Hereford 0 - Potters Bar Town 0

After a youthful Hereford side put 15 goals past Tenbury United midweek, Pete Beadle reverted largely to the side that knocked Telford out of the FA Cup last week. The only change to the starting XI for Saturday’s FA Trophy game against Potters Bar saw Pablo Haysham come in for the injured Calvin Dinsley.

Garyn Preen With A Well-Placed Cross But No-One Could Get On The End Of It

The game got off to a slow start, with Hereford unable to test the keeper in the opening stages. With four minutes on the clock, Dara O’Shea couldn’t keep his shot down as it sailed over the bar, before Mike Symons headed over moments later.

The Bulls came close to opening the scoring in the 17th minute, but Garyn Preen saw an initial shot denied by the upright, before the keeper beat John Mills to the rebound.

O’Shea looked bright going forward from his right back position, and a quick one-two with Rob Purdie saw him break into the box. But his powerful strike sailed harmless over the goal and into the Blackfriars End.

Hereford kept up the pressure on the Scholars’ defence, but lacked quality in the final third. The Bulls’ next chance fell to Rob Purdie, but he fired high and wide of the target after being set up by Garyn Preen. Pablo Haysham then saw his weak header easily caught by the keeper.

Hereford’s best chance of the half fell to Garyn Preen, but visiting keeper Berkley Laurencin pulled off a fine save to keep the score level. A corner for the home side was headed away by Steve Brown, but only as far as Preen on the edge of the box. The Welshman did well to cut into the box, but his powerful drive stung the hands of the keeper, going behind for a fruitless corner.

Potters Bar grew more into the game as the half drew to a close, with captain Lee O’Leary drilling an effort just wide of the upright.

HT: Hereford 0 – Potters Bar Town 0

Hereford came out for the second half and had a handful of shots on target within the first five minutes. Both Mike Symons and John Mills saw similar shots palmed away by the keeper, as they looked to tap the ball home from close range. Pablo Haysham then twisted and turned his way into a congested penalty area, but his strike was blocked and cleared by the Scholar’s defence.

John Mills With A Shot

Midway through the half, the Whites somehow couldn’t capitalise on two goalworthy chances. First, Rob Purdie’s right-footed shot was straight at the keeper, before John Mills blazed an effort over from point-blank range. Hereford fans would’ve put money on Mills to score, but after being teed up by substitute Adam Page, he skied his shot from six-yards.

As the Meadow End started to find its voice and urge Hereford to find a winner, Dara O’Shea saw a strong penalty claimed dismissed by the referee. The 18-year looked desperate for a goal as he tried another powerful strike from the edge of the box, but there were calls for handball as the danger was dealt with by Potters Bar.

The final real chance of the game fell for Preen, but a shot from 18-yards was straight into the arms of the well-positioned keeper.

Despite the majority of possession throughout the game, particularly in the second half, the Bulls seemed somewhat shy in front of goal and lacked a decent final touch – so it’s down to Hertfordshire for the replay on Tuesday evening.

FT: Hereford 0 – Potters Bar Town 0

Att: 1,368 with 17 in the away enclosure

Sponsors’ MotM: Dara O’Shea

Hereford: Horsell, Oates (c), O'Shea, Purdie (Bird – 88’), Green, Deaman, Preen, Reffell, Mills, Haysham (Page – 64’), Symons (Smith – 64’).

Subs not used: Franklin, A. Harris

Potters Bar: Laurencin, Doyle, Lomas, O’Leary, Brown, Boxer, Sota, Adcock, Murray, Nicholas, Casey

Subs: Ogunsola, Baird, Benavides-Martinez, Wambeek, Vas.

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