.png)
A look back to the last time Merthyr came to Edgar Street which was on Monday August 28th 2017
Hereford 1 - Merthyr Town 1
In Monday's bank holiday derby at Edgar Street, Pete Beadle was forced into making one change to the side that picked up three points at St Neots on Saturday. Mark Preece had recovered from his illness to replace the injured Dan Preston in the heart of defence.
Keyon Reffell lined
up against his former club, winning the first corner of the afternoon in
the fourth minute, but James Bowen's delivery was an easy catch for
Oliver Davies.
Davies, who had been
greeted with a less than a warm welcome by the Meadow End, failed to
catch James Bowen's cross, but the Martyrs' defence cleared the ball
ahead of John Mills at the far post.
As the hosts kept up the pressure, Mills saw a snapshot from 25-yards whistle wide of the target.
James Bowen was inches away from taking the lead moments later, as his corner came close to sneaking in at the back post, but as the ball was half-cleared as far as Keyon Reffell, the effort was blazed wide.
With 27 minutes on
the clock, Merthyr registered their first shot on target. Ex-Bull Stuart
Fleetwood's cross was played back across goal by Jimmy Oates into the
path of Cory Jenkins, but Dara O'Shea did well to block the powerful
effort.
Martin Horsell was then called into action in the 34th minute, Jarrad Wright latched onto the end of Eliot Richards' corner, but Horsell claimed the diving header.
In the moments
leading up to half time, Merthyr began to find their feet in the game,
limiting Hereford's chances, but a blatant handball in the box by Scott
Tancock wasn't spotted by the officials, with Bulls fans fuming as a
free kick was then given against John Mills.
HT: Hereford 0 - Merthyr Town 0
A slow, scrappy start
to the second half saw little in the way of goalmouth action. It wasn't
until the 57th minute when the Bulls properly tested Oliver Davies.
Eliot Richards was booked for a late challenge on Keyon Reffell, but
O'Shea's header was straight at the keeper from the resulting free kick.
In the 65th minute,
substitute Kyle Copp broke the deadlock for the Martyrs. Mike McGrath
conceded a free kick 35-yards out, with Copp able to curl his shot
around the four-man wall and beat Martin Horsell at the near-post.
After taking the lead, Merthyr were reduced to ten-men after Eliot Richard picked up his second yellow for throwing the ball away after Hereford were awarded a free kick.
In the 79th minute,
Pablo Haysham was dispossessed in the box after Rob Purdie found him
with a neat through ball. Keyon Reffell then did well to get onto the
end of the loose ball, but his low drive was an easy save for Davies.
Hereford finally
pulled a goal back six minutes from time. After doing well to control an
accurate long ball, Gethyn Hill turned and got a shot away, firing
diagonally into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
Despite pushing for a second goal, Hereford found it hard to break down a heavily-defensive Merthyr side.
FT: Hereford 1 - Merthyr Town 1
Att: 3,366 with 359 in the away enclosure
Sponsors' MotM: Gethyn Hill
 |
| Sponsors Old Bush Bulls From Callow End With Gethin Hill |
Subs: Edge, Purdie, Williams, Preen, Harris.
Merthyr Town: O. Davies, A. Davies, Pring, Evans (c), Wright, Tancock, Jenkins, R Patten, Touray, Richards, Fleetwood.
Subs: Watkins, K. Patten, Bowen, Copp, Morgan.
Next Game: FA Cup - Godalming Town at Home on Saturday 2nd September at 3pm