Hereford travelled to Southern League South and West side Bishops Cleeve on Tuesday evening in their fourth preseason friendly, with the Mitres the highest-graded team the Bulls have faced so far.
Pete Beadle's men dominated the game from the off, but it wasn't until the tenth minute when Hereford had their first shot on target. Mike McGrath’s low drive from 18-yards was well-held by goalkeeper Tim Griffiths, before a similar effort from Pablo Haysham was parried.
A fantastic double-save by the keeper in the 14th minute kept the score line level. An initial shot from Jimmy Oates was punched clear, but as the ball fell to the feet of John Mills, his resulting effort was somehow pushed wide.
The hosts took the lead in the 20th minute, before conceding an equaliser from the restart. Joe Bates’ free kick took a deflection off the four-man Hereford wall, and Martin Horsell could only watch on as the ball hit the back of the net.
But less than a minute later, John Mills equalised for the Bulls. Pablo Haysham broke away down the right-wing, and after playing in a cross to John Mills, he was able to curl the ball into the top left-hand corner of the net.
A second goal for Mills gave his side one-goal lead going into half time. His classic chop opened up a perfect opportunity to strike the ball into the back of the net.
Moments later, Cleeve’s Jack Oldham came inches away from scoring a screamer of an own goal when his 40-yard ‘shot’ rattled the crossbar.
John Mills was unlucky not to complete his hat trick before the break, but his downward header from Haysham's cross went wide of the upright.
HT: Bishops Cleeve 1 - Hereford 2
With the wind now behind them, Hereford created a handful of chances within the opening minutes of the second half. Firstly, Pablo Haysham saw his rising shot go high and wide of the target, before Calvin Dinsley headed wide from Oates’ cross.
Ten minutes after the restart, Bishop Cleeve’s substitute keeper did well to get to Keyon Reffell's shot, before Rob Purdie's follow-up effort took a deflection.
From the resulting corner, the Whites then extended their lead thanks to Jack Deaman. After the ball eventually fell to the feet of the defender, he managed to get enough on it to stab the ball over the line.
After a relatively quiet period, Rob Purdie scored Hereford's fourth goal in the 74th minute. Keeper Tassell was able to parry substitute Mike Symons' shot, but the onrushing Purdie made no mistake in finding the back of the net with his left-footed effort.
With five minutes left on the clock, Cleeve came close to grabbing a second goal, but Sloggett's shot was too wide to trouble Martin Horsell.
Jimmy Oates then rounded off the scoring with his second goal of preseason. Despite the keeper getting his fingertips to Oates’ shot, it wasn’t enough to prevent the Bulls' fifth goal of the evening.
FT: Bishops Cleeve 1 - Hereford 5
Hereford: Horsell, Oates, Bowen, Dinsley, Green, Deaman, Reffell, McGrath, Mills, Haysham, Purdie.
Subs: Symons, Edge, Preece, Franklin, Hayes and Pugh.
Next Game: Preseason Friendly - AFC Telford United Away on Saturday 22nd July at 3pm