Result: 1-1 (HT 1-0) Ritchie 33; Moir 74
Attendance: 9,005
Hereford United: Hughes, Radford, Naylor, McLaughlin, Tucker, Jones, Rudge, Ritchie, Hinch, Lee, Gane
Shrewsbury: Mulhearn, King, Calloway, Durban, Kearney, Turner, Irvine, Moir, Marlowe, Tarbuck, Morris
League Position: 18th. Shrewsbury in 23rd are already down.
On the Pitch: Hereford found themselves having a hectic run-in, so it was fortunate that they were safe; they had to play on the following dates, starting on 10th March:
10/3, 13/3, 16/3, 20/3, 23/3, 26/3, 30/3, 3/4, 6/4, 13/4, 15/4*, 16/4*,
20/4, 27/4
14 games in 49 days, in the unlikely event that my maths is correct.
Hereford and Shrewsbury found themselves in the unusual position of fulfilling
their two league fixtures on consecutive evenings. The night after this match
they played out another 1-1 draw in front of 5,580 at Gay Meadow, courtesy of a
last-gasp goal by MOM Brian Evans. Ron Parrott was already a hero, further
cementing that status with the following entry in his book Gay Meadow's largest crowd for two years
sees Slop outplay United.
Click on photos to enlarge.
The above articles illustrate that the season, with Hereford all but safe, is winding to a close. Addison had turned down the chance to sign 24 year old Willie Brown, despite him having a good loan spell. He would go on to score 9 goals in 16 league games for Brentford and 47 in 139 league games for Torquay, where he was described as a crowd favourite.
Meanwhile, 2nd-bottom Shrewsbury have had a bad season, with very poor
attendances by their standards. They have averaged over 5,000 at their various
meadows throughout history, averaging over 6,000 in the past decade, but in
this 73/74 season they drew an average of only 2,502, which - apart from three
seasons in the late ‘90s - was stand-out low.
In the Opposition: Keeper Ken Mulhearn had won a league title with Manchester City in the 67-68 season. Ricky Marlowe would go onto help Wimbledon into the league via the 76-77 Southern League title. Sammy Irvine followed manager Alan Durban to second-flight Stoke City for £60k after playing over 200 league games for Shrewsbury. Peter Dolby, who also played 324 league games for the Shrews, was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2011.
This was 29 year old Laurie Calloway's last season in English football;
he would wind out his career in the US (as did David Butler) before going on to
manage numerous teams including the delightfully named Southern California
Lazers, California Surf, Salt Lake Sting, San Jose Clash, Des Moines Menace,
Syracuse Salty Dogs, and Rochester Raging Rhinos.
Beyond some fella called Graham Turner, there don't seem to be too many
links with HUFC. Graham Turner is instantly recognisable from his photo, which
is even more impressive when you consider we fill a big chunk of his CV.
Edgar Street Chatter: There are only so many times you can say "oh look, another impressive crowd at Edgar Street", but one that I think stands-out is the previous season's end of season two-legged Herefordshire Senior Cup against the Shrews. The home tie had attracted a crowd of 4,826; the recent Boxing Day match against Kidderminster pulled in 4,925.
Meanwhile, a 22 year old Roger Lane was asking about the possibility of
communicating with a pre-internet staple, the pen pal. Google suggests that pen
and ink Pen Pals are still a thing in the US prison system, where access to the
internet is banned.
Supporters' Corner: Prophet Phil Godsall includes these words in his article.
A few years back, some supporters used to to take a trip to Shrewsbury to see a Third Division game. Now they have them provided for them on their own doorstep and, unfortunately, Shrewsbury look like being the poor relations next season. That's just one of soccer's ups-and-downs and we must do our utmost to protect our own future at Edgar Street.
Vital Statistics: Possibly a tough sell would have been the World Cup 74 programme, on sale in the club shop for a lofty £1.10 (Edgar Street Adult Terrace/Seating tickets were 50p and £1 respectively in the 73/74 season). To put that into further context, the FA Cup Final programme that is also up for grabs is only 20p.
In the Singles Charts: Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks is at No.1.
In the Album Charts: The Singles 1969-1973 by the Carpenters is
at No.1.
In the Maternity Ward: Posh Spice was born on 17th
April 1974
