.png)
Hereford are out of the relegation zone for the first time in four months after beating midtable Marine 2-1 - with a dramatic end to the game as Aaron Skinner's injury-time penalty earned the Bulls a vital three points.
Cormac Daly opening the scoring
It has taken the Bulls 24 games - more than half the season - to escape the drop zone and they did it in emphatic style against a frustrating Merseyside outfit.
As the visitors looked to frustrate the nervy Bulls by timewasting and dominating possession, it took until the 51st minute for the deadlock to be broken - with young Nottingham Forest winger Cormac Daly giving the Bulls hope.
But they were pegged back when Matty McDonald equalised 21 minutes later - though the referee should have stopped play with Andy Williams' shirt being ripped from his back in the box in the build-up.
But knowing only a win would do, Keziah Martin was fouled by keeper Fraser Barnsley in the 90th minute. Stepping up in front of the Blackfriars End, Skinner refused to let the pressure and expectation get to him as he planted the ball past the Everton loanee.
With Aaron Downes only making one change to the side that beat Radcliffe 3-1 on Saturday, the suspended Harrison Sohna being replaced by Edimond Oppong on the bench, fans would have been hopeful ahead of kick-off of the Bulls keeping their great escape hopes alive.
Knowing two wins in their final two games would do it - anything less and they would be relying on other results - the players started the game seeming to be affected by the pressure. Throughout the scrappy first half, the Bulls were devoid of any real quality as ineffective long balls were pumped forwards, often towards the diminutive Harry Tustin, Cormac Daly or Mikey Lane, and rarely towards the 6'3 Munday.
The first real chance of the game came in the 11th minute when Daly won a corner for his surging run down the left, though Kyle Howkins couldn't connect cleanly with D'Ath's ball as he ran in to turn home at the back post.
While Tustin and Daly did get forward and threaten, clear-cut chances were few and fair between, with neither keeper being called into action in the first half. Hereford were let off in the 22nd minute when referee Lee Hible waived away Marine's penalty claims. As former Everton youngster George Newell burst through Hereford's back line, he was pushed in the back by Preston, though this went unpunished.
With the uneventful half drawing to a close, Finlay Sinclair-Smith first whipped a cross into the box from the byline, with captain Lewis Hudson nearly turning it into the back of his own net, before sending his free-kick from 30-yards well over Theo Richardson's net.
In all, it was a frustrating half where the visitors seemed content to run the clock down from the first minute. This seemed to go over the officials' heads, who not once tried to speed the game up and only added one minute at the end of the 45.
But the Bulls had avoided going a goal down early, a problem that has plagued them far too often this season, and were still in with a chance of defying the odds and avoiding the drop.
Half time: Hereford 0 - Marine 0
As Downes opted to freshen things up, replacing D'Ath with Keziah Martin, the Bulls were forced to defend for the first five minutes of the half as they rarely touched the ball, but then the opener came.
Just a minute after Martin curled a free-kick over the bar after a foul on Skinner, Daly broke the deadlock. It was a wonderful cross-field ball from Martin for Daly to run on to, and the spritely youngster cut into the box and buried the ball past Barnsley, with a sliding James Butler unable to stop it crossing the line.
With an already vocal Edgar Street now roaring, Munday then tested the keeper after linking up well with Daly, though Richardson was soon called into action as he denied Charlie Jolley's wicked strike, tipping it around the post at full-stretch to his left.
With Williams now on the pitch in place of Lane, he headed down into the path of Munday with 67 minutes on the clock, though the Cambridge United loanee couldn't net his 10th of the season as he struggled to connect.
Despite a handful of other scrappy half-chances, the Bulls couldn't extend their lead and soon saw Marine draw themselves level. With Downes's side under the kosh, failing to clear their lines quickly enough, Richardson denied a shot from point-blank range and a second effort was blocked on the line. But with the officials failing to notice apparent fouls in the Hereford box, including Willo's shirt being pulled off his back, Marine recycled the ball and McDonald slotted home.
As the equaliser deflated the crowd and the nerves returned, Hereford couldn't find a goal from a succession of corners and then were lucky as Offranda Zanzala's effort from point-blank range was blocked in the 88th minute. During the half, it even appeared Howkins was booked twice; once for a foul on the halfway line and a second for wrestling in the box, though one must have been Preston.
But as the clock hit 90, Williams chased the ball down as the keeper tried to hit it long, taking a deflection into the path of Martin. The 24-year-old then looked to burst into the box, but was brought down by the keeper just inside the 18-yard box. With a huge amount of hope and expectation riding on the spot kick, Skinner showed guts as he stepped up in front of the empty Blackfriars End and duly rifled it low to the left of the booked Barnsley's goal - and despite the 21-year-old keeper diving the right way, he was powerless to stop the Bulls retaking the lead.
As the six minutes added on seemed to last for a lifetime, the Bulls held on and saw the evening out for a much-needed win.
Full time: Hereford 2 - Marine 1
Attendance: 3,251 (20 away)
It wasn't a classic and it certainly won't live long in the minds of Hereford fans for a mesmerising game of football, but the nervous Bulls did what was needed - win. It was as simple as that, and no matter how it came, that's all that matters. While Martin made the difference as he created the first goal and won the penalty, Skinner will be the one who's remembered.
Now Saturday... a win would make it simple, safety assured, anything other than that and we're relying on other results. Gulp.
Hereford: Richardson, Skinner, Hudson, Preston, D'Ath (Martin 45), Lane (Williams 62), Munday, Daly (Quansah 90+3), Willcox, Tustin, Howkins.
Subs: Oppong, Lewis, Hamilton, James
Marine: Barnsley, Anson, Butler, Wardle, Thomas, Whelan, Huby (Zanzala 64'), McDonald, Sinclair-Smith, Newell, Jolley (Fielding 86')
Subs: McIntyre, Bell, Leuluai, Abbey, Potter
In Mark Jones's preview of tonight's game at Edgar Street, he mentioned 'that wonderful May night against Morecambe in the Conference play-off semi-final' and asked if George Munday could play the Guy Ipoua role.
.png)
