Another Saturday, another trip
up north for Hereford FC, this time to Ashton-under-Lyne for a match against Ashton United, the
Man United to Curzon Ashton’s Man City, or vice versa; who knows, my knowledge
of the subtleties of Ashton-under-Lyne footballing rivalries could be written on the back of a fag packet in really large letters.
What I do know is that
this is the easiest three points the Bulls could wish to play for since the three points they played for in the home
game against Nuneaton, and we all know what happened there. Ah, OK, bad example.
Ashton didn’t have the same trouble as Hereford in beating the bottom club
shortly after that frustrating 2-2 draw at Edgar Street, winning 1-0 at Nuneaton. This followed another battling 1-0 win against fellow strugglers FC United, and was a win which at the time made
the gap between them and us uncomfortably narrow. Since then the Robins
have reverted to looking like one of the more likely relegation candidates in
the division in losing 2-0 at York last time out. In fairness they've struggled since August, following promotion via the Northern Premier League play-offs.
However, their visit to Herefordshire in September saw them make irritatingly short work of brushing aside a barely-there threat from the home side, which admittedly was at a point when our club, both on and off the pitch, was
in a state of complete disarray. It took some time and a lot of painful matches after
that really grim afternoon for things to start picking up, but it does
increasingly look like the Bulls are finally consistently back
on a vaguely acceptable upward trajectory for the first time since Pete Beadle was controversially sacked.
James
Waite’s misplaced elbow
against Leamington last Saturday sees him start a three-match suspension
tomorrow. That ban will presumably see Mike Symons return to the starting line-up, which could
result in George Lloyd and Tom Owen-Evans playing in advanced supporting roles alongside the totemic talisman,
with in-form O’Sullivan and Richards behind, alongside Kieran Thomas in his
enforcer/disruptor role.
While the Cardiff youngster
will undoubtedly be missed, there should be enough left on the pitch in terms of form and confidence
to take the game to the hosts and remain on the front foot for 90 minutes. The
aforementioned Richards and O’Sullivan are flying currently, and Josh Gowling,
in leading by example, is bringing out the best in Jordan Cullinane-Liburd at the back. The only concern would be that neither Symons or Lloyd have been remotely prolific in terms of goals so far this season, so goalscoring duties could, in Waite's absence, fall to ace marksman Gowling again. You never know, a fiver on a hat-trick for the Bulls skipper could prove to be a shrewd investment!
Three
points at Hurst Cross tomorrow and we're starting to look north, in terms of progress up
the table rather than our next away game, although of course we're
starting to look north for that too, and the next and the next, again
and again. Who sang that? We'll also be 11 points clear of relegation.
Let's
not have another hiccup a la Nuneaton at home. This one needs to be won
and won comfortably, and preferably put to bed by half-time.
COYW