This Day In 2001 - Bulls Go Out Of Trophy

On April 7th 2001 Hereford United were dumped out of the FA Trophy by Forest Green Rovers.

HEREFORD UNITED 1 - 4 FOREST GREEN ROVERS

FA Umbro Trophy Semi Final Second Leg.

Forest Green Rovers win 6-3 on aggregate.

Yet another disappointing home performance by Hereford United resulted in their elimination from the FA Trophy at the semi final stage in humiliating fashion. As favourites for the tournament, they were expected to overcome Forest Green Rovers but instead were demolished by the Gloucestershire side by four goals to one.

Hereford went into the tie as favourites and welcomed back young winger Jimmy Quiggin in place of the suspended Ian Rodgerson. Otherwise, the team was identical to that which gained a draw in the first leg last Saturday. Rovers' striker Frankie Bennett was recalled to the starting line-up after he turned the first leg around with a substitute appearance and Rovers' first goal. Nathan Goodbody failed a fitness test but winger Stuart Slater recovered from injury. Striker Jason Eaton and midfielders Alex Sykes and Mark Cooper were all cup-tied and Darren Middleton was ineligible for the match.

It's not often that Hereford lose by such a horrifying margin at Edgar Street, in fact the last time that they lost in such humiliating fashion came in the Auto Windscreens Shield first round, a 4-0 defeat against Millwall in 1996. However, most fans will feel that Forest Green didn't deserve to win by such a large margin but they proved that, on their day, they are capable of turning over any side in the Conference.

Hereford were on-top from the start and pressurised the Forest Green goal. Rovers' goalkeeper Steve Perrin was in good form and it appeared that this, combined with bad luck for the Bulls, meant they couldn't get the ball to hit the back of the net in the first half. Their first move of the match resulted in a long ball from captain Ian Wright causing problems for Rovers, before Gavin Williams had the ball snatched away from his feet by Rob Cousins.

Further early efforts from Ian Wright, a long range strike, and Phil Robinson were saved well by the goalkeeper and, with too many players attacking, the defence was left open. A counter attack on fourteen minutes resulted in a goal for the away side from Frankie Bennett. A twenty yard effort was Rovers' first attack on target and Cooksey was left stranded. The noisy Hereford end were silenced by Rovers' lead.

Jimmy Quiggin made another chance for United, but Perrin turned the effort around the post. The Hereford attack were turning up the pressure, but Phil Robinson had his shot cleared off the line before Robin Elmes' shot was deflected wide at the Meadow End. Another rare Forest Green attack saw Adrian Foster hit the post, and Alex Meecham was on hand to double the score from close range on twenty eight minutes, blasting the ball into the top of Cooksey's net.

Phil Robinson went close but Perrin saved well, and Rovers' had taken their chances whereas Hereford let theirs go to waste as the away side registered a 2-0 half time lead. Forest Green were second best for the whole of the half as Hereford had the best of the play and the possession. Graham Turner must have been fuming and he won't have got much happier with the second half performance.

The second half continued in the same fashion, with the Bulls on top but Rovers grabbing another goal. The away side had almost everyone behind the ball as they desperately defended their lead, but against the run of play gained a third goal. On the hour, Chris Burns made the score Hereford United 0 Forest Green Rovers 3 when his close-range header was conceded by Cooksey, who was helpless to do anything. Hereford responded and finally gained a deserved goal through captain Ian Wright three minutes later. A corner was floated in and Wright managed to get the vital textbook touch to flick a glimmer of hope into the Hereford cause.

Steve Bull was introduced a couple of minutes later for Paul Parry in an effort to add to United's attacking push, but his and Rob Elmes' lack of pace resulted in a frustating afternoon. Bull looked tired and Elmes was marked out of the game, probably as a result of the two goals scored against Rovers last Saturday. Gavin Williams looked off form, and was unable to break free as Rovers' tight defence let nothing get past them. However, United continued in their push but shots were few and far between.

Shock hit the Hereford fans with ten minutes left when former Bulls striker Adrian Foster made it 4-1 with a close range effort. He had missed a couple of sitters in the afternoon but made up by hammering the final nail into the coffin of Hereford United's season. Rovers will face Canvey Island in th final of the competition, their second appearance in three years after playing at Wembley in 1999.

Referee Mr. D. Pugh made four bookings for fouls; Stuart Slater, Ian Wright, John Snape and Billy Clark, and also cautioned Matt Clarke and Adrian Foster for a bust up ten minutes into the second half. The final result reveals a problem in the Hereford United camp - getting the ball into the net, and the majority of the 4,175 watching the game left disappointed. There were tears in the Meadow End and on the face of Scott Cooksey as cup dreams died for yet another season.

Hereford - Cooksey, Clarke, Wright, James, Sturgess, Quiggin, Snape, Robinson, Elmes, Williams, Parry
Substitutions - Bull (64).

Man of the Match - Ian Wright.

Captain Ian Wright spoke of his dismay at Hereford United's 4-1 defeat at home against Forest Green Rovers in the FA Trophy semi-final second leg this afternoon. Talking to the BBC, he said: "The lads are absolutely gutted. We thought we could win it comfortably. We had some good chances, especially from set pieces, we could have been in front quite easily."

On Steve Perrin, the Rovers goalkeeper, Wright commented: "He made some good saves and got some good blocks in the penalty area so he kept them in it. We created a lot of chances so you can't blame the pitch for that. We're naturally disappointed we've lost by four."

Tony James was disappointed by the manner of of how the goals were conceded. "We conceded goals when we were on top and couldn't score, the ball wouldn't drop for us and go in. For the first half it just looked like it wasn't going to be our day," he told the BBC.

"We got caught a couple of times going forward and that's happened quite a lot in the few games running up to this one. They've got pacy players and they break away really well and scored a couple of goals from it. It just didn't seem to be our day."