Hereford United were pegged back by Chester City as they drew 2-2 at Edgar Street this afternoon. The promotion push has taken another massive setback despite Hereford taking a two goal lead in the first half courtesy of strikes from Ben Smith and Gary Hooper. The Bulls were cruising until Kevin Sandwith's fine long strike started the nerves, and in the final minute of added time, a handball from John McCombe let Kevin Ellison step up to seal a point for City.
There were two changes from the defeat at Lincoln City some 10 days ago, with new boy Sammy Igoe coming in on the right-hand side in place of Simon Johnson, and the long awaited return of Steve Guinan up front, alongside Gary Hooper. Chester named one-time Bulls' target Ellison up front with their target man John Murphy, whilst former Leeds United defender Paul Butler started at centre half.
The opening periods were fairly equal, with Guinan heading at John Danby after a good cross from Clint Easton, whilst Murphy squandered a fine chance when he blasted over from 12 yards after some fine work down the right-hand side from Ellison, who provided the cut-back. Good play between Richard Rose and Guinan led to the full-back finding Smith in the area, but a low shot from the midfield was blocked. Luckily, captain Smith made up for this chance minutes later. A corner by Easton wasn't fully cleared, and Igoe headed to Hooper on the left-hand side of the box; an attempted shot was blocked and fell in the path of Smith who fired past Danby with a left-foot shot into the far corner.
The visitors nearly found an instant reply after Richie Partridge had beaten Rose on the right-wing and sent a low cross into the danger area; only the reflexes of Wayne Brown denied Ellisons acute flick, with the former Chester goalkeeper pushing the ball over the bar. United doubled their lead before half-time, with a fine goal. Rose hammered clear from his left-back position, and Guinan controlled before spreading the play to Igoe. The on loan Bristol Rovers player beat a City man, before sending a ball over the top to Hooper on the far side. The first touch from the former Grays man took him in front of the Chester defence, before he shot past Danby to double the advantage. Just before the interval, McCombe's headed down for Hooper, but this time Danby denied him; holding onto an acrobatical effort. Things were looking good at half-time for United, but the second half was a different story.
Before half-time, young Paul McManus replaced Partridge, and at the interval, Shaun Kelly came on for Butler in defence. The second period took a while before it got going, but Brown kept his concentration when he was forced to push over a dipping left footed Sandwith volley. Ellison selfishly sliced a shot wide from the left-wing, despite having options in the middle, whilst a Toumani Diagouraga header from an Easton corner was narrowly missed by Guinan from close-range. Johnson replaced Igoe, who made a solid start to his United career, but soon after this chance Chester managed to pull a goal back. Moments after Ellison had toe-poked wide, Sandwith picked the ball up in the middle and in similar fashion to Chesterfield's final goal at Saltergate in January, the midfielder was allowed time and space before picking his spot beautifully from 30 yards, directing the ball into the top corner. It was a fine strike, although the closing down may have to be questioned.
The atmosphere around Edgar Street was one of nerves, with the final stages creeping in, although these would have been settled had Hooper finished a good chance when he was played through by Smith; the pace of the on loan Southend man took him clear, but Danby closed the angle and blocked the shot. In the final minute of normal time, a very debatable offside stopped Hooper racing clear, before Chester sealed a dramatic late point. Trent McClenahan gave away a corner in the final minute of added time, and it was swung in dangerously; Paul Linwood rose above the Bulls' defence to smash a header against the bar, but in the following exchanges in the box, McCombe was adjudged to have handballed and Phil Joslin awarded a penalty. Ellison stepped up to send Brown the wrong-way, and went off to celebrate in front of the 190 away supporters.
It was a bitter blow for The Whites in front of a crowd of 3210, after they had raced into a good lead. It was hard to see whether McCombe handballed or not, but the referee seemed certain he had. The experience of Igoe and Guinan was a boost for Hereford, but the players will be very disappointed to have drawn from the position they were in. Next weekend's game at Darlington holds great importance with both sides still in the hunt for automatic promotion, although the biggest contenders to Hereford may well be Stockport, who defeated The Quakers today.
Hereford: Brown, McClenahan, McCombe, Beckwith, Rose, Igoe, Diagouraga, Smith, Easton, Guinan, Hooper.
Subs: Esson, Collins, Taylor, Johnson, Robinson.
Chester: Danby, Roberts, Linwood, Butler, Wilson, Sandwith, Rutherford, Hughes, Partridge, Ellison, Murphy.
Subs: Palethorpe, Kelly, Rule, Vaughan, McManus.