Hereford 31/10 To Win At Marine

Remaye Campbell Scored For Hereford In Last Season's Fixture

A Wednesday evening fixture for Hereford this week, unusual in itself. They are away at Marine for another catch-up fixture.

And despite their 3-0 win over Merthyr at Edgar Street yesterday, the bookies have priced a Hereford victory at 31/10.

Marine defeated Chorley (15th) last Monday. 

Hereford are still fighting for their lives. Currently they are in 22nd place in the National North League with 41 points from 40 games.

Marine are 12th with 58 points also from 40 games.

As regards goal difference Marine's is -6, Hereford's is -18. 

Interestingly Marine have only scored 54 goals this season, Hereford have scored 53. 

Recent form:

Hereford LLLLLW

Marine WDWLLW 

Marine 3/4 Draw 11/4 Hereford 31/10 

Downes lays down challenge after Bulls stop the rot

Hereford celebrates Preston's goal on Monday

Aaron Downes has warned Hereford their job is far from finished – despite a vital 3-0 win over Merthyr Town boosting hopes of a great escape.

The Bulls produced one of their most complete performances of the season in front of 3,080 home fans at Edgar Street, ending a run of seven straight defeats and ensuring they did not lose further ground on the teams above them.

But Downes quickly shifted focus to what comes next.

“What we can’t do is go 'okay, that's great, we've won against Merthyr and that's our season done' - no,” he said.

"I've challenged the players again to say 'well done, enjoy it, it's a relief and we've stopped the rot', but it's important that we go again – and then again.

"Then that gives us a great chance. Some teams have only got three games left in the season, we've got six, we've got to make that count."

With six games remaining – more than their relegation rivals – Hereford still have an opportunity to claw their way clear, starting with a trip to Marine tomorrow (Wednesday).

“We’ve given ourselves a fighter’s chance to keep carrying our season on and we'll go up on Wednesday again,” Downes added.

"They're saying the right things in the changing room, it's a good group of boys and I'm lucky I've got them. We've got six games to go, we go up to Marine and hopefully take this momentum and belief into the game.

"If we show the same fight and spirits and that bit of quality that we showed today, then we've every chance of beating anyone on our day. We've proved that this season."

Preston In Team Of The Week

 

Hereford defender Matt Preston has been included  in the National North League team of the week.

He scored Hereford's third goal against Merthyr yesterday and also helped to keep a clean sheet. 

  

Rot stopped, work to do

So the Easter weekend provided a rollercoaster of emotions, with heartbreak at Kidderminster and elation against Merthyr, which at least made a change from unremitting misery.

Now that the elation has worn off a bit, eroded slightly perhaps by the irritation that most of the other strugglers also won on Easter Monday, the scale of the task in front of the Bulls over the next two-and-a-half weeks comes back into sharp focus.

That task continues on Wednesday as Hereford travel to Merseyside for a plastic-pitch encounter with Crosby’s Marine FC.

They really must win this before two huge six-pointers against Bedford and Oxford. Having lost seven in a row, winning the last seven to round off the season would be quite a stylish way to get out of the hole they’re in. As unlikely as that winning run sounds, unfortunately they’ll only get out of that hole if they do that or something not far off it. 51ish was, not so long ago, looking like a points total that could be enough. It no longer does, with Bedford and Oxford both making bold moves towards safety. One tiny chink of light is the late arrival to the relegation party of Curzon Ashton. If the Bulls can win this game, the only National League North game being played in midweek, they’re four points behind the Nash having played two games fewer. All they can do is keep winning football matches.

Marine had an excellent start to the season and spent a long time in the play-off positions. They’ve slipped to mid-table now, partly due to going very deep in the FA Trophy, losing in the semi-finals. Despite winning on Monday, 2-1 at home to Chorley, and like Hereford having games in hand, they’re unlikely to claw their way back into those play-off positions by the end of the season. That’s something Hereford have to use to their advantage.

They took a while to acclimatise to the National League North last season following promotion, and looked way off it at Edgar Street in terms of quality (not much) and naivity (loads), but quickly turned things around and finished 19 points clear of the drop in losing just two of their last ten games. There’s very little chance of them exhibiting any of that naivity here having really kicked on since then, while Hereford have very much gone backwards over the course of the season as a whole.

Bobby Grant is their manager, and is something of a ‘Mr Marine’ having also played for and captained the club.

Their big threat is left winger Fin Sinclair-Smith, who scored at the weekend to take his seasonal tally to ten. Joseph James will hopefully have recovered from the knock he picked up on Monday to enable him to look after the ex-Radcliffe man. Centre forward George Newell seems to have inherited some of his father Mike’s attributes as a typical English centre forward and target man, but has only managed six goals.

Aaron Downes can’t afford to be cagey, and will presumably go again with George Munday and Mikey Lane up front. The latter suggested when interviewed following his man-of-the-match display on Monday that a repeat of the first half against Merthyr could ‘blow Marine out of the water’. I might ask him to start writing the titles for these previews.

Freddy Willcox and Harrison Sohna should again occupy the central midfield positions, offering plenty in the middle of the park with skillsets that complement each other very well.

Behind them, Kyle Howkins and Matt Preston will be keen to oversee another clean sheet here as the Hereford defence is finally showing signs of organised resistance, as well as silky finishing at the other end.

The Merthyr manager said after Monday’s match:

"They were physically bigger, stronger in winning duels in that first half. They ran all over us, which is really disappointing to see."

This is precisely what’s happened to Hereford again and again this season. Telford have done it, Kings Lynn have done it, Chorley have done it…and that’s just a handful of examples of how the team has been absolutely bullied at home, let alone away. And that deliberately ignores the better-funded sides who have ‘run all over us’ (I was going to say ‘bigger clubs’ but they're absolutely not). It’s been awful, but if we’re finally biting back, great. It's just that it might be a bit too late.

I was trying to explain to someone over Easter how a club paying thousands and thousands of pounds to managers and players courtesy of a huge bounty that comes through the turnstiles every fortnight could possibly be relegated to the seventh level of football in England. I failed.

Hereford have to win again. If they don’t it’s virtually all over. At least that keeps things simple.

COYW

Downes gives verdict on penalty claim as Tustin 'barged in the back'

Aaron Downes insisted Hereford should have been awarded a “clear” penalty during their 3-0 win over Merthyr Town – despite his side’s commanding performance.

The Bulls were already in control at Edgar Street when the incident occurred in the first half, with referee Callum Jones waving away appeals after a challenge inside the box on Harry Tustin.

While the Bulls boss said Tustin was barged in the back, it appeared the Cheltenham loanee may have run into his man and gone down.

"For my liking, it's easy for me to say, but it's a penalty in my eyes," Downes said. "It's clear, he's got a touch on it and he's been barged in the back.

"Anywhere else on the pitch it’s a free-kick, so it should be a penalty.”

Hereford were already two-nil up at the time thanks to Lewis Hudson and Mikey Lane, with Matt Preston adding a third before the break.

A professional display from the Bulls saw them comfortably see the game out and end their horrific run of seven straight defeats - a record not seen since 1997.

'We didn't show up': Merthyr manager slams team for bottling derby

Merthyr boss Paul Michael has apologised to the travelling fans

Merthyr Town manager Paul Michael has apologised to fans after his team 'lost their bottle' and fell to a humbling 3-0 defeat against Hereford on Easter Monday.

He slammed his side for being bullied, making poor decisions, giving silly fouls away, being weak and lacking a cutting edge as their play-off hopes fade.

Despite clinging onto the last play-off place by a point, the Martyrs have only won three of their last 15 games and three points from Edgar Street would have been crucial as they now only have four games left of their season.

Speaking to the club's media after the game, the former Cinderford and Yate Town boss, who masterminded their promotion from step three and a positive start to this season's campaign, apologised to the 593 supporters who made the trip.

"We just don't seem to deliver in the big moments," he said, adding: "They welcomed us on the pitch brilliantly. It was fantastic to see so many of them here and I just apologise that we didn't show up on pitch.

"Secondly, credit to Hereford. They were right up for the game and they absolutely bullied us. In that 21-minute spell, we've lost our bottle.

"Making poor decisions which brings pressure on us like giving silly fouls away, giving corners away when we don't need to.

'That's exactly the opportunities that they were looking for and then they executed them really well.

"They were physically bigger, stronger in winning duels in that first half. They ran all over us, which is really disappointing to see."

Michael was quick to praise Hereford, who ended their seven-game losing streak thanks to goals from Lewis Hudson, Mikey Lane and Matt Preston, but said his side "defended poorly".

"It's very rare that we've been run all over in the way that we were in the first half, so credit to Hereford," he added.

"They had some quality and some pace out there as well which hurt us. Second half was a little bit better, we won a few more duels, we ran around a bit more, but we had no cutting edge and didn't really look like scoring.

"That's a big issue for us at the moment."

First Half Pictures Hereford v Merthyr

A selection of pictures from the first half of this afternoon's game.

 

Before Kick-Off Against Merthyr

A lovely spring day and a local derby against Merthyr.

Some pictures from before kick-off at Edgar Street. 

 

Lane's First Goal For Hereford

On loan striker Mikey Lane scored his first goal for Hereford against Merthyr this afternoon.

Cue celebration in front of the Meadow End.

Match report: Hopes of a great escape boosted as Bulls cruise to derby day win

Hereford's hopes of a great escape have been boosted with a professional 3-0 win over Merthyr Town at Edgar Street on Easter Monday.

The vital win ends the horrifying run of seven defeats and the crucial three points means the Bulls haven't lost anymore ground on the teams above them.

First-half goals from Lewis Hudson, Mikey Lane and Matt Preston saw Aaron Downes's side surge into the driving seat and they remained resolute into the second half to send the 3,080 Bulls fans at a sun-drenched Edgar Street home happy.

Making two changes to the side that suffered the late defeat at Kidderminster on Good Friday, Lewis Hudson returned from injury to replace Aaron Skinner, while Lawson D'Ath - injured celebrating his goal at Aggborough - made way for Harrison Sohna after serving his three-match ban.

Having warmed up in front of the 593 travelling Merthyr Town fans, Hereford attacked the Meadow End in the first half though were under pressure from kick off. As Joseph James conceded a corner inside the first minute, Merthyr failed to capitalise with their early set piece - though four minutes later, Theo Richardson was called into action to deny Jordon Garrick after he burst into the area and got an early shot away.

While Thomas Handley couldn't control his vicious eight-minute strike, which sailed over the target, the Bulls soon started causing the visitors problems. With Freddy Willcox threatening from a corner as his shot was blocked, leading to a second, Kyle Howkins couldn't keep his header down as Jaimie Cogman watched it clear the bar.

But in the 13th minute, the Bulls drew first blood. In a crowded box, Sohna's free-kick was knocked down by Howkins for Hudson to drive home.

Buoyed by scoring early for a change rather than conceding, Downes's side pushed on as Cogman had to be alert to tip a Sohna corner from the right over his bar. From the second set-piece, Howkins flicked it on towards Lane who saw his shot blocked. Good defending from the hosts saw Willcox steal the ball from the feet of Garrick before he could pull the trigger, and they then kept up the pressure on a shaky Martyrs defence. A stunning 30-yard strike from Willcox forced Cogman into punching the ball over the bar, with Hereford doubling their lead from the resulting corner in the 23rd minute. With the ball knocking around in a crowded box as Merthyr defended it with 11 men, Lane was on hand to sweep home.

Two minutes later and referee Callum Jones refused to give a soft penalty, with Harry Tustin throwing himself to the floor under pressure from Merthyr's defence, having chased down Lane's through-ball.

While the Bulls looked content with their two-goal cushion, Handley got a powerful shot away for the Welsh side as a dithering Richardson watched it flash wide of the upright.

But it was in the 34th minute when the Bulls netted their third, as Preston tried to get a clean header to direct a cross from a throw into the danger area, the ball fell to his feet and he calmly fired home.

While Merthyr had a trio of chances, Handley's 25-yard effort once again missing the target, Lewys Twamley's strike stinging Richardson's palms and Lee Lucas failing to find the back of the net from a free-kick, the Bulls looked to make it four before the break. Munday, low on confidence and desperate for a goal, fired wide in the 39th minute before finding the target but being denied by Cogman after finding space on the stroke of half-time.

Half time: Hereford 3 - Merthyr Town 0

Knowing the key to the win would be not conceding an early goal in the second half, two decent chances after the break could have seen Merthyr reduce the deficit. As Jac Thomas got the better of Tustin, he burst forward only to see his shot blocked by Hudson, having a sterling game on the left after his return from injury. The best chance of the game for the Martyrs then fell to Lewis, but after a defensive mix-up by Hereford, he got the ball stuck under his feet at point-blank range and somehow poked the ball wide.

As livewire Daly continued to cause problems down the left, his cross to Sohna saw Cogman called into action to stop the midfielder getting his name on the scoresheet in the 66th minute, before his free kick eight minutes later was knocked down into the area by Preston, only for Cogman to pounce on it before anyone in a white shirt could get a shot away.

As both sides rung the changes, albeit for different reasons, substitute Tate Xavier-Jones fired across the goal as his side looked to hit Hereford with a quick counter-attack, though the centre-back pairing of Howkins and Preston - both having good games - were well placed to deny any real threat.

Into stoppage time and Lane could've bagged a brace after his determined run ended in a shot being well-saved by Cogman, but moments later Richardson had to make a smart save with his feet to deny a late consolation goal for Merthyr. Ultimately, Hereford were able to confidently see the game out to secure the much-needed win.

Full time: Hereford 3 - Merthyr Town 3

Attendance: 3,673 (593 away)

Sponsors' man of the match: Mikey Lane

You couldn't have hoped for a better Easter Monday as a Hereford fan. While any would have taken an ugly win where the team ground out the result, the Bulls were creative, organised and grew in confidence throughout the match. The spirited performance did a lot to raise the hope among the Hereford fans of pulling off a great escape and while it's still a big ask and the odds are stacked against them, if they perform like that for the remaining six games, survival would almost certainly be guaranteed. Harrison Sohna could well be the difference - his calm, creative presence in midfield makes a huge difference - and the fact the Bulls were shooting more regularly today compared with Friday meant they had a greater chance of scoring.

Hereford: Richardson, Hudson, Preston, Sohna, Lane (Quansah 90+2'), Munday (Williams 80'), Daly (Martin 84)', James (Skinner 70'), Willcox (D'Ath 78'), Tustin, Howkins

Subs not used: Lewis, Hamilton.

Merthyr Town: Cogman, Ryan-Phillips (Williams 80'), Handley, Garrick (Xavier-Jones 54'), Twamley, Spiers (Cox 54'), J Evans, M Harris, K Evans, Thomas, Lucas (Maddox 72')

Subs not used: A Harris