Tonight sees Hereford FC hit
the road for the first of four consecutive away matches in National League
North as they travel to good old Bootham Crescent, York.
On Saturday, tonight's hosts followed what seems
to be a growing trend in this division, whereby the strugglers dig out a 3-2
win on their travels. FCUM started the ball rolling with an excellent win at
Bradford recently, and the Bulls followed up at Blyth. York then did the same
against Alfreton while Hereford lost at home to Curzon Ashton, extending the gap
between the two clubs to three points, although a win for the Bulls tonight would see them climb above York on goal difference.
Prior to that Alfreton win, York had gradually been
sliding down the table, having lost three on the bounce, but recently
appointed manager and former Newcastle United favourite Steve Watson is bringing his own players in and is perhaps starting to find a
formula to arrest that slide.
On Saturday, it was impossible not to
feel an awful lot of sympathy for the players at the final
whistle. In the first half in particular much of the Bulls’ build-up play was
skillful and intelligent, creating several moments of panic in the Curzon
penalty area. It’s not too fanciful to suggest that the game could have been
put to bed in that first 45 minutes had the side featured a player with the
happy knack of poking a goal in from two or three yards. It seems to be the
case however that Bulls goals will have to continue coming from distance rather than
from tap-ins inside the six-yard box, putting the finishing touch to the sort of
good build-up play glimpsed on Saturday, simply because there’s no-one on the
playing staff who instinctively anticipates when to be there when it matters.
Newcomer James Waite certainly
isn’t that sort of player, but he does look to have the potential to scare
defences and create chances, either for himself or others. He’ll surely play
some part in proceedings tonight. Again, three centre-backs were deployed on
Saturday, although the formation was tweaked as the match progressed. Adopting a
4-3-3 instead would allow Jimmy Oates to play in his natural right back position, and
would generally offer a bit more stability. Tommy O’Sullivan had arguably his best
game for Hereford on Saturday, and in that formation could form a partnership
across the middle with Eliot Richards and Kieran Thomas. Logically, that would leave
Tom Owen-Evans, Mike Symons and hopefully James Waite up front, but Symo
understandably looked a bit cooked on Saturday after weeks battling with
uncompromising centre-halves in attempting to keep the ball in the opposition’s
half long enough for reinforcements to arrive around him. Unfortunately, alternatives aren’t
immediately obvious, unless a risk is taken in playing George Lloyd or James
Roberts, giving pace and mobility right across the front line but very little
height.
The clubs shared the spoils in
a 1-1 draw at Edgar Street earlier in the season, with Mike McGrath cancelling out the Minstermen's opener. Characteristically, the Bulls started brightly without converting pressure into goals, and the opposition took advantage and opened the scoring. In fairness, they had ex-Bull Adam Bartlett to thank for their point with several good saves, so let's hope his form has tailed off since.
With games away at Leamington,
Ashton and FCUM imminent, all of whom are in the bottom half of the division
with the latter two below Hereford, February is looking crucial in determining
the Bulls fate in terms of which tier they’ll be playing in next season. It
would be good to get that series of matches off to a winning start tonight, but
it’s not going to be easy against full-time opposition.
COYW