Hereford U18's progress into FA Youth Cup 3rd Qualifying Round after comeback victory

Harley Jones Williams wheels away after scoring                                              his first 

Hereford FC U18's progress into the 3rd Qualifying Round of the FA Youth Cup after coming from behind to beat higher graded Stourport Swifts U18's this evening at Edgar Street in the 2nd Qualifying Round and to extend their unbeaten run to five matches.

Stourport broke the deadlock in the 36 minute when a deft chip into the area was brought down by a striker before being fired low from close range past Will Utley to take a narrow lead into the half-time break.

Hereford responded with barely a minute played in the second-half getting back on level terms after Jack Tolley delivered into the box where Harley Jones Williams’ out-stretched left leg helped the ball on it's way into the bottom-right corner before Williams got his brace after a corner from Tolley found him at the back post for a simple tap in.

Stourport equalised on 57 minutes when a long throw from the right was deflected into his own net off the unfortunate Owen Bradford at the near post before Hereford regained the lead with a sublime finish from Tolley who cut back onto his right before whipping the ball past the Swifts keeper.

Ollie Morris rounded out the scoring sweeping the ball underneath the goalkeeper before the visitors were reduced to ten men late on after a striker was shown his marching orders for arguing with the referee.

Attention switches to another Cup competition in the form of the HFA Giantkillers Cup when the Bulls youngsters welcome Westfields U18’s in the 1st Round to the MandM Edgar Street Stadium.

Words: Sam Cummins

Hereford Win FA Youth Cup Tie

Tonight's FA Youth Cup tie at Edgar Street ended:

 Hereford  4 Stourport Swifts 2

Two goals for Hereford very early in the second half turned the tie around after the visitors had gone ahead in the first half.

Swifts equalised on 57  minutes but two further goals from Hereford put the tie beyond doubt.

Report and pictures to follow. 

FA Youth Cup - Half Time

At half time in the FA Youth Cup tie at Edgar Street this evening:

Hereford 0  Stourport Swifts 1

Stourport took the lead in the 37th minute.

However in general a fairly even first half.

FA Youth Cup This Evening

Hereford play Stourport Swifts in the second qualifying round of the FA Youth Cup this evening at Edgar Street.

In the previous round Hereford went through following a penalty shoot-out. 

The tie kicks off at 7.45pm. 

Admission is Adults £4, Juniors £1. 

South Shields Lose At Brackley

One game took place in the National North League this evening.

It ended:

Brackley 3  South Shields 2

Hereford stay top of the table. South Shields, who have now played the same number of games, remain 4th. 

Former Hereford United Keeper In Charge At Forest Green

With the news that Robbie Savage has quit Forest Green Rovers for Peterborough United, a former Hereford United goalkeeper will take charge this evening when Wealdstone visit the New Lawn.

Jonathan Gould, who is the goalkeeping coach at Forest Green, came to Edgar Street on loan from Preston North End at the start of the 2004/05 season.

He made 15 appearances for the Bulls before moving to Bristol City. 

Footage of him below saving a penalty in a shoot out against Scunthorpe United in the LDV Trophy.

 

Spennymoor Appoint New Manager

Spennymoor have appointed Peter Hartley as their new manager. He replaces Tommy Miller who resigned earlier this month.

This from Spennymoor:

Spennymoor Town are delighted to announce the appointment of Peter Hartley as the Club’s new First Team Manager.

The 38-year-old returns to the North East to take charge at The Brewery Field and will be joined by Ryan Cresswell, who has been appointed as Assistant Manager.

Hartley’s appointment follows an extensive recruitment process which attracted more than 50 applications and allowed the Club to consider an exceptionally strong field of candidates.

The resulting shortlist included former National League North managers, individuals currently working within international football and coaches and assistant managers from EFL clubs.

Given the strength and breadth of that interest, the Club was determined not to rush the process and instead take the necessary time to ensure the appointment was the right one for Spennymoor Town.

Hartlepool-born Hartley arrives with significant experience from a playing career spanning more than two decades, having progressed through Sunderland’s academy before representing clubs including Hartlepool United, Plymouth Argyle, Bristol Rovers, Motherwell and Jamshedpur.

A commanding central defender, Hartley’s leadership qualities saw him appointed captain at multiple clubs through his playing career. During his time in Scotland, he helped Motherwell reach both domestic cup finals in 2017/18, before later captaining Jamshedpur to the Indian Super League Winners’ Shield in 2021/22.

Since moving into coaching, the UEFA A Licence holder has continued to build his experience at the highest possible level. After gaining coaching experience within the academies at Middlesbrough and Sunderland, Hartley joined St Mirren in October 2024 as First Team Coach and Head of First Team Transition & Loan Pathways.

During his time in Paisley, Hartley has been part of a coaching team which secured three consecutive top-six finishes in the Scottish Premiership and won the 2025/26 Premier Sports Cup, defeating Celtic in the Final at Hampden Park.

He will now make the next step in his coaching career by taking charge at The Brewery Field, with former Rotherham United captain Cresswell by his side.

The 38-year-old former central defender made almost 300 Football League appearances during a playing career which included spells with Rotherham, Southend United, Fleetwood Town and Northampton Town, before moving into coaching and management in non-league football.

The Club remains fully committed to the objectives established at the beginning of the season, with the ambition of achieving a top-seven finish in National League North alongside strong runs in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy.

To support those ambitions, the Club is committed to further investment in the First Team squad, ensuring Hartley has the resources required to strengthen where necessary and give the team every opportunity to achieve those objectives.

He will also have full autonomy to assess the existing playing squad and backroom staff and make any changes he believes are required. 

South Shields Could Rise To Second Tomorrow Evening

South Shields play their postponed match at Brackley tomorrow evening.

The original game back in August was abandoned with just 36 minutes played. 

Brackley said the referee called a halt after 20 minutes when heavy rain affected the playing surface at St James’s Park.

The goalless game was then abandoned on 36 minutes after the match got underway for two minutes. 

 

If Shields win they will go second in the table. If so they will have the same number of points as Hereford but a much poorer goal difference partly because they lost 6-0 at Edgar Street recently.  

 

Meanwhile Shields remain top of the bookmakers list to win the league title with odds of 7/2.

 

Macclesfield are 9/2, Hereford are 5/1. 

Merthyr Take Tough Stance Over Supporters Behaviour

Following problems outside their stadium last Saturday, Merthyr have issued a statement:

Everyone at Merthyr Town Football Club is appalled by the behaviour displayed by a group of young supporters following Saturday’s match against Marine. This behaviour is completely unacceptable and does not reflect the values of our Club or the conduct of the vast majority of our well behaved and welcoming fans.

Although the incident took place well outside the stadium, behaviour of this nature has no place at Merthyr Town FC, and those responsible are not welcome at our football club.

The Club is reviewing all available information to understand what occurred. Anyone identified as engaging in unacceptable conduct will face appropriate Club sanctions, including potential exclusion from Penydarren Park. Any relevant information can be shared with the appropriate authorities.

We are also considering further steps around our match day operations. Where necessary, the Club may implement controlled exit procedures at the end of fixtures to support stewarding and safety management. In addition, supporters wearing non medical face coverings may be refused entry to the stadium, and anyone found inside the ground with such coverings will be asked to leave. This measure is being introduced to assist identification and ensure the safety of all attendees.

The Club recognises that anti social behaviour is a much wider issue than football alone. We continue to work closely with South Wales Police, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, and other partner agencies on a range of initiatives designed to improve match day safety and address wider issues of anti social behaviour.

Any supporters who may have information that could assist the Club in understanding Saturday’s incident invited to contact us directly.

Merthyr Town FC remains committed to providing a safe, welcoming environment for all genuine supporters, and we thank our fanbase for their continued cooperation.

Martin Recovering From Injury

 

Hereford's Keziah Martin was not in the match day squad at Bedford last Saturday.

However he was at the game along with captain Lewis Hudson. 

It's understood Martin is recovering from tendonitous in his foot.

It's hoped he will be training again tomorrow (Tuesday) and should be available for selection when Hereford have their next game, at home to Hednesford, on Saturday week. 

As regards Hudson he is at least a couple of weeks away from full fitness. 

Bedford Equalise Against Hereford

 

Thirty seconds of video shows how Bedford equalised against Hereford yesterday.

https://x.com/BedfordTown/status/2104135610567135312/video/1  

https://x.com/BedfordTown/status/2104135610567135312/video/1 

Hereford Women Win At Bromsgrove

Hereford Women continued their unbeaten league run at Bromsgrove this afternoon with a 2-1 victory.

Hereford FC Women won a hard fought victory 2-1 at Bromsgrove Sporting this afternoon. 

Playing up the slope in the first half Hereford scored first in the 35th minute. Sheree Smith chased a long ball, outpaced the defender, rounded the 'keeper and slid the ball into an empty net. 

Bromsgrove equalised on the stroke of half time.

Hereford scored their second in second half, Smith again with a long range direct free kick which the Bromsgrove 'keeper couldn't keep out. 

 

Hereford FC Women battled to the end to take the points.

 

They are now 5th in the league table with six points from four games. 

 

Second Half Pictures From Bedford

A selection of pictures from the second half of yesterday's game between Bedford and Hereford.

National North Weekend Round Up

NL's Sam Elliott with a round up of the games played yesterday in the National North League.

It’s tough at the top! Leaders stumble as gap closes in Enterprise National League North.

There was frustration for the teams at the top of the Enterprise National League North as the battle for points resumed.

Following the FA Cup break, North leaders Hereford had to settle for a for a draw at Bedford Town when Reece Evans levelled five minutes into injury time.

Macclesfield closed the gap to two points, Danny Elliott’s 19th minute goal was enough to defeat Harborough Town.

Oxford City are looking good in third as veteran Alfie Potter earned a very late draw with Morecambe.

South Shields are heading in the right direction - Paul Blackett was back on the scoresheet as last year’s defeated play-off finalists beat Buxton 4-0.

Jamie Cooke was at the double as Hednesford Town came from a goal down to also score four as Radcliffe left well beaten.

So did Chester, Billy Waters was too hot for Worksop Town to handle as the Seals put recent poor form behind them.

King’s Lynn Town went one better. A stunning 5-0 success at AFC Telford United brought a brilliant hat-trick from 28-year-old Carlton Ubaezuonu.

Chorley hope their season is really up and running. Dependable Mike Calveley grabbed a late winner as Andy Preece’s team broke Spalding hearts, but the Tulips remain in the top seven.

The only other team in the division to win were Marine. Finlay Sinclair-Smith snatched a late victory at Merthyr Town to the joy of the travelling fans in Wales. 

First Half Pictures From Bedford

A selection of pictures from the first half of yesterday's game between Bedford and Hereford.