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Ben Chilman previews tomorrow's match for BN:
This weekend sees Hereford host Telford in the highly anticipated first round of the FA Cup. With this being the first time the reformed Bulls have reached this stage of the competition, seated tickets sold out within four hours of going on general sale.
The first leg of the FA Vase semi-final against Salisbury in March 2016 recorded an attendance of 4,683, the current record, but this weekend’s tie is almost certainly going to break this with all tickets sold out.
On Tuesday night, the Hereford FC's smallest ever league crowd of 1,686 gathered at Edgar Street to watch the Bulls win 2-0 against struggling Dunstable Town. In a game the Bulls dominated the score line could have been far more and will need to be more ruthless in front of goal this weekend.
However, the goals came through Lance Smith after Mike Symons won a penalty. Smith stepped up to spot kick duties with John Mills on the bench, and slotted straight down the middle to score his third goal in as many games.
Man of the match Keyon Reffell then doubled the Bulls lead after substitutes Mills and Page linked up well to allow the striker to fire in his sixth of the season. Adam Page came on for Garyn Preen who started the game after having a few week off.
Ryan Green missed the game due to prior arrangements but will back available for the weekend. Mike McGrath will have also returned from suspension.
With Symons starting, Mills was given his first rest since the start of the season. The striker had been feeling his hamstring against Tiverton last week, but Beadle to the risk to play Mills in the FA Trophy and after bagging a hat trick the gamble certainly payed off!
Calvin Dinsley will be back into contention after recovering from his hamstring injury, but is unlikely to start.
The Bulls still remain in search of a left back after Danny Greenslade turned down the offer to join the club last week. Beadle had spoke about hoping to get a player in for the short term, but it is looking unlikely that any new player will feature for the team this weekend.
Telford, who play a tier above the Bulls, come into the game on the back of a draw with Southport. After scoring in the first half the Bucks let the lead slip with the game finishing 1-1. With that draw taken into account Telford’s current form in all competitions is W-W-W-L-D as they sit in 11th place in the National League North, only two points of the playoffs.
The Shropshire based side started the season with playoff ambitions under newly appointed manager Rob Edwards. The former Wolves, Villa and Blackpool centre back praised the expected levels of support earlier in the week with around 725 Telford supporters expected at this weekend’s fixture.
Telford’s man in form is number 9 Marcus Dinanga. The striker is on loan from Burton Albion and already has 11 goals for the season. The 20 year old usually plays as a lone centre forward with Jordan Murphy, Elliot Newby and Anthony Dwyer seeing a lot more of the ball sat just in behind.
The Bucks' squad is slightly short on numbers with a growing injury list and left back Ryan Wilson being cup-tied. Telford have made it to this stage of the competition thanks to a 3-1 win against United of Manchester in the previous round.
If you are travelling to Hereford this weekend there is a show on at the Courtyard and the usual Hereford traffic and roadworks to contend with so expect limited parking and increased travel times.
With the sell-out crowd ready to provide a fantastic atmosphere there is surely no other place a Bulls fan would want to be at 3PM this Saturday!
COYW