Match Report - Guiseley 1 Hereford 1

In my role as BN’s occasional Northern Correspondent I headed to Guiseley this evening, more in hope than with any realistic expectation of a good result.

My last report was on the Bulls’ match at Stockport – on that occasion they had very little to offer up front but were well organised and battled hard for a well deserved point. I thought then that they got the tactics right, and said so in the report, thinking that the draw that day had stopped the rot. How wrong you can be.

Richards and Harris have had plenty of time now to make a real impact but seem to have achieved very little. The only change in the match day squad to make any difference is Symons’ return from injury and the management team can’t take credit for that. It’s already difficult for Richards, following a popular manager who many people felt had been treated very badly by the board so his recent comments criticising the supporters are hard to understand. He’s not an easy man to warm to.

So, back to this evening. It turned out to be a much more entertaining game than I’d expected, one which the Bulls could have won if it hadn’t been for a couple of excellent saves by the Guiseley keeper, Marcus Dewhurst. When I saw the team sheet with Liburd, Smith and Gowling all on it I thought we would be playing a 3-5-2 formation, but Hereford lined up in a 4-4-2 with Liburd at right back and Kieran Thomas in midfield. I don’t think it worked – Liburd didn’t look comfortable on the ball in wide positions and I think it restricted the Bulls attacking options on the right flank.

Liburd Heads Towards Goal

The Keeper Spilled The Ball

But Liburd Couldn't Get To The Rebound

 However the first 25 minutes or so went reasonably well. Symons was winning a fair share of the balls knocked up to him but lacked support to feed off the layoffs and flicks. George Lloyd ran tirelessly and chased everything, but looked very lightweight against the home back line. Greenslade made a couple of very good overlapping runs down the left but nothing came from the crosses.

After 28 minutes the team in white went ahead. Unfortunately that was Guiseley. They won a free kick out on the right – not sure what for, the ref’s decision making seemed to be random at best – and with Hereford lined up expecting a cross to the back post, the ball was chipped in to the near side to be turned into the net by a crafty flick from Odejayi. The rest of the half was uneventful.

Mike Symons Watches As Eliot Richards Plants The Ball Into The Back Of The Net

The second half started briskly for Hereford. A corner from the right was only cleared to Richards, on the edge of the area. His powerful shot found its way into the net with the aid of a deflection to make it 1-1. 

Not long afterwards a right wing cross from Thomas was met by an excellent header from Lloyd, and an even better save from the home goalie who turned it against the bar, the ball going out for a goal kick in the ensuing scramble. Hereford continued to press with some very direct running from Eliot Richards and good skills from Tom Owen-Evans.

Josh Gowling Appeared To Be Pushed

But Nothing Was Given

Lloyd was subbed with Keyon coming on, presumably to give a bit more width, and he soon won a corner. However the pendulum seemed to be swinging back towards Guiseley and there were some heart stopping scrambles in the Bulls’ penalty area. It was looking that it could go either way but the final flourish belonged to Hereford. 

A low cross from Refell was blocked at the near post and as the ball bounced around, Tom Owen-Evans produced a great volley on the turn that was heading for the top corner until Dewhurst leapt to turn it over.

Finally, with just seconds on the clock, Greenslade made an excellent overlap on the left and drilled a low cross into the box. Refell and Owen-Evans slid in but couldn’t make contact, and Mike Symons, coming in at the back post, shot from a narrow angle but the ball hit Owen-Evans. That was the last action of the game. Unfortunately Refell was left on the turf needing attention after his desparate efforts to reach the ball. Let’s hope it’s not serious.

Overall, not a bad performance, albeit against another struggling side. Symons needs closer support, and we do continue to look very lightweight against big physical sides. Every time the ball is played into our box it’s nail-biting stuff. That said, there were some good skills displayed and there is genuine pace in the side. I think there might just be enough there to survive this season, but it’s going to be very tense.

I was explaining the management situation at Hereford to someone I know, a long time Blackburn Rovers supporter. I mentioned the sports science, the performance monitoring, the clipboards, and all that stuff. He said “Yes, but can they manage men?”. We’ll find out in the next couple of months.

Next up, a long trip to Northumberland to play Blyth. COYW.

Hereford: Yates, Thomas, Greenslade, Cullinane-Liburd, Smith, Gowling ©, o’Sullivan,Owen-Evans, Richards, Lloyd (Refell), Symons
Subs not used: Dielna, Finn, Wharton, Roberts

Guiseley: Dewhurst, Moyo, Heaton,Cantrill, Langley, Halls(c), Felix, James, Clayton, Odejayi, Hatfield
Subs: Smith, Purver, Thornton, Liburd, Morrison. 

Report by Harwood Bull