Here's a report on last night's game at Sporting Khalsa written by Gary Hazelhurst.
Sporting Khalsa 0 Hereford 3
Another big game at the top of the Premier Division with 3rd hosting the leaders. The Hereford fans had travelled in huge numbers in what many saw as a pivotal match in the destination of the title. A victory at the Aspray Arena would surely mean they had one hand firmly gripping the trophy. As a sideline, we also had the battle of the two leading scorers in the league with John Mills and Craig Bannister amassing 90 goals between them! It was the visitors that started the game very much on the front foot with the pace of Sidric Grant causing problems down the Hereford right. An early volley just over the bar from Aaron Birch signalled the Bulls intentions. They opened the scoring in the 9th minute. Grant outmuscled Tim Jackson and his low cross was scrambled away by Mihai Gherasim into the path of Pablo Haysham who needed no second invitation as the ball nestled in the Khalsa net. Both sides struggled to create any clear opportunities with defences well marshalled by Ryan Green and Tesfa Robinson. Khalsa’s first opening came in the 31st minute when Marvin Nisbett beat Jamie Willetts but before Matt Martin could get onto the ball, Jimmy Oates was on hand to clear. Hereford perhaps should have done better when a Mike Symons cross flew across the face of goal just needing a touch. The Bull should have doubled their lead in the 38th minute. Grant again skipped into the are, playing the ball inside to Haysham who in turn found Joe Tumelty unmarked in the area. Tumelty had to score but his weak effort went harmlessly wide. On the stroke of half-time, the impressive Grant volleyed over the bar.
Hereford continued where they left off, well and truly on the offensive. Grant was unlucky with an acrobatic overhead kick which was just off target. The Bulls doubled their lead in the 58th minute. Tumelty found space and his a stinging drive which was well saved by Gherasim but Symons was on hand to head the ball into the net. Symons was foiled twice in a minute, his shot on the turn saved by Gherasim and then a point-blank header scrambled away. In the 72nd minute, Grant raced through on the right but his shot was straight at Gherasim. In the 82nd minute, Hereford put the game to bed. Grant ran into the penalty area and was upended by Gherasim, the referee having no option other than to award a penalty. Rob Purdie stepped up and made no mistake from the spot. Haysham thought he had made it four three minutes from time but his shot was brilliantly blocked on the line by John Hill. Despite more than 5 minutes of added on time, there were no scares for the Bulls as they maintained their 10 point lead at the top of the table.
An excellent performance by Hereford who are now just 5 points away from the league title. A lot has been said about the Bulls firepower but the defence again showed their worth keeping Craig Bannister quiet which few teams this season have managed. On the day, Khalsa couldn’t make any inroads and Hereford were comfortable at the end. A busy end to the season for both with silverware up for grabs, the highest league position in their history for Khalsa and Wembley glory for the Bulls.