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A trip to the flatlands of eastern England on Tuesday evening as Hereford FC visit PIMS Park, Peterborough. Talking of flat, when these two met at Edgar Street in August, Sports left with the points after a 1-0 win, with Bulls News’ South Wales correspondent Nigel Preece using one word as his match report title: ‘Flat’ – it was indeed a flat performance.
An
awful lot of water has passed under the bridge since then however,
and the Bulls are no longer forced to play Adam Rooney on his own up front, as
they were back in August.
Peterborough have flown up the pyramid with successive promotions between 2015/16 and 2021/22. Suspicions that the big, bad National League North would find them out looked to be misplaced as they started last season with a bang, before understandably fading a little as the season progressed (or dragged on in Hereford’s case). Nevertheless they still finished two points and two places above Hereford, and never really faced any threat of relegation.
It's the same story this season. Unbeaten in four going into this one, that run has included doing what Hereford failed to do on Saturday – winning at Curzon - and comfortably beating Rushall and Banbury 4-0 and 3-0 respectively - the sort of scorelines that have generally proved to be beyond the Bulls this season. The Turbines have also kept three clean sheets in a row. That run sees them comfortable in mid-table and all geared up for another season in the National League North.
Something that may have a bearing on this one in Hereford’s favour is that the home side have an FA Trophy quarter-final to look forward to on Saturday at Gateshead, the side who knocked the Bulls out in the last round. It would be understandable if that proves to be a slight distraction causing them to take their eye off the ball a bit here as a result.
Ex-Bull Jordan Nicholson has been used sparingly this season and probably won’t feature here. Hereford-born fellow midfielder Hugh Alban-Jones moonlights as a coach at The Posh lot down the road, and almost certainly will start against his hometown club.
Club captain Mark Jones is probably considered their main source of goals, but like several members of the squad has only managed four so far this season.
Ben Fowkes is one of those four-scorers and was brought in last summer to get a few more than that. He arrived from Leiston and, like Jason Cowley, had been reasonably prolific at the level below. He’s found it harder at step 2.
Central midfielder Josh McCammon, with six goals, has actually done better than the strikers in front of goal.
Joint manager and old warhorse Michael Gash could start for the hosts, but may want to keep his legs fresh for the Trophy game. He played the whole game in the last round and scored an injury-time winner to dump his old club Kidderminster Harriers out of the competition. Not bad for a 37-year-old. Indeed, there could be 37-year-old strikers at both ends of the pitch, with Andy Williams surely due a goal or two here.
Teenager Gabe Overton looks to be out for the rest of the season after coming off injured on Saturday in a 0-0 draw at Southport. The loanee from Peterborough United had contributed significantly to the recent good run of form, and will be a big miss for them.
Key midfielder Dan Lawlor was sent off in the same game, but should be available here before his suspension kicks in on Saturday.
Their home record is one of symmetry: W6 D4 L6 with 22 goals scored and the same number conceded. Hopefully that neatness will be smashed to smithereens with a Bulls win here. As a matter of fact, their away record is W7 D6 L7 with 26 goals scored and 27 conceded, very nearly symmetrical too. Fascinating eh? OK, maybe not.
The Bulls’ last gasp loss at Curzon on Saturday hopefully signifies that any bad luck knocking around has now been used up for the season. Not for the first time recently, the opposition goalie had a blinder, ultimately thwarting a visiting side set up to come away with the points.
That result leaves the club in 11th place, but still just two points off seventh place with a game in hand over the club in that position, which is now Curzon Ashton.
The return to fitness of Yusifu Ceesay will give a huge boost to the play-off push, and should provide more opportunities for the rotating forward line of Cowley, Williams and Phillips, all of whom will be hoping to improve their goals-to-chances ratio, and of course the winger is well capable of weighing in with goals himself.
Jordan Lyden went off injured on Saturday which presumably makes him a big doubt here, but given the lack of midfield options he may have to get bandaged up and shoved back out, particularly if there continues to be no move (or funds?) to bring a loanee in.
Can the Bulls’ strikers make amends in the Fens for Saturday’s profligacy in front of goal? I’m almost certain this will end 2-0 the right way.
COYW