Text at top (next game etc)

Next Game: Rushall At Home In The League On Saturday 30th November At 3.00pm

Monday, November 25, 2024

FROM THE ARCHIVES | Hereford United 7-1 Halifax Town - 25th November 2003

Three days after being beaten 4-1 away at Shrewsbury Town. Hereford United bounced back with a resounding 7-1 win over Halifax Town.


Below is the match report from the game

The turn-around following Saturday's 4-1 defeat at Shrewsbury Town could not have been more convincing, as Hereford United came from behind to sweep aside mid-table Halifax Town at Edgar Street tonight.

A staggering statistic of seven goals from ten on-target shots reveal how Graham Turner's men found their form in front of the lowest league crowd at Edgar Street this season, and a result like this will have the fans flocking back for Saturday's match against Farnborough.

The 7-1 scoreline is United's biggest league win since World War II, and their biggest win in any competitive game since 25th October 1989, when they beat Connah's Quay Nomads 9-0 in the Welsh Cup third round at Edgar Street.

Halifax took an early lead, scoring after just two minutes. Craig Midgley crossed from the right, and Lewis Killeen found the United defence sleeping as he volley home into the bottom corner. But it will be a long trip home for the forty-seven away supporters after they collapsed under the pressure of a revived Hereford.

Within eight minutes, though, Hereford had levelled. Rob Purdie picked up the ball in midfield, feeding the lively looking Paul Parry on the left channel, and his cross found Ben Smith in space, who equalised with ease.

Danny Williams Was In The Side
The Bulls continued to create chances, with a Danny Williams' throw-in finding Parry just before the half-hour, but the United winger couldn't beat goalkeeper Mark Cartwright, while Adam Yates' attempted shot at Matt Baker at the other end went well over the crossbar.

United continued to dominate and deservedly went into the lead on thirty-three minutes. Ben Smith struck after a Danny Williams corner to net his tenth league goal of the season. The corner was brought outside the box, and Parry crossed for Williams to strike. His first shot was blocked, but Smith capitalised to fire home from the edge of the box.

Ben Smith, Free From The Stocks, Scored Twice

After the break, Halifax came out brightly and Christian Lee fired at Matt Baker after just three minutes. Soon afterwards, though, Graham Turner's men extended their advantage. Steve Guinan netted his first on fifty-two minutes, and within three minutes he had scored again, taking his league total for the season to thirteen. The first goal for the ex-Shrewsbury striker saw him link onto a cut-back ball from Smith to smash home. Then, Smith played the ball off his heel for Guinan to hit it into the bottom corner to double his personal tally.

Three For Steve Guinan

Halifax still battled on. Steve Bushell fired wide on the hour mark as Chris Wilder made a couple of changes in the hope of reviving his side. However, Danny Williams' shot twenty minutes from time forced Mark Cartwright into saving with his legs. A minute later, though, Cartwright could do nothing as Guinan netted his hatrick, making it 5-1 to the Bulls. A move from a dead-ball saw Williams dance around a defender, and Guinan beat a man from a yard out at the back post.

Within another sixty seconds, Rob Purdie had made it 6-1 with his first goal since August. Steve Guinan's header found Purdie midway through the half, and he charged forward to add the low drive from just outside the box.

David Brown Scored Hereford's Seventh Goal

It wasn't all over, though, as United made it seven through substitute David Brown. The former Telford man spotted the goalkeeper off his line from the right channel, and he chipped Cartwright and the ball bounced in off the underside of the crossbar.

Baker, though, had to do well in added time to stop a thirty-yard Ryan Mallon drive, but United won convincingly. They played splendid passing football, which has been sadly lacking in their last few matches, and look a resurgent side after the setbacks of recent weeks.


Hereford United: Baker, Green,Rose, Pitman, Mkandawire, James, Williams, Smith, Guinan, Purdie, Parry

Subs: Brown, Scott, Carey-Bertram, Teesdale, Craven

Midweek National North League Fixtures

A list of the fixtures in the National North League set to take place tomorrow (Tuesday) evening.

Alfreton v South Shields

Chester v Oxford City

Curzon Ashton v Southport

Darlington v Scunthorpe

Farsley Celtic v Chorley

Kings Lynn v Kidderminster

Leamington v Needham

Marine v Spennymoor

Peterborough Sports v Radcliffe

Rushall Olympic v Brackley

Scarborough v Warrington 

Hereford and Buxton are the only two clubs without a game.

 

Sunday, November 24, 2024

Old Programmes - 1973-74 Season - Hereford United v Huddersfield Town - Division Three - Saturday November 17th 1973

Result: 0-1 Loss (HT 0-1) Alan Gowling scored the game’s only goal for Huddersfield in the 30th minute. In fairness, they had paid Manchester United £65k for his services the previous season - that works out a cool £1M in 2024. If former Hereford United players was a Pointless question you would probably do well to avoid Ronnie Radford, instantly remembered for one thing. The magic of the FA Cup would trick you into believing that he was also some plucky trier who had his moment of magic (slight understatement). What his 33 starts in the 73-74 season revealed was he could more than hold his own in what is now League 1 at the age of 30.

Attendance: 7,925

Hereford United: Hughes, Mallender, Naylor, McLaughlin, Tucker, Tavener (Gane), Rudge, Lee, Hinch, Gregory, Radford.

Opposition: Poole, Hutt, Garner, Pugh, Saunders, Marshall, S.Smith, Dolan, Gowling, Summerhill, Hoy.

League Position: The recent run of DLDL, including this defeat (the first time HUFC have lost two home games on the spin since joining the league), sees Hereford drop to 14th (18 games in). Huddersfield are 6th. That sequence did include a good point the last time out though, a 0-0 draw at York, a team no one had beat in 17 matches, including no goals conceded in the last 9 matches.

Click on photos to enlarge. 

Colin's Comments: In his notes, Colin acknowledges that his name gets a mention whenever someone fires up the managerial merry-go round. See Tony Galvagni below.

Third Division Round Up: Top work by Ted with this last paragraph. 

How's this for co-incidence? When Rochdale entertained Grimsby Town three weeks ago the gate was 1,549. Last Saturday when Watford visited Spotland the official attendance was also 1,549. I wonder if the same 1,549 people attended the two matches.

I remember that Rochdale had that re-election hanging-on-in-there vibe, with poor gates and a crummy ground. Whilst they eventually got there in the end, finding their way into the National League last season, their ground is now one we would take in a heartbeat. 


In the Opposition: This was a squad that had that old skool trademark collection of players that banged in 200 plus games for single clubs, including defender Dennis Clarke. He had kicked his career off at WBA though, and has the distinction of being the first ever substitute to be used in an FA Cup final (1968 WBA v Everton). It worked too, the Brom prevailing 1-0 after extra time courtesy of a Jeff Astle winner. Graham Pugh played in the gift that keeps on giving, the 1966 FA Cup final. It's claimed Les Chapman would go on to be in probably Blur's biggest hit Parklife - I am not going to lie to you, I wasn't expecting to write that. Meanwhile, former Busby Babe Jimmy Nicholson was capped 41 times for Northern Ireland (more than George Best). 

Doing these, you repeatedly discover that the players of the day would largely do the rounds of the local clubs, with a spell at the likes of Halifax borderline compulsory for this cohort. Finally, some things haven't changed. Like modern day fellow pro Wayne Rooney, Alan Gowling would also go into management in the Derbyshire area, becoming a general manager in a chemicals company in Buxton.    

Fan of the Week: A couple of now in their 60's young uns in a serious looking crowd, brothers looking at their hair. I think anyone who was a child in '70s had that exact haircut, including me. 

Edgar Street Chatter: A great stat to kick off with. 1924, the year Hereford United were formed, was the first of Huddersfield hat-trick of league wins on the spin. They were the only times they ever won the title.  

Meanwhile, three outlying towns are in the spotlight; Ross, Leominster, and Gibraltar. Ross are launching a branch of the Supporters Club (the "management" comprising, Eric Williams, brothers Henry and Tim Rubery, and Rita Baynham). Leominster youngster Tony Galvagni, aware that even in 1970's football, money talked, donated his 5p sweet money to the club to (successfully) sway Colin Addison into staying at Edgar Street when he got wind that Nottingham Forest were sniffing round him. 

Forest had just lost the services of Scottish football legend Dave Mackay, who returned to former club Derby, a decision that would see them win only their second title the next season (the first was in the Newcastle season - 71/72). Forest were still one manager away from their most famous ever appointment, fellow Scot Allan Brown getting the gig for two seasons. Addison being in the conversation though gives you an indication of the value of his stock.


Going by Car: Following on from the previous programme, Block D is flying up. Not something you would be doing to Chesterfield looking at the pre-M42 recommended route.


In the News: Anne (the Princess Royal) married Captain Mark Phillips on 14th November 1973.

In the Singles Charts: I Love you Love Me Love by Gary Glitter was No.1.

It is clear that despite the early seventies falling comfortably within the golden era of music the No.1s were largely shocking; time to get the rescue club out. Moving forward the Album chart can do the heavy lifting.

In the Album Charts: Pin Ups by David Bowie was No.1, a covers album apparently as he was getting hassle off his record company. A solid start though. 

Meanwhile on 20th November The Who kicked off their Quadrophenia tour in San Francisco, although their legendary drummer Keith Moon passed out half way through the performance, only to be replaced by a member of the crowd, 19 year old Scot Halpin. So to sum up, singles charts not great, but on the flip side there were concerts that were off the charts.

On TV: The Beeb and ITV give the royal wedding the full works, with Dad's Army also getting into the spirit of things, the episode "The Royal Train" being shown in the evening. The 19th November sees The Streets of San Francisco starring Michael Douglas kick off on ITV.

In the Maternity Ward: Homes Under the Hammer/Place in the Sun Presenter Johnnie Irwin, who passed away in February, was born on 18th November 1973.



 


Saturday, November 23, 2024

Today's National North League Results

Today's results in the National North League:

Buxton 2 Oxford 1

Chester 2 Chorley 1

Curzon Ashton 2 Radcliffe 1 - Match Abandoned Waterlogged Pitch

Kings Lynn 1 Southport 0

Leamington 0 Scunthorpe 2

Marine 2 Needham 0

Peterborough Sports 1 Spennymoor 1

Rushall 1 Warrington 1

South Shields 5 Farsley Celtic 1 

Hereford are now in 9th place.

Scunthorpe are back on top with Chorley second.

 

FROM THE ARCHIVES | Darlington 1-3 Hereford United - 12th February 1994

With todays game at Darlington postponed lets head back to a Division Three encounter (Now League Two) between the two clubs at the now demolished Feethams.

Two goals from Chris Pike and a close range strike from Derek Hall sealed the points.


Line Ups Darlington 1 Collier 2 Sunley 3 Cross 4 Himsworth 5 Crosby 6 Pearson 7 Shaw 8 Painter 9 Ellison 10 Chapman 11 O'Shaughnessy Sub Switzer

Hereford 1 Judge 2 Clark 3 Anderson 4 Morris 5 Abraham 6 Reece 7 Hall 8 Steele 9 Akinbiyi 10 Pike 11 Pickard Attendance 2,111

Aiming at the Top Five - New Talking Bull - OUT NOW


The latest edition of Talking Bull – the Hereford Fanzine – is on-sale now via our online store.

Fans can purchase their printed (whilst stocks last) – or electronic – copy right now.

Alternatively look out, and listen out for our amazing sales team ahead of the clash against Rushall Olympic which takes place at Edgar Street next Saturday, 30th November.

Don’t miss out on a printed copy – as our last 13 issues have completely sold-out.

So arrive early on the day, or why not receive your copy in pristine condition by ordering by post.

New 8-issue subscriptions can also be obtained via our store.

Talking Bull - Online Shop

Update 4pm Saturday: The Talking Bull website was unfortunately down for a few hours this afternoon (Saturday) but is now back up and fully working. So, you can now order both digital and printed copies of the new issue from the online store. www.talkingbull.org/store/

Today's National North League Fixtures

Several fixtures in the National North League have been postponed, including Hereford's game at Darlington.

Here's a list of those set to go ahead as at 11am.

Buxton v Oxford

Chester v Chorley

Curzon Ashton v Radcliffe

Kings Lynn v Southport

Leamington v Scunthorpe

Marine v Needham

Peterborough Sports v Spennymoor

Rushall v Warrington

South Shields v Farsley Celtic

22 Years Ago This Weekend

A look back to 22 years ago this weekend. Hereford were away at Dagenham, they lost 1-0 and had a man sent off. Similar to a couple of recent games.

West goal seals Daggers revenge
 
Dagenham & Redbridge 1 - 0 Hereford United
 
Garry Hill's Dagenham gainbed revenge on Hereford United for last month's 2-1 defeat at Edgar Street by beating the Bulls 1-0 in a close encounter at Victoria Road.

The Whites recalled captain Ian Wright to the starting line-up after last Saturday's 1-0 FA Cup defeat against Wigan as Chukki Eribenne's loan spell ended. He returned to Bournemouth, and Paul Parry partnered Steve Guinan in attack.

Both sides played good, attacking football in the first half and there was very little to choose between the two. United's best opening came after ten minutes when Paul Parry's shot was blocked in a goalmouth scramble and knocked behind. At the other end, Mark Janney did well before Danny Hill fired wide of Matt Baker's goal.

It was a well--known story for United, they dominated the game in terms of chances and attacking play but failed to find that killer touch in front of goal.

As it was, goals were at a premium. Just one divided the sides, and that came on thirty three minutes from Steve West who collected a long ball twenty yards out, volleying it into the top corner. Baker stood no chance as the home side took a slender advantage.

Half time came and Hereford took off Danny Williams for Ben Smith, who had an impressive second period testing ex-Wales internation 'keeper Tony Roberts ten minutes from time. His header from a Mick Galloway corner was saved by the feet of Roberts as United completely dominated with just ten men.

The sending off of Andy Tretton came on fifty nine minutes after the referee and his assistant consulted over a challenge on McDougald which was not at all malicious or worthy of such a punishment.

However, United still attempted to find the equaliser with John Grant, on as a substitute after returning from injury, and Paul Parry both going close in the dying minutes.
Written by Terry Goodwin - 23rd November 2002.
Dagenham & Redbridge Hereford United
Tony Roberts Matt Baker
Mark Smith Matt Clarke (off, 89 minutes)
Mark Janney Michael Rose
Paul Terry Andrew Tretton
Danny Shipp Ian Wright (captain)
Paul Bruce (off, 23 minutes) Tony James
Junior McDougald Jamie Pitman
Danny Hill (off, 66 minutes) Danny Williams (off, half time)
Steve West Steve Guinan (off, 76 minutes)
Lee Matthews (captain) Mick Galloway
Steve Potts Paul Parry
Subs Subs
Paul Gothard Ben Smith (on, half time)
Tim Cole Ken Griffiths
Ashley Vickers (on, 23 minutes) John Grant (on, 76 minutes)
Triston Chambers Rob Purdie (on, 89 minutes)
Mark Rooney (on, 66 minutes) Richard Teesdale
Yellow cards Yellow cards
Danny Shipp (foul, 51 minutes) Ben Smith (foul, 72 minutes)
Red cards Red cards
- Andy Tretton (foul, 59 minutes)
Scorers Scorers
Steve West (32 minutes) -
   
Man of the Match Paul Parry
Attendance 1444
Referee Mr. N. Appleby

Sending off disputed

After yesterday's 1-0 defeat at Dagenham & Redbridge, much of the talk was whether the sending off of Hereford United's Andy Tretton was justified.

Ben Smith told BBC Hereford and Worcester: "It looked to me that he (Tretton) had won the ball. It was a very debatable decision."

Garry Hill, the Daggers manager agreed, saying: "I felt the sending-off of Tretton was very harsh."

From behind the far goal, it looked as though the referee was prepared to give a free kick and only changed his mind after consulting with his assistant.

Also, from the press area the reporter for the Non-League Paper wrote: "the official judged Tretton to be the last man in defence and brandished what seemed to be a rather harsh red card."

It appeared that the referee first spoke to Michael Rose to further confuse matters.

It is understood that Junior McDougald, the Daggers striker at the centre of the incident, said that Tretton didn't touch him and that the referee may be willing to review the decision.

On the game itself Garry Hill continued: "When Hereford went down to ten men they certainly raised their game.How this game finished 1-0 I don't know."

Ben Smith thought that Hereford had had a lot of chances but "we are not putting the ball in the back of the net."

On a brighter Smith said that he was pleased with his performance after his long layoff. "Medically, I'm fine," Smith continued, and he hopes to be selected to start in next Saturday's game against Barnet at Edgar Street.

Watching the card count

A wrong move in Hereford United's upcoming matches could see any one of three players facing a ban.

Steve Guinan, Danny Williams and Michael Rose all have four yellow cards to their name, and a fifth results in an automatic one match suspension two weeks after the 'target' is reached.

Only Jamie Pitman has been banned so far this season for the Bulls who picked up their first red card at Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday when Andy Tretton was dismissed in the 1-0 defeat.

However, Dagenham attacker Junior McDougald said that Tretton won the ball fairly from him in the incident that saw the ex-Shrewsbury man sent off, and United hope to get the decision overturned. The referee confirmed that he had to support the verdict of the his assistant as he didn't get a clear view of the incident.

Saturday sees the Bulls host Barnet, a side which has strong connections with Hereford. The two have been rivals since the Southern League days, and Rob Sawyers will be hoping to feature against his former club despite only having played a handful of matches since his summer move.


Friday, November 22, 2024

Club Follows BN Onto Blue Sky

Both Hereford FC and Bulls News can now be followed on Blue Sky.

BN was contacted by a supporter last Monday who suggested the site should be on Blue Sky. A few hours later BN posts starting appearing on the new(ish) platform. 

Earlier today Hereford FC announced they were now on Blue Sky. 

To follow BN:@bullsnewsblog.bsky.social 

To follow Hereford FC: @hereford-fc.bsky.social 

"Let's concentrate on the league" - The London Bulls Podcast Ep.17


The latest edition of the London Bulls Podcast is out on YouTube, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!

Your hosts, KD Rai and Tom Gough, chat about the recent name change vote,  our last two games against Marine and Brentwood Town, as well as a look ahead to Darlington and Rushall Olympic. Both winnable games.

KD and Tom give their score predictions, slightly less crazy than last time and chat about Hereford’s season in general. New signings and extensions as well as Hereford’s disciplinary record all get an honourable and dishonourable mention!

Meanwhile, the London Bulls Christmas Party is fast approaching, details below!

Join Hereford icon Ricky George, scorer of the famous 1972 FA Cup goal v Newcastle, at The London Bulls Xmas Party!

Thurs 12 Dec, 6:30 PM, The Bull, Shepherds Bush. 

Tickets incl. a Q&A with club chairman Chris Ammonds, a raffle and food! Grab yours by 30 Nov! 

https://bit.ly/BullsXmasParty2024

Hereford To Travel To Needham On December 7th

Hereford will travel to Needham Market on Saturday December 7th for a National North League fixture.

The game has been brought forward from Tuesday February 11th.

Both clubs were recently knocked out of the FA Trophy, the next round is on December 7th.

Ticket news will be released next week.

Swindon Youngster Loaned To Hereford

Swindon have loaned Dylan Mitchell to Hereford for an initial month.

Mitchell is a 19 year old midfielder. 

"Dylan is an energetic central midfielder who has the discipline in and out of possession and will provide a good option for us in the central areas," said Hereford manager Paul Caddis.

This from Swindon FC:

Having joined Swindon in the summer after impressing on trial following his departure from Aston Villa, Mitchell has been involved with the first-team squad, making appearances against Crawley Town, Walsall, and Crewe Alexandra.

However, he has not been part of a squad for a league game since Port Vale in September and now heads out on loan to gain more experience.

Mitchell played for Alvechurch on loan last season in the Southern League Premier Division Central and now makes the step into the sixth tier with play-off chasing Hereford.

 

Darlington Match Called Off

Tomorrow's National North League game between Darlington and Hereford was called off after a lunchtime pitch inspection.

With the pitch frozen in places and heavy rain forecast for tomorrow the postponement came as no surprise.

It looks like the game will now have to be played on a Tuesday evening.

Pitch Inspection At Darlington

There will be a pitch inspection at Darlington at 12.45pm.

With parts of the ground frozen and rain expected tomorrow, the prospects of the game going ahead are slim.

Wet Weekend In Darlington

Hereford FC make the long trip to Darlington on Saturday, weather permitting, looking to consolidate their position in the National League North play-off places. The club’s sole focus is now the league after early exits from both the FA Cup and the FA Trophy, but they are excellently positioned to have a good crack at competing towards the top of the table for the rest of the season.

Darlington had a season to forget last time, with Josh Gowling almost taking them down, before his replacement Steve Watson steadied the ship to the extent that they finished six points clear of the drop. Watson would have hoped to carry that form into the new season, but they’ve been hindered by the sort of inconsistency that dogs virtually every NLN club.

They’re currently in 14th place, five points behind Hereford but also only five points clear of the relegation places. They’ve found themselves in that no-man’s land courtesy of being notably inconsistent even by the standards of the NLN, a division generally defined by its inconsistency. At home, they’ve beaten Chester but also lost to Gainsborough Trinity in the Cup. They don’t often achieve the same result two games running, and given that they beat Buxton last time in the Trophy there’s therefore no chance at all that they can win this.

Their annual squad builder is becoming the stuff of legend, such is the amount of money it raises each year. The £162k raised last pre-season for their relegation push was smashed in the summer, with £190k donated by fans to the cause.

Courtesy of that largesse, versatile and influential ex-Kidderminster player Joe Leesley arrived at the club in the summer and looked a good signing, but he’s just been shipped out to Worksop on loan, so it seems it didn’t work out well after all. Forward Jack Maskell, only 19 but full of potential having scored 26 in 36 appearances lower down in his fledgling career so far, was another summer recruit. He’s grabbed a couple of goals this season. Midfielder Will Hatfield has never really been prolific anywhere in his career, but also has two goals so far. The main threat though, quite literally, may be Surinamese centre forward Cedric Main. The ex-York man made his Quakers debut against Hereford in January in a 2-0 win. He’s gone on to average a goal every three games for the club, and that’s a better return than he’s managed anywhere previously, so he may have found his spiritual home.

That Darlo victory was the third they’ve enjoyed in a row at home to Hereford, which merely offers more rock-solid evidence that they can’t win this, because what are the chances of four in a row?

They’re undoubtedly strong at home, having only lost one in eight at Blackwell Meadows, but Hereford are of course strong away, having lost only two in nine.

There seem to have been several elephants in the HFC room lately, but rather than the usual ‘lack of discipline’, ‘home performances’ and ‘quality of refereeing’ elephants, the elephant most pertinent to this game is the weather. It’s going to be P-Ping it down all over the country and all over the fixture list this weekend, so there’s a chance that this will be the Bulls’ second consecutive postponement. An overnight temperature in the northeast of -4 ahead of the game won’t help. Hopefully, given the length of the journey, the hosts will be able to make a prompt decision either way early on Saturday morning.

Alex Babos served his one-match suspension last Saturday so should be available here. Kyle Howkins got a well-deserved rest having enjoyed a really solid season so far, but should be back in defence. Lawson Dath could be back in midfield having kept Big Kyle company on the bench on Saturday and, like Big Kyle, has been playing well of late.

New signing Jaiden White, cup-tied for the Trophy game, should play some part here, possibly up top with Jason Cowley, who was another rested player against Brentwood as he eases his way back to full fitness. Step 2 may have come too soon for White when a teenager at Kidderminster, and Bulls fans will be hoping he’s now ready at the grand old age of 22. Exciting and intriguing signing.

Tate Campbell will miss three games following this one, meaning he’ll be back for the trip to Scunthorpe on 21 December as things stand, following his straight red card on Saturday. He’ll be available here though, I think.

With a lack of zip seemingly an issue of late, the return to the starting line-up of the ever-zippy Yusifu Ceesay coupled with Jaiden White being keen to make an impact on debut should ensure that energy levels are high. Presumably the post-match ‘discussion’ last weekend is still fresh enough in the players’ minds to ensure that the whole team are up for this, and in fairness that’s generally been the case away from Edgar Street this season.

If it does go ahead, yet another joyous away day looks eminently possible.

COYW