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The Nash are one of the smaller clubs at this level, but they punched above their weight last season and were in contention for the play-offs right up until the final games. This was an improvement on their usual speciality of doing just enough to stay in the division. This time around they’ve got a bit of a cushion between themselves and the relegation places, winning, drawing and losing seemingly at random, which, in fairness, is what most NLN clubs do. They’re two points behind Hereford with two games in hand. Given that the right to the much-coveted 15th place in the National League North table is at stake, this one should be feverishly fought, tooth and claw. Grrr.
They’ve beaten both Gloucester and Kidderminster away so far this season, suggesting that they’re as good a counterattacking team on their day as they were last season, when they drew 2-2 at Edgar Street, with Hereford absolutely bossing the first half with a rampaging performance from Levi Andoh, before the visitors came back impressively after the break.
They were involved in a right old ding-dong thriller at home to Gloucester last Saturday, eventually emerging as 4-3 winners after taking the lead, losing the lead and regaining it again.
Ex-Altrincham player Josh Hancock has scored nine from midfield this season, more than any Bulls striker, and pacy centre forward and fellow Alty alumnus Tom Peers has 11, with two of those coming in the Gloucester ding-dong. Jimmy Spencer, formerly responsible for scoring Farsley’s goals and much-travelled prior to that, moved across the Pennines to Curzon a couple of weeks ago, signing a two-year contract and costing an undisclosed fee. All very flash, splashing the cash, on the part of the Nash. Like Peers, he also found a way to do what Hereford collectively have struggled to do this season, and scored against Gloucester.
The Peers-Spencer front pairing looks full of potential as a goal-getting unit for the rest of the season and into the next, giving a degree of continuity up front, and a greater likelihood of hitting the ground running in August. This isn’t something Hereford will benefit from with their own strikeforce, with the likelihood being that the Bulls will be starting again, again.
Manager Adam Lakeland likes his charges to ‘play a bit’ whenever possible, so, as alluded to earlier, this match won’t be recognisable as being even the same sport as the product offered up in last week’s attritional encounter with Alfreton.
Earlier in the season the Bulls eased to a 3-1 win against Saturday’s opponents in Greater Manchester with some clinical finishing. Yes, that’s right, clinical finishing. However, Saturday’s hosts have yet to beat the Mancunians at Edgar Street, but the pattern is favourable, having lost, then drawn and now, well, you never know.
It was another good game for Zak Lilly last Saturday as he shows some encouraging form after being out injured for most of the season. Undoubtedly Ryan Lloyd was a big miss for the Bulls, but it augers well for the rest of the season to see Miles Storey back in action, and Aaron Amadi-Holloway and Jack Evans not looking too far off a return.
Something north of 50 points should be enough to ensure the treat of another couple of games against Alfreton next season, so the Bulls have 15 games to get 12 points, which you’d hope would be comfortable. As for play-off qualification, averaging two points a game from here on in will no longer be enough, so that ship looks like it may have sailed.
A win here would complete the Bulls’ second double of the season, having beaten Buxton home and away. That sole double over struggling Buxton starkly illustrates the inconsistency that’s blighted Hereford’s season and ultimately cost Josh Gowling his job. His replacement will have to find players in the summer who can win matches playing football rather than Alfretonball, and do it on a reportedly tight budget. It’s a tough gig then in those terms, but nevertheless very well remunerated for this level, even if the incoming manager will, one would assume, have to do it for less than Mr Gowling did.
The managerial merry-go-round on Planet Football is such that the club presumably won’t have had to advertise the post formally to get a slew of applications for GT to run the rule over, and the club is surely still an attractive fish at this level of pond, although managing it seems to be as slippery as managing an actual rather than metaphorical fish. Ever tried managing a fish? It’s hard. I imagine.
Anyway, this could actually be quite entertaining, like the second half against Southport, and if it’s not there’s always a fun game of ‘spot the prospective manager in the stands’ to be played, although I don’t know whether I’d actually recognise Frank Lampard in the flesh.
COYW