching from box to box midfielder to more of an inside left role. He remained the most influential player on the pitch and good work from him produced a cross. Ludlow looked to have it covered with both a defender and the keeper but they saw the ball stick in the mud and Groves reacted quickest and tapped in from close range.
At half time community minded Ludlow brought on children to play and save in the box churning it up further. A more cunning club might have done that at the end their side were attacking. The plastic pitch behind the pavilion had the women’s team practising throughout the evening.
Ludlow had their best chance when their centre forward broke through. Osment stood up advanced and spread himself, the Ludlow strikier firing left of the post. Ludlow made a number of substitutions and Hereford were noticeably fitter. This told when just before the final whistleJenkins added a third.
Summers, Derricott, Holmes and Campbell all looked in fine fettle and worthy of a starting place in the first team. Jack had the joy in his game when he made his debut. Justice played his finest time in a white shirt and stood out as the most influential man on the pitch.
Since playing at Westfields in pre-season the other young players have come a long way. What stood out was the way in which their coaching has made them into a coherent team as they moved up and down the pitch as a team. Bruton was shrewd in reading danger and filling in gaps. Ably lead by Derricott who caught the eye with a Beckenbaueresque saunter up the field which came to grief in the mud. It is good to see so much promising talent.