Papers salute Turner and Smith

Both the Times and the Telegraph had reporters at Edgar Street yesterday.

From the Times:

Graham Turner, the long-serving Hereford United manager and chairman, still talks of his team needing points to ensure their Football League status for another season. Such arithmetic, however, appears unnecessarily cautious with Hereford looking increasingly likely to exit League Two in the opposite direction after yesterday’s Welsh Borders derby delivered a first League victory over Shrewsbury Town since 1976 but, more importantly, cemented Hereford’s place behind MK Dons, the leaders.

Turner has achieved all this without spending on transfers this season and the former Shrewsbury manager, who took over at Edgar Street in 1995, remains pragmatic. “I know it sounds ridiculous to talk about avoiding relegation given the position we are in,” he said. “But there are a lot of clubs with spending power and there is a lot of hard work to do. It is important we keep our feet on the ground. That means five more points for safety, then we look towards mid-table.”

And the Telegraph:

The admiration was mutual as Ben Smith came off the Edgar Street pitch clapping Hereford's supporters who responded, in turn, by applauding their captain all the way down the tunnel.

Deserved too, for Smith had played no small part in the victory that took the hosts back into second place. His contribution included an assist, a shot that rebounded from an upright, and a neat pass that deserved better than a wayward finish from Simon Johnson. "He teed us up nicely," Johnson said, "but I wouldn't expect anything less from the lad."

Shrewsbury's fourth successive defeat led to a 'Peters Out' banner being displayed by the visiting fans, but it will take more than that for Gary Peters to resign. "If you walk away, you are a quitter," he said.

---