The Bulls entertain league leaders Port Vale on Saturday looking for a turnaround in fortunes.
The two sides met last season for their first League tussles in 25 years with a 2-2 draw occuring at Edgar Street last August. Just five of the 18 man matchday squad remain with the Bulls with Marc Pugh and Tristan Plummer scoring the goals. Port Vale have failed to win at Edgar Street in their last five trips including a memorable 4-0 win for the Bulls in the FA Cup in December 2006.
The Bulls face the Valiants looking to stop an increasingly embarassing away goals count. Since getting a clean sheet against Gillingham they have conceded one to Rotherham, two to Oxford, three to Southend, and then four against Stevenage at the last home game. If Simon Davey was still in charge the idea of Port Vale hitting five might have been likely, but the Bulls turned in a vastly improved performance under Jamie Pitman and should provide a more than competent challenge to the leaders.
Port Vale boss Micky Adams collected the Manager of the Month award on Thursday and he will hope the curse of the award doesn't push their away form right off the tracks. After opening the season with four straight League wins on the road they lost at Oxford before a punishing midweek slog to Carlisle ended with them losing on penalties. Ex-Bulls Lee Collins, John McCombe and Kris Taylor have differing fortunes this season. Collins and McCombe are defensive regulars while Taylor has only featured in one League match, spending most of his time on the bench.
Hereford United vs Port Vale, Edgar Street, Saturday 9th October, 3.00pm.