TOE makes his mark as Bulls rescue a point against Curzon

A dramatic stoppage time penalty from returnee Tom Owen-Evans ensured 10-man Hereford came away with a point in interim manager Josh Gowling’s first game in charge.

Owen-Evans sent Cameron Mason the wrong way in the 92^nd minute after substitute referee Liam Corbett adjudged that Rowan Liburd was deemed to have been fouled.

Corbett replaced Scott Simpson halfway through the first half after Simpson went off injured. That led to Radio Hereford FC volunteer Mark Ammonds - who is a qualified match official in the Herefordshire FA County League – running the line.

Gowling restored both Owen-Evans and Liburd to the starting line-up after bringing them back to the club following respective loan spells at Chippenham and Dartford.

Jacob Jagger Cane – who had been on loan at Weston-Super-Mare – was on the bench.

Curzon – who had already threatened in the early stages – took the lead in the 15th minute. Connor Diamaio's shot was blocked, but Mohamud Ali made no mistake when the ball came back to him, smashing it into the roof of the net.

The away side could easily have gone 2-0 up just six minutes later when Owen Watkinson was clean through But Jason Pope made a great last-ditch tackle.

For Hereford, Victor Sodeinde saw a free kick rattle the crossbar in the 34th minute, with Rowan Liburd's shot follow-up header going over.

The free kick was awarded after Daniel Shaw brought down Alex Bray on the edge of the box. Shaw was subsequently booked, but it could be argued that he could have been sent off due to being the last man.

A minimum of 10 minutes were added on at the end of the first half, and in the eighth of those minutes, Ben Pollock was sent off by Corbett following what was deemed to be a dangerous challenge.

That dismissal clearly affected the game, with Hereford failing to trouble the Curzon defence on many occasions. Indeed, it was the away side who had the better of the chances in the second half.

Ali headed over in the 56^th minute, while Henry made a fine stop 12 minutes later.

Hereford ended up making three substitutions in the second half. Rhys Davies made his league debut after replacing the injured Danny Greenslade, while Jagger Cane and Reece Styche also came on.

It looked like Curzon were going to go home with all three points and go above Hereford in the National League North table.

But the Bulls were handed a gift by Corbett and Owen-Evans made no mistake from the penalty spot.

Hereford: Henry, Hodgkiss, Greenslade (Davies 63), Pollock, Pope, Cullinane-Liburd, Sodeinde, Owen-Evans, Liburd, O’Sullivan (Jagger Cane 67), Bray (Styche 73).

Subs not used: Finn, Mooney.

Curzon Ashton: Mason, Baillie, Askew, Evans, Shaw, Ali, Bayode (Wroe 90), Calveley, Watkinson (Crawford 63), Dimaio, Sinclair (Hall 79).

Subs not used: Lovell, Merrill.

Attendance: 1,950 (19 away fans).