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Following a decent point at Marine last weekend and a welcome break midweek, it’s back to Edgar Street on Saturday, as Hereford FC welcome out-of-form Darlington to the Arena of Full Illumination looking to reinforce their bid to compete in the play-offs at the end of the season.
So, ten games to go. A rapid return to February’s form following Saturday’s draw should be enough to win the league. A rapid return to January’s form should be enough to just about avoid relegation. Winning, drawing and losing in roughly equal measure may be enough for a play-off place and it may not. That, folks, is the sort of cutting-edge punditry you get for your Bulls News subscription money.
Furthermore, the first eight of those ten games will determine whether the last two games of the season against Kidderminster and Scunthorpe are huge, really huge or dead rubbers. Three points here would push things further in the huge direction, although there are plenty more plastic pitches to come and they seem to be something of a leveller, which could be a problem. Having said that, just being in the National League North seems to be something of a leveller.
Darlington had a season to forget last time, with Josh Gowling almost taking them down, before his replacement Steve Watson steadied the ship to the extent that they finished six points clear of the drop. Watson would have hoped to carry that form into the new season, but they’ve been hindered by the sort of inconsistency that dogs virtually every NLN club.
They’re currently in 12th place, 13 points behind Hereford, which is a testament to the progress the Bulls have made since these clubs last met in December, when Darlo were in 13th place but just four points behind Hereford.
Hereford lost that game at Darlington in what Bulls News reported as ‘an evenly fought match that could have gone either way’, which, if I was a National League North match reporter, is a phrase I’d be copying and pasting more than is healthy.
It was a short hop to Spennymoor on Tuesday evening for Darlo, when ideally a long slog to Needham Market might have been preferable. That derby game ended 2-1 to Moors and perhaps put a terminal dent in the Quakers’ diminishing hopes of gatecrashing the play-off party. If that’s how they see it too and travel down with drained confidence and lost hope, the timing could be perfect, as long as the hosts turn up with their ‘A’ game rather than their ‘Spennymoor’ game.
Darlington’s annual pre-season squad builder cash plea is becoming the stuff of legend, with £190k donated by fans to the cause last summer.
Courtesy of that largesse, versatile and influential ex-Kidderminster player Joe Leesley arrived at the club in the summer and looked a good signing, but he’s been shipped out to Worksop on loan, so it seems it didn’t work out well after all. Forward Jack Maskell, only 19 but full of potential having scored 26 in 36 appearances lower down in his fledgling career so far, was another summer recruit, but with only four goals he’s been another who hasn’t quite worked out, which has contributed to the fact that Darlington are play-off outsiders rather than up in the play-off positions. He did however score last weekend in the 4-2 home loss to flying Brackley.
Midfielder Will Hatfield has never really been prolific anywhere in his career, but is someone who has worked for them this season, with seven goals, including one against Hereford in that December game. The main threat though, quite literally, will be Surinamese centre forward Cedric Main. The ex-York man averages a goal every three games for the club, and that’s a better return than he’s managed anywhere previously, so he may have found his spiritual home.
As for the hosts, the 2-2 draw at Marine last Saturday meant that the Bulls matched plenty of the other top teams, who also drew. To slip to a draw after leading 2-0 was arguably a missed opportunity to creep ever closer to the top of the table, but to moan about that when the side’s recent record reads W8 D1 L1 would be churlish in the extreme.
New signing Kieran
Glynn put an hour in on Saturday before being replaced by Lawson Dath, making a
welcome return from injury. Glynn will now have had two training sessions under his belt and has the opportunity here to look like the good footballer he's been touted as, and someone who isn't fazed by playing in front of an actual crowd. The latter ability seems possibly more important than the former.
Yusify Ceesay is now into Ramadan and is therefore fasting throughout the day. It’s difficult to know how much this will affect him as he was either out entirely or used sparingly due to a knee injury during Ramadan last season.
A late winner from Connor Stanley was enough to give Hereford the points in this fixture last season, and another win here will reinforce that fourth position very nicely. A place in the top three is possible with something like a 15-0 win if Scunthorpe slip up.
With the season entering its end zone, why not dare to dream?
COYW