Visits to Edgar Street
The following article appears in today's Express and Echo.
There was only one thing good about the visit to Hereford United's Edgar Street ground - the pasty.
So much so, I ate two of them that afternoon. Okay, I can hear the choruses of "Who Ate All The Pies?"
It was a miserable day all round otherwise. The pitch was a quagmire and only barely playable.
City lost and my journey home took ages as we broke down in the village of Dymock!
Anyone who has passed through Dymock will know that there isn't anything there, especially when you are trying to kill a couple of hours waiting for the welcome sight of the AA man. However, although this happened a few years ago, there are personal memories of Edgar Street which are far better.
I recall watching the Grecians play in a pre-season friendly against Hereford, who were at that time managed by the legendary John Charles. He might have been in his latter years as a player, but the way he bossed the Hereford defence that afternoon, without really breaking into much more than trot, was a joy to watch.
In the Hereford squad that day was former Exeter City winger Bruce Walker, who had moved there that summer on a free transfer. I remember Bruce coming out of the ground before the game to greet his former team-mates as they stepped off the coach.
Walker, who had been signed by City in 1969 from Bradford, was noted for his rocket powered shot. Unfortunately, it wasn't always accurate, rather like American cruise missiles. Promises much but rarely hits the target. He lacked a bit of consistency and was therefore 'on his bike' to Hereford, safely passing through Dymock no doubt, after just one season at St James's Park.
And who could forget the sight of Snow White and her Seven Dwarves parading in front of the grandstand at Edgar Street on another visit made there by the City? Apparently they were appearing in a local pantomime .... Snow White and her Dwarves that is, not City .... although there have been many occasions when the Grecians have played as badly as a poorly acted panto.
Hereford have occasionally, for big matches, paraded a bull around the pitch, hence the club nickname, 'The Bulls', but this time we were treated to Snow White instead, which I must admit was preferable to an old, knackered-looking farm animal.
One of the more memorable visits to Edgar Street was for a first round, first leg tie in the Football League Cup in August 1979. A hat-trick by Keith Bowker put City in the driving seat for the return leg as the Grecians won 3-1. One of Bowker's goals was purely down to the determination of Dave Pullar, who chased a seemingly lost cause and managed to whip in a cross from right on the byline, which everyone else had given up on.
City went on to reach the fourthn round of the League Cup when they lost 2-0 to Liverpool at Anfield.
I've been to Hereford's ground on several occasions, not just to watch Exeter play there, but have only once sat in the main grandstand, preferring to usually stand somewhere near the halfway line on the opposite side of the pitch.
This particular occasion though, I had received an invite and a free ticket to sit in the stand courtesy of ATV - remember them? They had the franchise to cover the Midlands area for ITV.
At the time I was providing statistical notes for their commentary team - Hugh Johns and Gary Newbon - as they covered various games in the Midlands area. With the Hereford v Exeter City fixture, played on March 10, 1973 and shown on television, they therefore invited me along to the actual game.
The Grecians fielded a debutant in their side, namely John Benson, who had been signed on loan from AFC Bournemouth. He only played in three more matches for City before returning to Dean Court.
Again, it wasn't a good day for the Grecians as Hereford netted the only goal of the afternoon. Hopefully it will be better for City today and they get a point or three to follow their 4-0 Boxing Day win over Hereford at the Park.