 |
| Mike Symons Opens The Scoring For Hereford |
The gentleman sitting next to me used the phrase “lack of ambition” a few times, and although it’s a bit of a journalistic cliché I know what he meant. Taking off Roberts, who still looked full of running, to bring on a midfielder was a negative move. Knowing that FCUM were desperate for points and would inevitably leave gaps at the back as they tried to get an equaliser would have given opportunities for a forward with pace, but, as in previous games, Hereford were on the back foot for the most of the last quarter of the game, and it was no surprise when the team in red scored to make it 2-2.
The game got off to a scrappy start in the very pleasant surroundings of Broadhurst Park. I couldn’t help wondering, as the football wasn’t holding my attention at that point, what some of the other clubs in the Greater Manchester area could have done with some of the financial support provided by the council to establish the very impressive little stadium. FCUM rapidly became media darlings and the poster boys for fan owned clubs, but their recent difficulties show that running football clubs at a competitive semi-pro level isn’t easy. We should take that seriously when considering where we are today.
Anyway, after the aforementioned scrappy start, the game started to settle down, and after 11 minutes former Hereford United player Chris Sharp (if only he’d been half as good as his dad) scored for FC United with an angled shot after a headed clearance had rebounded to him off one of his team mates.
Hereford responded quickly and Tom Owen-Evans had a strong on-target volley from a right-wing cross tipped over by the FCUM keeper.
Hereford continued to press and after 17 minutes Roberts chased a long ball down the right and turned it inside for Mike Symons to score with a shot which was partially saved but rolled into the net.
The celebrations were marred by a group of Hereford supporters who had arrived shortly before kick-off, obviously very well refreshed by Holts or Lees or one of the other local ales, throwing smoke bombs and/or flares onto the pitch which took a few minutes to deal with. While I don’t doubt the commitment to and enthusiasm for Hereford FC of these people, I do seriously wonder about the intellect of anyone who thinks it’s fun to bring one of these devices to a football match. The situation had the potential to turn nasty, given the very few stewards available, but was calmed down fairly quickly and credit must go to the stewards, particularly the lady who had to endure being cuddled by groups of drunks in order to keep them happy.
The game was fairly open after that. Hereford seemed to defend very narrowly, giving up lots of space on the flanks, particularly on Danny Greenslade’s wing. Jimmy Oates was disappointing on the other side – there was no lack of effort but his use of the ball was very poor.
Greenslade did look good going forward, and linked up with Tom Owen-Evans well, but often the resulting cross came to nothing as there was no-one to attack the ball in the penalty area.
Mike Symons has come in for some criticism of late. Yes, he is slow. Very slow. However he is a big, strong, awkward bugger, and any centre half who comes up against him will get a hard time. His hold up play and layoffs are great, and he can bring the quicker players into the game well as long as they support him, which doesn’t always happen. I was very pleased to see him get a goal today, well deserved for all his effort.
There were seven minutes of extra time at the end of the half, mainly due to the disruption caused by dealing with the smoke bombs. The main excitement of this period was a low corner to FCUM on their left which was flicked on at the near post and skimmed the Hereford bar.
Half time: FC United of Manchester 1 Hereford FC 1
The second half started with a bit of a flutter for Hereford. Yates came for a high cross among a crowd of players and dropped it. Gowling was able to block the shot that followed.
Eliot Richards had made little useful contribution to the game. I’m not even sure what he’s supposed to be. Is he a midfielder? Is he a number 10 (yes, I know he wears 9) playing in the hole? Is he a wide player? I don’t know, and given the way he plays, neither does he. This probably sounds unfair, because today he scored one of the best goals scored by Hereford that I’ve seen in a while. Jimmy Oates won a throw in on the right, and after the ball had pinged about a bit he played it infield to Richards who turned on it and let fly from well outside the penalty area. I saw from right behind it and it was one of those occasions when I knew it was a goal from the moment he hit the ball, it dipped into the top corner of the goal, giving the keeper no chance.
Once again the fireworks appeared, although it didn’t take long to sort it out this time.
As already mentioned the Bulls seemed content to sit back from this point. The one exception was when Symons went on a dazzling (honestly) run down the left, beat the defender and cut towards the goal along the touchline. He pulled the ball back to Theo Wharton. It was a great opportunity to put it to bed but he took a touch instead of shooting first time which gave the defender the chance to block the shot.
The announcer had just said that there were 5 minutes extra time when FCUM were awarded a soft free kick. I had a bad feeling about it and the ball duly found its way into the net with the help of a deflection which left Yates in an impossible position.
That was it. It’s not hard to see the problems – only Nuneaton have scored fewer goals than us, and today even the previously solid back four looked dodgy. The full backs were ‘tucked in’ too close, and the two centre halves were not as commanding as previously. I still think we can avoid relegation but it will be ‘squeaky bum time’ from now until the end of the season.
The management team remain as unpopular as ever, but I think we have to accept that they aren’t going anywhere any time soon. The board have too much invested in their decision to appoint them (if not financially then certainly in terms of the director’s credibility and ego) to let Richards and Harris go now. One day the truth about Beadle’s exit from the club will come out, and I don’t suppose that will improve the mood of the supporters. And we thought Brexit was a divisive issue!
All we can hope for is survival this season and to regroup and go again next year. Whether the current management team can inspire that is debatable.
Full time: FC United of Manchester 2 Hereford FC 2
Come on you whites!
Harwood Bull
Hereford: Yates, Oates, Greenslade, Thomas, Cullinane-Liburd, Gowling, O'Sullivan, Owen-Evans, Richards, Roberts, Symons.
Subs: Wesolowski, Wharton, Finn, Ebbutt, Hill
Att: 2058