22 Years Ago Today

A look back to January 3rd 2004 and a home game against Stevenage Borough.

Parry chops down Chester's lead

Hereford United 1 - 0 Stevenage Borough

An injury-time Paul Parry strike saw Hereford United cut Chester City's gap at the top of the Nationwide Conference, as Graham Turner's Bulls beat Stevenage Borough 1-0 while Chester were held to a 2-2 draw at the Deva Stadium by struggling Gravesend & Northfleet.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Graham Westley, manager of the Hertfordshire-based side, who saw his squad decimated by injuries going into the game. However, they looked the better side for long periods and it was only some spectacular goalkeeping from Hereford's Matt Baker than kept the scores level.

The home side were without top scorer Steve Guinan, injured defender Andy Tretton and suspended midfielder Jamie Pitman. Stevenage's injury list was about as long as the squad on the teamsheet, with the most notable absentee being Anthony Elding.

The game started brightly, with Paul Parry finding ex-Chester attacker Mark Beesley in the Stevenage area after just eight minutes. His shot from an acute ankle was cut out by dominant Boro' defender Mark Smith. Three minutes later, an excellent tackle from Anwar Uddin prevented Dino Maamria from attempting a shot on goal.

Baker then was forced to stop a low drive from Simon Wormull, while Maamria fired over with a curling effort. Wormull then forced a punch out of Baker, and the Hereford goalkeeper punched over a Jamie Cook cross. As the half continued, Stevenage continued to pressurise as a Jon Brady header deflected off Dean Craven, and Baker was forced into a spectacular one-handed save to keep the ball out. It was Hereford, though, who tried their luck just after the half-hour mark. A poor clearance fell to Beesley, who found Danny Williams in space, but two shots in quick succession were blocked by James Gould.

The second half was a quieter affair, with both sides going close but neither really threatening. A Jamie Cook corner was caught by Baker on the hour mark, and four minutes later Beesley played a quick one-two with Parry before finding space in the area. However, his shot went just wide of the post, and this proved to be his final contribution, as David Brown came on in his place.

With nine minutes left, Stevenage's Wormull clashed with Baker after a corner was swung into the box. A long stoppage ensued, with Wormull eventually being stretchered off. This was the main reason why six minutes of added time were indicated by the fourth official, and with two minutes of it played, Parry broke. He surged forward into the Stevenage area, firing a low shot past Lionel Perez into the bottom corner to hand Hereford the points.

Written by Terry Goodwin - 3rd January 2004

Hereford United	Stevenage Borough
Matt Baker	Lionel Perez
Ryan Green	Simon Wormull (off, 86 minutes)
Michael Rose	James Gould
Dean Craven	Mark Smith
Anwar Uddin	Michael Warner
Tony James (captain)	James Gould
Danny Williams	Gary Holloway
Ben Smith	Steve Watson (captain)
Mark Beesley (off, 65 minutes)	Jamie Cook
Rob Purdie (off, 90 minutes)	Dino Maamria
Paul Parry	Richard Scott (off, 90 minutes)
Subs	Subs
David Brown (on, 65 minutes)	Justin Richards (on, 86 minutes)
Ben Scott	Rocky Baptiste (on, 90 minutes)
Jordan King	Rory Jenkins
Andy Wells	Sean St. Leger
Richard Teesdale (on, 90 minutes)	Stefan Shamilian
Yellow cards	Yellow cards
-	Richard Scott (foul, 45 minutes)
-	Gary Holloway (unsporting behaviour, 90 minutes)
Red cards	Red cards
-	-
Scorers	Scorers
Paul Parry (90 minutes)	-
-	-
Man of the Match	Matt Baker
Attendance	2,875
Referee	Mr. P. Melin (Frimley, Surrey)

 

Guinan misses the game

Steve Guinan missed this afternoon's game as it seems that his knee injury has not settled. Although he came off the bench for a short spell against Exeter last Thursday it was felt that he should not be risked today. He is going to Lilleshall next week for some more treatment.

Talking to BBC Hereford & Worcester, Matt Baker said that Guinan had been playing with his injury for much of the season. He did not think he would be out for long, but the knee problem flared up last month after Guinan's operation for tendonitis in the summer.

Baker also said that Andy Tretton had started light training again this week and he hoped that the central defender would be back in the squad shortly.

Of the match, United supremo Graham Turner said: "It was an excellent finish by Paul, particularly considering that he had to carry the ball a long way on a bobbly pitch.

"That was a massive result for us and it's shown that we are capable of grinding sides down"

Meanwhile, as Telford defeated Crewe Alexandra today in the FA Cup, the fixture between Telford and Hereford United due to be played on January 24th will be moved as Telford will play their fourth round tie that weekend.

Parry speculation continues

Speculation continues this evening over whether Paul Parry is to move to Cardiff City.

The Bluebirds were beaten 1-0 by Sheffield United in the Cup today and the Cardiff websites are full of advice for Lennie Lawrence, the Cardiff manager.

Whilst one site suggests that an offer may be made, another says that Cardiff are backing away from signing him.

Cardiff City Online says that the Bluebirds have backed off the deal over a £50,000 fee. It admits that Parry would add balance and width to the squad.

However the Sleeping Giant Website argues that Lawrence is still considering a swoop for Hereford's Paul Parry.

The City boss has watched Parry on a number of occasions, and on each occasion he has impressed. Lennie is considering tabling a bid of £50,000 for the Conference star as well as appearance fees and the like, it reads.