A look back to February 12th 2002 and a win for the Bulls in the FA Trophy.
HEREFORD United 4 - 1 Hampton & Richmond Borough
Hereford United progressed to the fifth round of the FA Umbro Trophy after overcoming Hampton & Richmond Borough at Edgar Street.
Hereford United progressed to the fifth round of the FA Umbro Trophy after overcoming Hampton & Richmond Borough at Edgar Street.
The 4-1 victory sets up a big tie in the fifth round - away at Chester City - but tonight's result do not display the resiliant nature of the Hampton performance for eighty minutes.
Phil Robinson named an unchanged Bulls side for the encounter, with Gavin Williams and Paul Parry in attack. Hampton played Craig Maskell at number 10; it was his shot that rebounded to Robbie Reinelt five years ago that sent Hereford out of the Football League instead of Brighton & Hove Albion.
The twice-delayed tie saw Hereford dominate early proceedings; Gavin Williams' first minute shocked was blocked and from the resulting corner, captain Ian Wright headed inches over Stuart MacKenzie's crossbar. Despite the Bulls dominating the attacking play and possession, Hampton's Darren Deegan clashed with Matt Baker whilst on a rare attack after twelve minutes. Baker cleared the danger but Deegan had gone down in the challenge and after a spell of treatment, he was stretchered off. It was announced after the match that Deegan had broken his leg, and he was replaced on the field by Marvyn Watson.
Midway through the half, United's Gavin Williams fired over from twenty five yards as Hampton were restricted to counter attacks. Five minutes later, Hereford took a deserved lead. Scott Goodwin crossed from the left and Matt Clarke, who was well positioned on the far post, headed home from close range.
Ian Wright and Scott Goodwin went close with efforts as Hereford looked to increase their advantage, but it was Hampton who were next to get the ball in the net. After thirty eight minutes, goalkeeper Baker came out to clear a loose ball but John Snape, who had come back to challenge the attacking Raphael Nade, appeared to slip the ball past Baker and into his own net. The goal was credited to Snape, but Nade appeared to get the final touch.
In the remainder of the half, Hereford had all the possession. Gavin Williams tried another long range effort as seen against Wrexham and Swindon, but the goalkeeper was able to save low on his line. The 1-1 half-time scoreline did seem a little unbalanced, but the twenty eight travelling fans from Hampton were delighted to be holding a Conference side. The first half statistics reveal one shot on goal for Hampton compared with five for Hereford.
Four minutes into the second half, Hereford took the lead. Gavin Williams was brought down in the box by Steve Omonua, and Tony James stepped up to slip the spot kick down the middle as Hereford scored just their second penalty of the season. Hampton can have no complaints as two minutes before the break, Matt Clarke's appeal for a penalty were turned down.
Paul Parry was foiled on two occasions as Hereford searched for a killer third goal, but Hampton's Nade fired over from the left at the other end as the Ryman League's were restricted to counter attacks. Both sides made changes, with Rob Elmes coming on for Scott Goodwin for the Bulls, and with seven minutes left, Hereford found another goal. An Ian Rodgerson cross was headed home by Gavin Williams, effectively sealing a Hereford victory.
A superb double save from Stuart MacKenzie meant Paul Parry was prevented from getting on the scoresheet again, but in added time it was Parry's free kick from the left than set up the fourth. Captain Ian Wright got onto the end of the ball to fire home as Hereford progressed to the fifth round.
The crowd of 1,167 will be pleased with the Hereford performance, but would be excused from thinking that the Bulls should have scored more. Man of the match Tony James was outstanding at the back, and scored a penalty, but nobody had a bad game for Hereford. The Bulls will play Chester in the next round, after they overcame Solihull Borough 4-2 in the replay tonight.
Hereford United: Matt Baker Matt Clarke John Shirley Phil Robinson Ian Wright (captain) Tony James Ian Rodgerson John Snape Paul Parry Gavin Williams Scott Goodwin (off, 77 minutes)
Subs: Rob Elmes (on, 77 minutes), Lee Evans, Jimmy Quiggin, Jon Hill, Roy Jordan
Scorers:Matt Clarke (27 minutes) John Snape (own goal, 38 minutes) Tony James (52 minutes, penalty) Gavin Williams (83 minutes) Ian Wright (90 minutes)
Man of the Match: Tony James
Attendance: 1,167
Referee: Mr. R. Desmond