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This is horrible. I’m not sure my blood pressure can take much more.
Hereford FC’s excruciating quest to qualify for this season’s National League North play-offs continues on Good Friday with the visit of Leamington to Edgar Street.
Following last Saturday’s successful trip up north to Oxford, this is yet another must-win, before the final two tricky fixtures of the season. Following hot on the heels of this will be Kidderminster on Easter Monday, and then next weekend it’s back home for what could be the biggest game in the phoenix club’s history, against title favourites Scunthorpe. No news yet of bringing in a temporary 10,000-capacity Meccano stand for the Blackfriars End, but I assume it'll happen.
With 1000 supporters making the trip to Oxford last weekend, the bank holiday gate for this one should be of bumper proportions.
Leamington were promoted from the Southern League Central last season after finishing 11 points behind Telford and 15 behind champions Needham Market. They did it by being tactically astute (which admittedly is a phrase I’m using partially as a euphemism for being past masters at the dark arts) and maximising the return they get from their resources, courtesy of shrewd manager Paul Holloran.
Their current form is pretty ropey, although they have managed to beat Chorley and draw with Kidderminster recently. In the four games leading up to this one they’ve scored precisely no goals.
Their away form this season is absolutely terrible, but as a team of spoilers they are second to none, and in that respect this won’t be easy. Having said that, if you could choose a side to play at this point in the season other than those already relegated, Leamington would be very high on the list. Away from home only Warrington have won fewer games, with the Brakes managing three victories in their 21 matches on the road, and they’ve only scored 13 goals in those games.
Their 0-0 home draw against Radcliffe last Saturday sounded pretty awful, and, fun fact, was refereed by a Mr Woolmer – no, not that one. Even manager Halloran said it was awful.
Central midfielder and ex-captain Jack Edwards is now in his 11th season at Leamington, a decade-and-a-bit that has presumably featured some high points, but he’ll be remembered most by Bulls fans for his entirely unwarranted assault on Luke Haines in 2021, leaving the latter temporarily blinded.
In terms of firepower, most of it is no longer at the club’s disposal. Dan Turner had recently returned to Leamington on loan from Chester, and his previous spell at the Brakes produced 26 goals in 75 games, earning him a move to Brackley which didn’t work out. He, however, is now back with Chester. Big dangerman Cally Stewart moved to the Sloppies in January, where he’s been unable to prevent their imminent relegation (yes, shame), and his goals have been missed.
Ex-Banbury striker Henry Landers is still with the club though, and has nine goals this season, although he hasn’t scored in eight games.
Ten points from their last four games means that the Bulls are now second in a mini-league of six clubs gunning for three play-off places. Of those clubs, Chorley and Buxton play each other on Friday (a draw would be nice) and Kings Lynn host leaders Scunthorpe.
You wouldn’t bet against Jaiden White scoring another important (and possibly spectacular) goal here (and doing something special at Aggborough on Monday against his old club), and Yusifu Ceesay is still popping up with the goods, as he has done all season. Tate Campbell has now rattled the woodwork three times (I think) this season with dipping raspers, so one of those could finally dip slightly earlier for him and fly into the roof of the net. And surely, surely one of the big lads at the back will nod one in from a corner before the season’s out?
Shooting on sight now seems to be the policy, as advocated by Paul Caddis when he came to the club, along with getting lots of crosses in. Those shots and crosses have already paid dividends, notably recently with the equaliser against Chester and the winner against Oxford. It’s the way to go at this level; it’s how Hereford have lost too many matches in the past in this division against sides shooting and crossing with gay abandon, and how they’re not losing them now. It’s an approach that can be combined with attractive football too if you have the players who can thrive in a hybrid system of direct shots and crosses but also on-the-floor passing. You don’t need to go the full Tamworth. No-one does, or should.
Lateral, pedestrian passing gets you precisely nowhere other than back to where you started, unless you do lateral, pedestrian passing then a big diagonal hoof that goes out for a throw-in. That, however, then resembles a different sport with an oval ball that people inexplicably pay to watch. I know, beats me.
A nice early goal to settle the nerves please lads (dipping rasper, big lad bundler, OG…doesn’t matter), and then smoothly through the gears to another three points. Easy as that, and on to Monday, against a Kidderminster side that could be jittery.
A win, any sort of win, and then it might be time for someone to start trying to find Guy Ipoua’s mobile number down the back of a sofa in Saxty’s for the play-offs.
COYW