It's back to April 12th 2003 and Halifax away.
The Bulls lie a clear ten points behind fifth-placed Chester City, which is an insurmountable deficit, and this was despite throwing everythnig forward in the second half in search of an equaliser to keep their hopes of the promotion play-off spot alive.
Missing Paul Parry with an ankle injury, United boss Graham Turner drafted Rob Sawyers into midfield as Tony James and Jamie Pitman had to settle for places on the bench, but it was Halifax who dominated the opening period. Hereford only really tested Town goalkeeper Lee Butler on one occasion, when a Karl Hawley shot was tipped around the post from twenty-five yards out.
At the other end, Matt Baker was had a busy first half. Andy Farrell struck the bar from an acute angle on twelve minutes, and the next Halifax attack saw the ball in the back of the net, only to be disallowed by the linesman for offside. The Bulls' fragile defence was further hit when Andy Tretton was stretchered off with an ankle knock on sixteen minutes, and Tony James made a premature return from his injury to fill-in alongside Ian Wright.
With six minutes of the half remaining, Halifax notched the only goal of the game. Andy Farrell provided a low pass from the right for Phil Clarkson to strike and Brian Quailey to turn in at the far post, leaving Baker helpless.
Graham Turner made a double substitution at the break, with ineffective attacker Albano Correia and midfielder Rob Sawyers removed for John Grant and Jamie Pitman respectively. The move appeared to pay dividends as United were on-top for the second period, with Ian Wright having a header cleared off the line minutes after the restart and Butler was forced to tip a Ben Smith header around the post with eighteen minutes remaining.
Matt Clarke could have snatched an equaliser in the last ten minutes but he failed to connect onto a low ball from the left, and at the other end Baker tipped over a Brian Quailey effort just before the hour mark before Halifax substitute Ian Fitzpatrick somehow managed to fire a close-range shot wide in injury time which would have confirmed the victory.
| Halifax Town | Hereford United |
| Lee Butler | Matt Baker |
| Alastair Asher | Matt Clarke |
| Neil Grayston | Michael Rose |
| Shaun Garnett (captain) | Andy Tretton (off, 16 minutes) |
| Adam Quinn | Ian Wright (captain) |
| Steve Bushell | Ben Smith |
| Phil Clarkson | Rob Sawyers (off, half time) |
| Craig Midgley (off, 86 minutes) | Steve Guinan |
| Andy Farrell | Albano Correia (off, half time) |
| Neil Tolson (off, 53 minutes) | Karl Hawley |
| Brian Quailey (off, 76 minutes) | Rob Purdie |
| Subs | Subs |
| Sean McAuley (on, 86 minutes) | Tony James (on, 16 minutes) |
| Tom Morgan | Ken Griffiths |
| Ian Fitzpatrick (on, 76 minutes) | John Grant (on, half time) |
| Simon Parke (on, 53 minutes) | Jamie Pitman (on, half time) |
| Mark Monington | Danny Williams |
| Yellow cards | Yellow cards |
| Adam Quinn (foul, 18 minutes) | Matt Clarke (unsporting behaviour, 44 minutes) |
| Simon Parke (foul, 72 minutes) | Tony James (foul, 58 minutes) |
| Red cards | Red cards |
| - | - |
| Scorers | Scorers |
| Brian Quailey (39 minutes) | - |
| Man of the Match | Matt Clarke |
| Attendance | 1299 |
| Referee | Mr. R. Booth (Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire) |
Coach upbeat despite play-off disappointment
Following
today's 1-0 defeat at Halifax Town, Hereford United coach Richard
O'Kelly assessed the team's performance, despite obviously being
disappointed on missing out on the Conference play-offs.
After a scrappy first half in which the team never really got out of
first gear, O'Kelly said: "We improved greatly in the second half. The
communication between the players was better and we created much more."
Andy Tretton's first half ankle injury is not serious, and he is
likely to be in contention for next week's game against Leigh RMI at
Edgar Street. Tony James, who replaced Tretton after recovering from an
ankle knock of his own, commented: "Tretts' injury should be OK for
next Saturday."
He also mentioned that he got through the game confortably, despite
having to pass a late fitness test to take his place on the bench.
Halifax manager Chris Wilder was delighted with the result, which he
put down to his players' competition for new deals. "We won for the
first time in seven matches with the kind of performance that I expect,
but the players have not shown the application or desire over the last
month to secure a place in the play-offs," he said.
Yeovil and Accrington clinch promotion
Hereford United will not play a Conference match at Huish Park next season, because Yeovil Town clinched the championship today.
They now take their place in Division Three next season and despite
beating Doncaster Rovers 4-0 in an evening kick-off today, they actually
went up at about 4.50pm as Chester City failed to beat Woking, meaning
they couldn't be caught at the top of the league.
As Hereford can no longer make the play-offs, the four sides in the
end-of-season lottery have been decided. Dagenham & Redbridge,
Doncaster Rovers, Chester City and Morecambe will battle it out for the
second promotion spot to the Football League.