Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Preview: Bulls vs Gillingham

The Bulls entertain Gillingham for the first time in 15 years when the two sides meet on Saturday.

They met for seven sucessive seasons before Gillingham won promotion from this tier in 95/96, and they've managed to miss each other over the last couple of seasons by being simultaneously promoted and relegated twice. Over the years the Bulls have just edged the contest, winning nine and drawing seven of the games with the Gills winning eight.

The Bulls opening their home League campaign looking to make further progress on the three points gained last Saturday. A good crowd is expected and, with Janos Kovacs acting like he's just put Rocky down in the third, they should be fired up for a succesful season. One Bull looking for his seasonal debut will be Richard Rose, who had six seasons as a pro at the Priestfield. He may get a nod as the defensive midfielder if O'Neil Thompson is not fit.

Andy Hessenthaler's men may be a few bodies short at the weekend. Such is their current injury crisis they were only able to fill 17 of the 18 berths on the team sheet on Tuesday night, with eleven players reported to be carrying a variety of injuries and viruses and a twelth, Jack Payne, being subbed last night due to a dead leg. They opened the season with a 1-1 draw at home to Cheltenham, a disappointing result that saw them lose their favourites tag with the bookies.

Hereford United vs Gillingham, Edgar Street, Saturday 14th August, 3.00pm.