Return Of The Saints

Following a return to the sweet smell of success in midweek at Peterborough, Hereford FC return to the burgers-onions-cider-fags-nearly-new-Christmas-aftershave smell of Edgar Street on Saturday, where they host high-flying and in-form Brackley Town.

In August, a superb late goal from Tate Campbell secured the points for Hereford at Brackley for the first time in a lot of attempts, so they’ll be looking to do the double here, which would neatly put to bed any nonsense about the Saints being something of a bogey team.

Brackley are generally no-nonsense, well-drilled, efficient, and strong in all areas, physically and technically. They were due to host Kidderminster on Tuesday but it was postponed, which is a bit of a shame as it looked like a game that would have taken a fair bit out of them ahead of this one.

They’ve been flying of late, winning five of their last six games, and beat Spennymoor 4-1 at home last Saturday. That form has seen them shoot into the play-off positions, where traditionally they will now stay for the rest of the season before all their wheels fall off in spectacular fashion in the play-offs. They were play-off losers again last season for the umpteenth time, and had to regroup in the summer, get the chequebook back out, and give it yet another go to try to get out of the National League North.

Manager Gavin Cowan signed an extended contract in the middle of last season, and has looked to be a good fit at the club, but he’ll have to find a way to ensure that the form they’re currently in continues so that they actually finish top, because the play-offs don’t like them one bit.

Old boys Matt Lowe and Shane Byrne returned to the club from Accrington and Kiddy respectively in the summer. Lowe has six goals this season and Byrne is keeping former Bull Tommy O’Sullivan out of the side.

Up front, Connor Hall is generally good for a goal every other game at this level. He was a big signing for them over the summer, and their rocket-propelled thrust into the top four has coincided with him finding his scoring form. He’s got ten for the season, with six of those coming in his last six games.

Instantly recognisable big beard Danny Newton, usually a lively threat for them up top, has been out injured since November.

Ex-Bull Zac Lilly is now an established part of the Brackley defence, and George Carline will be on long throw duty for them.

Morgan Roberts, so effective for Banbury against Hereford a couple of seasons ago, is now at Brackley and has five goals from midfield.

Something the Brackley defenders didn’t like at all last season was being hurried and harried and hassled by Jason Cowley, something he is of course an absolute master at. Their back four can be rock solid when it’s allowed to be, but when it’s constantly niggled at it gets grumpy and therefore fallible. Captain Gareth Dean in particular was unsettled by the tactic, which was nice to see as he’s absolutely cruised through some games between these teams without a glove being laid on him.

The Bulls have hopefully put a dismal run of form in January behind them by finishing the month on a high with three points on Tuesday. If promotion is a realistic aim, being able to beat Brackley at home in front of a crowd the visitors can only dream of should be a given.

On the good news front, Matt Preston and Aaron Skinner could be back soon, although possibly not soon enough for this one, certainly in Skinner’s case. On the strange news front, Preston Bitemo went into his injury absence with a bad back and reportedly is coming out of it with one leg longer than the other. I’m not sure what sort of specialist does that, but I hope they don’t come near me.

If returning defender Levi Andoh can contribute to keeping Connor Hall off the scoresheet he’ll have had a good second Bulls debut. The York loanee is back at Edgar Street for the rest of the season, and if he’s recovered from a long-term back injury (a back injury that doesn’t seem to have had any sort of effect on the length of either of his legs) he’ll add significant threat going forward, and a never-dull approach to his defensive duties. He’s also a good deal more athletic than the mental image I had of the bruiser Paul Caddis was describing as an imminent arrival after the Radcliffe loss.

Connor Hall may well be scoring a goal a game, but so is Yusifu Ceesay. The winger has three in three, and will be a marked man, so an over-reliance on long diags out to him will be precisely what the opposition will be expecting. Can Paul Caddis and Adam Rooney come up with an alternative plan or two to outflank Gavin Cowan on the tactical front? A right-sided Andoh-White combo full of tricks and pace looks like a viable alternative.

It’s Spennymoor next at Edgar Street, and to make things even more challenging the meat in the Brackley-Spennymoor sandwich is the small matter of Tuesday night’s mega-trip to South Shields. What’s really needed, to ensure that the play-off challenge remains realistic, is now building on Tuesday’s win with some consistency and a long unbeaten run.

COYW