Merthyr's 'Hereford' Preview

John Mills For Hereford At Merthyr In December 2017

Here's Merthyr's preview of tomorrow's game against Hereford.

After another Merthyr victory away at Oxford City thanks to goals from Aneurin Livermore, Lewys Twamley and Cawley Cox, the Martyrs now turn their attention to hosting Hereford FC in front of a SOLD OUT Penydarren Park for the last game of 2025. Hereford find themselves sitting in a lowly 22nd position with just 20 points achieved so far this season. The last fixture for 'The Bulls' saw them host Kidderminster Harriers and an early goal from Emeka Obi claimed all three points for the Carpetmen.

Previous Encounters:

In recent history the Martyrs have faced Hereford twice which both came in the 2017/18 league season in which Hereford conquered the league and won it while picking up 113 points. Both clashes between the sides that year ended in a draw while the last time Hereford visited Penydarren Park was on Boxing Day 2017 with the game resulting in a 0-0 draw.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | KEY STAFF

Manager | Paul Caddis

Assistant Manager | Adam Rooney

Manager Paul Caddis was appointed as manager of Hereford in April 2023 as he signed a two-year contract. However, prior to coaching Caddis had an extremely successful playing career which spanned over 350 appearances. Caddis began his playing career at Scottish giants Celtic as he broke into the first team during the 2007/08 season where he made his home debut against Barcelona in a round of 16 Champions League fixture. After struggling to cement his spot as a regular starter at Celtic, Caddis spent the second half of the 2008/09 season on loan to Dundee United where he made 11 appearances for the side. Then in August 2010 Caddis was sold to EFL League One side Swindon Town where he stayed until 2013. During his time at Swindon, he made 77 appearances for the side while also having a brief spell at Birmingham City on loan during the 2012/13 season. Following the conclusion of his loan at Birmingham, Caddis made the permanent switch to 'The Blues' where he went on to make an extra 122 appearances over a 4-year period until 2017 before he left the club. After a 4-year spell at Birmingham the club decided to cancel Caddis' contract after which Caddis signed for League One side Bury where he spent the rest of the 2016/17 season. The short spell at Bury was proceeded by a season at Blackburn and another at Bradford City before he re-joined with Swindon Town in November 2019 before bringing his playing career to an end in 2021. After ending his playing career Caddis joined Fleetwood Town as academy coach in 2021 before then being appointed as manager of Hereford FC in April 2023. During his two full seasons at Hereford FC, Caddis has guided 'The Bulls' to an 11th place finish and a 10th place finish which earned him a contract extension with the club.

Adam Rooney was appointed as Assistant Manager and player at Hereford FC in June 2023 to partner the arrival of Paul Caddis. Adam Rooney had a relatively successful playing career which started in the youth ranks of Stoke City where he also went on to make numerous first team appearances and become the club's youngest ever hat-trick scorer. Adam Rooney also had loan spells at Yeovil and Chesterfield before making the permanent switch to Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish top-flight. Rooney then left Scotland to return to the English Leagues as he signed for Birmingham City. The rest of his playing career also saw him play for the likes of Swindon Town, Oldham Athletic, Aberdeen, Salford City, Solihull Moors, Stratford Town and Brackley Town. After departing Brackley Town following a solid year at the National League North side, Rooney made the switch to Hereford to be positioned as Player-Assistant Manager alongside former teammate Paul Caddis.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | SEASON SO FAR

After a positive campaign that saw 'The Bulls' finish in 10th place, Hereford FC were hoping for another year of improvement in the National League North. The campaign for Hereford started away at Spennymoor which resulted in a disappointing 2-0 loss as two first half goals for Spennymoor were enough to claim all 3 points. The second game of the season saw Hereford host King's Lynn Town which once again resulted in a 2-0 loss for 'The Bulls'. However, Paul Caddis' side finally picked up a victory as they travelled to Buxton FC and won 2-1 thanks to a brace from Remaye Campbell. Despite their first win of the season the next two games for 'The Bulls' resulted in consecutive defeats for the side as they lost 4-1 at home to Chorley and 1-0 away at Radcliffe. Following a narrow defeat to Radcliffe, Paul Caddis' side managed to start a good run of form as they won 2-0 at home against Alfreton Town, followed by two straight draws with Bedford Town and Darlington which was then backed up by 2 consecutive wins against Worksop and Leamington. 'The Bulls' then had to wait another 7 games before picking up another 3 points as their next run of games saw them lose 4 times and draw 3 times. Hereford's 5th win of the season came as they picked up a vital away victory at Peterborough Sports following two second half goals. However, in their previous two fixtures before the away trip to Penydarren Park, 'The Bulls' have been defeated twice as they lost 4-2 against Chorley and 1-0 against Kidderminster Harriers and Hereford now sit in 22nd place with just 20 points this season. The top scorer so far this season for Hereford is forward Andrew Williams who has bagged himself 6 goals during his 25/26 Enterprise National League North season.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | 2025/26 SQUAD

Goalkeepers | Theo Richardson, Ollie Lewis

Defenders | Aaron Skinner, Lewis Hudson, Matt Preston, Keenan Quansah, Mitchell Roberts, Kyle Howkins

Midfielders | Gus Mafuta, Lawson D'Ath, Sam Osborne, Matt Richards, Eno Nto, Omari Sterling-James, Madou Cisse, Preston Bitemo, I-Lant Edwards

Attackers | Remaye Campbell, Andy Williams, Jaiden White, Adam Rooney, Harley Hamilton, Callum McFarlane

Match Details:

Date | Tuesday 30th December 2025

Competition | Enterprise National League North

Time | 19:45

Stadium | Penydarren Park