A look back to 22 years ago this weekend. Hereford were away at Dagenham, they lost 1-0 and had a man sent off. Similar to a couple of recent games.
The Whites recalled captain Ian Wright to the starting line-up after last Saturday's 1-0 FA Cup defeat against Wigan as Chukki Eribenne's loan spell ended. He returned to Bournemouth, and Paul Parry partnered Steve Guinan in attack.
Both sides played good, attacking football in the first half and there was very little to choose between the two. United's best opening came after ten minutes when Paul Parry's shot was blocked in a goalmouth scramble and knocked behind. At the other end, Mark Janney did well before Danny Hill fired wide of Matt Baker's goal.
It was a well--known story for United, they dominated the game in terms of chances and attacking play but failed to find that killer touch in front of goal.
As it was, goals were at a premium. Just one divided the sides, and that came on thirty three minutes from Steve West who collected a long ball twenty yards out, volleying it into the top corner. Baker stood no chance as the home side took a slender advantage.
Half time came and Hereford took off Danny Williams for Ben Smith, who had an impressive second period testing ex-Wales internation 'keeper Tony Roberts ten minutes from time. His header from a Mick Galloway corner was saved by the feet of Roberts as United completely dominated with just ten men.
The sending off of Andy Tretton came on fifty nine minutes after the referee and his assistant consulted over a challenge on McDougald which was not at all malicious or worthy of such a punishment.
However, United still attempted to find the equaliser with John Grant, on as a substitute after returning from injury, and Paul Parry both going close in the dying minutes.
| Dagenham & Redbridge | Hereford United |
| Tony Roberts | Matt Baker |
| Mark Smith | Matt Clarke (off, 89 minutes) |
| Mark Janney | Michael Rose |
| Paul Terry | Andrew Tretton |
| Danny Shipp | Ian Wright (captain) |
| Paul Bruce (off, 23 minutes) | Tony James |
| Junior McDougald | Jamie Pitman |
| Danny Hill (off, 66 minutes) | Danny Williams (off, half time) |
| Steve West | Steve Guinan (off, 76 minutes) |
| Lee Matthews (captain) | Mick Galloway |
| Steve Potts | Paul Parry |
| Subs | Subs |
| Paul Gothard | Ben Smith (on, half time) |
| Tim Cole | Ken Griffiths |
| Ashley Vickers (on, 23 minutes) | John Grant (on, 76 minutes) |
| Triston Chambers | Rob Purdie (on, 89 minutes) |
| Mark Rooney (on, 66 minutes) | Richard Teesdale |
| Yellow cards | Yellow cards |
| Danny Shipp (foul, 51 minutes) | Ben Smith (foul, 72 minutes) |
| Red cards | Red cards |
| - | Andy Tretton (foul, 59 minutes) |
| Scorers | Scorers |
| Steve West (32 minutes) | - |
| Man of the Match | Paul Parry |
| Attendance | 1444 |
| Referee | Mr. N. Appleby |
Sending off disputed
After
yesterday's 1-0 defeat at Dagenham & Redbridge, much of the talk
was whether the sending off of Hereford United's Andy Tretton was
justified.
Ben Smith told BBC Hereford and Worcester: "It looked to me that he
(Tretton) had won the ball. It was a very debatable decision."
Garry Hill, the Daggers manager agreed, saying: "I felt the sending-off of Tretton was very harsh."
From behind the far goal, it looked as though the referee was
prepared to give a free kick and only changed his mind after consulting
with his assistant.
Also, from the press area the reporter for the Non-League Paper
wrote: "the official judged Tretton to be the last man in defence and
brandished what seemed to be a rather harsh red card."
It appeared that the referee first spoke to Michael Rose to further confuse matters.
It is understood that Junior McDougald, the Daggers striker at the
centre of the incident, said that Tretton didn't touch him and that the
referee may be willing to review the decision.
On the game itself Garry Hill continued: "When Hereford went down to
ten men they certainly raised their game.How this game finished 1-0 I
don't know."
Ben Smith thought that Hereford had had a lot of chances but "we are not putting the ball in the back of the net."
On a brighter Smith said that he was pleased with his performance
after his long layoff. "Medically, I'm fine," Smith continued, and he
hopes to be selected to start in next Saturday's game against Barnet at
Edgar Street.
Watching the card count
A wrong move in Hereford United's upcoming matches could see any one of three players facing a ban.
Steve Guinan, Danny Williams and Michael Rose all have four yellow
cards to their name, and a fifth results in an automatic one match
suspension two weeks after the 'target' is reached.
Only Jamie Pitman has been banned so far this season for the Bulls
who picked up their first red card at Dagenham & Redbridge on
Saturday when Andy Tretton was dismissed in the 1-0 defeat.
However, Dagenham attacker Junior McDougald said that Tretton won
the ball fairly from him in the incident that saw the ex-Shrewsbury man
sent off, and United hope to get the decision overturned. The referee
confirmed that he had to support the verdict of the his assistant as he
didn't get a clear view of the incident.
Saturday sees the Bulls host Barnet, a side which has strong
connections with Hereford. The two have been rivals since the Southern
League days, and Rob Sawyers will be hoping to feature against his
former club despite only having played a handful of matches since his
summer move.