Text at top (next game etc)

Next Game: Darlington Away In The League On Saturday 23rd November At 3.00pm

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Half Season Tickets Now On Sale

 

Half season tickets for Hereford home games are now on sale.

They will only be available in a digital version. They can be shown on a mobile phone at the turnstiles.

The tickets cover 12 home games listed below:

Kidderminster Harriers - 26th December
Warrington Town - 11th January
Southport - 18th January
Brackley Town - 1st February
Spennymoor Town - 8th February
Alfreton Town - 22nd February
Buxton - 25th February
Darlington - 8th March
Curzon Ashton - 22nd March
Chester - 5th April
Leamington - 18th April
Scunthorpe - 26th April

Missing Hereford Supporter


A fellow bulls fan has gone missing, please can we get this shared as much as possible please? His daughter, son and family are all incredibly worried for Karl’s safety. 

Updated 6.20pm: The supporter has been found.

Bellamy Supports Jordan James

Jordan James isn't getting much game time at Rennes but he remains in the Welsh squad.

Manager Craig Bellamy has spoken about the Hereford born midfielder. He suggested that the move to France from Birmingham City was 'a smart move'.

"I’ve had little conversations with JJ (Jordan James)," said Bellamy as reported by the Birmingham Mail. 

"It’s always difficult for a kid or anyone who moves to a different country. It was the same with myself (in Belgium) the first couple of months.

"You’re picking up the language, but it’s just a different way of doing things. Even simple things like the food.

"JJ is in that period where he’s still a young kid. But he’s at a really good football club that develops young players and progresses them and I see it as a smart move.

"I know JJ’s not getting game time right now, but in his future development this will be a really good period for him. I believe it will accelerate him and he’s going to be a beneficial player for Wales for a number of years."

 

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

One National North League Result

Only one National North League fixture took place this evening.

Oxford City 1 Alfreton 2

The other two games, at Hereford and Leamington, were postponed.

Alfreton move up to 5th, Hereford drop to 7th.

London Bulls to host Q+A with Hereford FC Chairman at Christmas Party in Shepherds Bush - Get your ticket now!

The London Bulls are delighted to be hosting a Q+A at their Christmas Party with Hereford FC Chairman, Chris 'Stig' Ammonds at The Bull Westfield in Shepherds Bush, London. The event will take place on Thursday 12th December from 6:30pm onwards.

This is a great opportunity for fans in London and the South East to meet the Hereford FC Chairman and also meet fellow Bulls fans from in and around the capital.The event is expected to sell out, with recent National League TV streams run by the London Bulls getting large attendances. 


Tickets are priced at £15 and will include a buffet and some fantastic raffle prizes on the night! Fans are encouraged to purchase their ticket as soon as possible which can be done so
here!

Anyone is welcome to attend the event whether they are based in London and the South East or not! People are also more than welcome to purchase extra tickets if they would like to bring family and friends with them.

We hope to see as many of you there as possible with it being a friendly, welcoming and relaxed atmosphere and it expected to be a fantastic evening!




Scarborough To Play Kings Lynn On December 7th

It had been suggested that tonight's postponed game between Hereford and Scarborough could have been played on Saturday December 7th - the date of the next round of the FA Trophy. Both clubs are out of the competition.

However that isn't going to happen

Scarborough have arranged to bring  forward their home game against Kings Lynn.

It was set to take place on Tuesday February 11th but will now be played on December 7th.

Tonight's Game Against Scarborough Is Off

Tonight's game against Scarborough has been called off.

The Edgar Street pitch is covered with snow.

The timing of the pitch ispection means that the Scarborough team and supporters will have had enough notice not to have set out to Hereford.

Good Decision. 

Pitch Inspection At Edgar Street This Morning

There will be a pitch inspection at Edgar Street this morning to see if tonight's game between Hereford and Scarborough can go ahead.

Hereford manager Paul Caddis will probably want the game to go ahead after his side were dumped out of the FA Trophy last Saturday.

However given the snowy weather it might be better if the game is postponed as a reduced attendance is almost a certainty.

A decision on whether the game goes ahead is expected by mid-day. 

Update 10.30am: Pitch inspection will be at 11.30am. 

Both Hereford and Scarborough were knocked out of the FA Trophy last Saturday so if the game is called off it could be played on December 7th.

Monday, November 18, 2024

Tonight's National North League Fixtures

Weather permitting there are three fixtures in the National North League this evening (Tuesday).

Hereford v Scarborough

Leamington v Chester

Oxford City v Alfreton

Should Hereford win their game they will move up to fourth place in the league table. However they will have played one or two more games than most of the clubs around them.

Hereford 15/13 To Get Back To Winning Ways Against Scarborough

Alex Babos Scored For Hereford In Last Season's Game

 After being dumped out of the FA Trophy last Saturday, Hereford are back in action tomorrow evening with a home game against Scarborough.

The bookies are offering odds of around 15/13 for the Bulls to win the game. 

Currently Hereford are 6th in the National North League whilst Scarborough are 17th. But in truth the gap isn't that wide as Scarborough have played two less games.

Hereford have 27 points from 17 games, Scarborough have 20 points from 15 games.

Hereford's home form is average with 3 wins, 3 draws and 2 defeats. Goal Difference + 8.

Scarborough's away form is 2 wins, 4 draws and 2 defeats. Goal Difference 0.

Recent form:

Hereford WLLWL

Scarborough WLLDL

Hereford 15/13  Draw 23/10  Scarborough 23/10

Concentrating On The League

Hereford FC are straight back into National League North action on Tuesday after embarrassingly getting dumped out of the FA Trophy on Saturday by Brentwood, and that performance coupled with the cold weather may impact on the size of the crowd somewhat.

Paul Caddis has admirably taken responsibility for that defeat in an attempt to protect his players, but reading between the lines of Adam Rooney’s post-match interview the dressing room after the game may have borne witness to the hairdryer approach to management rather than the arm around the shoulder that seems to have been favoured so far in the Caddis era. If so, few would disagree that it was justified.

The squad’s reaction to the now numerous poor home performances this season has generally been good in the following games, so the midweek visitors Scarborough will hopefully be on the end of one of those reactions, and in fact they too went out of the Trophy at the weekend to lower-graded opposition, although that was away and that opposition, Stockton, are only one level below the NLN.

If you’ll forgive me for briefly channelling John Lennon, you may say I’m a dreamer, but a few good results between now and Christmas could conceivably result in a near-sell-out Boxing Day first-against-second clash between Hereford and Kidderminster. That’s about as exciting as anything could possibly be that contains the word ‘Kidderminster’. Having said that, there was scant evidence on Saturday to suggest that such a possibility is any more likely than Lennon’s wish for world peace.

Such is the nature of the league table at the moment (and for ‘at the moment’ read ‘always’ in the NLN) that Scarborough could jump from 17th position and just three points clear of the relegation places, to just a point below Hereford in sixth if they win their two games in hand.

So, despite it looking on first glance like the Seadogs have had a bad start, they’re very much more mid-tablish than relegation fodder, and their start has been more indifferent than bad. Away from home, they’ve only lost two games in eight.  

SS Seadog will presumably be making the long trip down to Hereford over the course of the afternoon given that the side is part-time, and therefore unlikely to be able to splash out on a hotel halfway down the night before given that the players have other jobs to do. SS Seadog will, I imagine, actually be a bus rather than a boat, otherwise it really will be a very long trip via the North Sea, English Channel and eventually up the River Wye, but even the ‘direct route’ should result in the visitors arriving with the sort of ‘bus legs’ that will give the hosts an advantage. Going ballistic from the first whistle whilst Scarborough are still finding their feet post-journey could therefore be a tactic to consider. Goals within 40 seconds seem to be all the rage at the moment. 

Scarborough looked hugely accomplished at Edgar Street last season, again under the lights, particularly in midfield, when unluckily losing 3-1 having missed a hatful of chances. Luca Colville, Alex Purver and Lewis Maloney are all talented footballers in the middle of the park.

They would have been hoping that 6’ 4” striker Richie Bennett, who arrived from Scunthorpe in the summer, was the solution to that shyness in front of goal this time around. The 33-year-old has only scored one in 15 so far this season though. Instead, their goals have come from Dom Tear with seven so far, three of which came within an hour of the season starting away at Radcliffe.

Alex Babos served his one-match suspension on 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.

New signing Jaiden White, cup-tied on Saturday, 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.

With the club’s lack of discipline now more or less officially ‘a problem’, 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.

I very much understand the frustration Paul Caddis feels at the standard of refereeing at this level, but if he can learn to rise above it his charges may follow his example on the pitch. The number of red cards being picked up currently is utterly unsustainable for a small squad. In fairness to the manager, he addressed that very issue in his statement to the fans on Monday. Whether his absence from the touchline on Saturday was solely responsible for another performance lacking in passion or energy, the two things Caddis said would never be lacking under him when appointed, is a moot point. The players surely must shoulder some of the blame.

It seems likely that Scarborough will offer a good deal more than Marine or Farsley did, but a win here for the hosts would convert their play-off position from a peripheral one, when games others have in hand are taken into account, into a consolidated one, and increase the chances of that festive top-of-the-table derby game actually happening to the level of something like ‘very slim’.

COYW

Old Programmes - 1973-74 Season - Hereford United v Oldham Athletic - Division Three - Saturday November 10th 1973

Result: 3-4 Loss (HT 2-4) Hinch 20, 65, Lee 35. Oldham scored four goals in 11 first half minutes (11, 14, 19, 21)            

Attendance: 8,843

Hereford United: Hughes, Mallender, Naylor, McLaughlin, Jones, Tavener, Rudge, Lee, Hinch, Gregory, Radford.

Opposition: Dowd, Wood, Whittle, Edwards, Hicks, Mulvaney, McVitie, Jones, Lockhhead, Blair (Hateley), Robins.

League Position: The defeat sees Hereford slip to 9th with Oldham sitting in second place (16 games in). 

On the Pitch: A remarkable run came to an end when Oldham became the first team to score a first half goal at Edgar Street for over a year. Hereford managed to dust themselves down though, and through a combination of luck and stubborn defence, managed to go a further three minutes unbeaten. To illustrate how football has changed, despite being up against it, Hereford finished the match with the same XI as they started with. A sneaky peak at the next programme reveals what Addison thought of this match, his notes including "a bizarre 11 minutes when we conceded four goals in a nightmare spell" and "whilst the game turned out to be a real thriller, our defensive performance during the first half-hour was the worst I have witnessed since I joined the club; I don't expect our team to concede four goals away from home, and when it happened at Edgar Street I just couldn't believe my own eyes. But, I think, you will agree that the players redeemed themselves with their great fightback". Meanwhile Ron Parrott recalls that Man of The Match Radford controlled the midfield. 

Click on photos to enlarge. 

Colin's Comments: You will struggle to find a better summary of where HUFC were at than the wonderfully random recap of the recent trip to Gibraltar in his first paragraph.



In the Opposition: I grew up on a player who could rock a mullet, Mark Hateley; a striker that would be worth a few quid if he was about now. Mark played at Edgar Street for an impressive Portsmouth team in the 83-84 season; he scored a first half equaliser in a game that saw Hereford run out 3-2 first leg winners (Phillips 2, Pejic 4,631) in what proved to be a cracking League Cup first round two-legger. Portsmouth prevailed at their place, courtesy of a 3-1 win. 

Anyway, he was only 12 when this game was on - his dad though came on as a sub for Oldham. 32 year old Derby born Tony Hateley had played and scored league goals at Notts County (109 goals), Aston Villa (68), Chelsea (6), Liverpool (28), Coventry (4), Birmingham (6), Oldham (scoring only once), before winding his career down at Boston Minutemen (me neither?), Bromsgrove, Prescott Town, and Barrow. Hateley Snr. scored over 250 goals in total, but never played for England, something his son achieved 32 times (scoring 9 goals). Mark was also born in Derby during one of his dad's spells at Notts County.

The stand out name in their ranks is youngster Keith Hicks (19 at the time) who, after laying down 250 appearances at Oldham, would go on to play almost 250 times for Hereford between 1980-85 - including the above game against Mark Hateley. A defender when football was still "proper," Hicks definitely falls into the ‘fondly remembered’ category of former players. He has been back to Edgar Street as a guest/half time crowd pleaser and is often spotted brightening up away ends when Hereford play up north, which is a common occurrence. 

Fan of the Week: There are surely some wonderful anecdotes in the collective memories of these fine HUFC folk - they could possibly recall the lot between them, right back to chapter 1 of the club’s story. 

Edgar Street Chatter: A neat stat is revealed where it is noted that youngster Paul Lee and his brother Peter scored for the firsts and reserves on the same day (27/10/73), the first brothers to do so since 1954 when Reggie and Toddy Bowen achieved it in a match against Chelmsford City at Edgar Street. The Sunday People player ratings suggest that Ken Mallender is an early contender for player of the season, with Hughes and Owen hot on his heels. 

Supporters' Corner: In his notes, Phil Godsall mentions that new offices are almost ready for use. These are maybe the recently demolished shed at the main stand of the Blackfriars Street back wall, which was most recently used by United in the Community in the 2010s, having also been the club shop.

Going by Car: The action photo featuring youngster Paul Lee also contains a sneaky view of Block D sprouting out of the ground. 



In the News: 8th November 1973 sees the Second Cod War with Iceland end on the same day that the government announce that they will hand a whopping £146M over to three nationalised industries to help cover the costs of having price restraints imposed upon them. Beyond that, I could make this a lot easier by running through industries that aren't being blighted by industrial action. Around this time miners and ambulance drivers were having their turn at being unhappy.

In the Charts: Daydreamer/The Puppy Song by David Cassidy is still at No.1.

On TV: Last of the Summer Wine kicks off on BBC1 on 12th November 1973. The programme would run until 2010, which is longer than Hereford United's two spells in the football league.

In the Maternity Ward: Beautiful South singer Jacqui Abbott was born on November 10th 1973.



 


Sunday, November 17, 2024

Every Picture Tells A Story


Second Half Pictures Hereford v Brentwood

A selection of pictures from the second half of yesterday's Trophy tie.


 










Match Report - Hereford Women 2 Ross Juniors 0

With the fixture switched to HFA 3G pitch the Bullettes entertained Ross Juniors in the HFA County Cup quarter final. 

Ross started brightly putting the Hereford midfield under pressure.

However on eight minutes Sheree Smith was pulled down in the box, Sian Bull despatched the penalty to make it 1-0. 

Heavy rain throughout the first half hampered both teams with the pitch now being extremely fast. 

After 20 minutes a great solo run by Amelia Griffiths found the top corner with a brilliant strike.

HT Hereford 2-0 Ross Juniors

Second half began again in the rain, Ross started brightly again but failed to breach Hereford's back line.

Jess Kenny and Robyn Mear had several good shots which were either saved or just wide off the mark. 

Ross looked an improved side from when the teams last met a few weeks ago but didn’t really break through Hereford's defence or test the returning Hannah Pritchard between the sticks.

FT Hereford 2-0 Ross Juniors