Leigh RMI were the visitors to Edgar Street on April 19th 2003 and at the end of ninety minutes they were the happier of the two teams.
A look back:
United slump to
second defeat
Hereford
United 0 - 1 Leigh RMI
In a disappointing end-of-season
encounter, Hereford United lost out to their second
consecutive single goal defeat as Leigh RMI eased their
relegation worries.
Graham Turner missed three of his regular first-teamers, with Paul Parry and Andy Tretton joined on the sidelines by Ben Smith, who had an upset stomach. Missing Parry appeared to be the biggest hinderance, as Hereford failed to utilise the wings sufficiently to break down the Lancastrians, whose twenty-four travelling fans will be delighted with their victory.
The game's only goal came seven minutes before the break, when a Phil Salt shot from the Leigh left channel sailed over Matt Baker and into the far corner of the net. It was a superb ball from outside the box, and came after United had wasted several chances. Steve Guinan fired wide of the far post early on, and on the half hour a John Grant shot was saved well by RMI stopper Stuart Coburn after Danny Williams had charged into the box.
Having gone behind, Hereford looked as if they might scramble a goal back before the break when Jamie Pitman fired over from the edge of the box, and in added time a Steve Guinan shot from eight yards out was pushed away by Coburn. The ball stood loose in the area, but nobody could pounce and a defender hooked the ball to safety.
After the restart, Neil Campbell tried his luck as Leigh looked to extend their advantage, but his close-range effort was charged down. He then had the ball in the back of the net, latching onto a Phil Salt ball, but it was ruled out for offside. At the other end, John Grant's far post header found the top of the net instead of the back of it, and Karl Hawley and Steve Guinan both wasted chances.
Late on, Karl Hawley had a goal disallowed for a foul and in added time, John Grant's effort from the edge of the box missed the target by yards as United fell to a sorry defeat.
Graham Turner missed three of his regular first-teamers, with Paul Parry and Andy Tretton joined on the sidelines by Ben Smith, who had an upset stomach. Missing Parry appeared to be the biggest hinderance, as Hereford failed to utilise the wings sufficiently to break down the Lancastrians, whose twenty-four travelling fans will be delighted with their victory.
The game's only goal came seven minutes before the break, when a Phil Salt shot from the Leigh left channel sailed over Matt Baker and into the far corner of the net. It was a superb ball from outside the box, and came after United had wasted several chances. Steve Guinan fired wide of the far post early on, and on the half hour a John Grant shot was saved well by RMI stopper Stuart Coburn after Danny Williams had charged into the box.
Having gone behind, Hereford looked as if they might scramble a goal back before the break when Jamie Pitman fired over from the edge of the box, and in added time a Steve Guinan shot from eight yards out was pushed away by Coburn. The ball stood loose in the area, but nobody could pounce and a defender hooked the ball to safety.
After the restart, Neil Campbell tried his luck as Leigh looked to extend their advantage, but his close-range effort was charged down. He then had the ball in the back of the net, latching onto a Phil Salt ball, but it was ruled out for offside. At the other end, John Grant's far post header found the top of the net instead of the back of it, and Karl Hawley and Steve Guinan both wasted chances.
Late on, Karl Hawley had a goal disallowed for a foul and in added time, John Grant's effort from the edge of the box missed the target by yards as United fell to a sorry defeat.
Written by Terry Goodwin - 19th April
2003
| Hereford United | Leigh RMI |
| Matt Baker | Stuart Coburn |
| Matt Clarke (off, 78 minutes) | Neil Durkin |
| Michael Rose | Ian Pendlebury (off, 53 minutes) |
| Ian Wright (captain) | Mark Ford |
| Tony James | Ian Monk |
| Rob Purdie (off, 69 minutes) | Neil Campbell |
| Jamie Pitman | Neil Prince (off, 89 minutes) |
| Karl Hawley | Wayne Maden |
| John Grant | Gerry Harrison (captain) |
| Steve Guinan | Phil Salt |
| Danny Williams | Neil Fitzhenry |
| Subs | Subs |
| Rob Sawyers | Ged Kielty |
| Ken Griffiths | Andy Heald (on, 89 minutes) |
| Richard Teesdale (on, 78 minutes) | Keith Scott |
| Albano Correia (on, 69 minutes) | Guy Hefferan (on, 53 minutes) |
| Richard O'Kelly | Ged Courtney |
| Yellow cards | Yellow cards |
| Ian Wright (foul, 32 minutes) | Wayne Maden (foul, 29 minutes) |
| Michael Rose (foul, 59 minutes) | Phil Salt (unsporting behaviour, 33 minutes) |
| Neil Campbell (unsporting behaviour, 81 minutes) | |
| Red cards | Red cards |
| - | - |
| Scorers | Scorers |
| - | Phil Salt (39 minutes) |
| Man of the Match | Not awarded |
| Attendance | 1690 |
| Referee | Mr. R. Lewis (Shrewsbury) |
After the game Tony James spoke to BBC Hereford & Worcester. Trevor Owens suggested that the game was a bit end of season. "Yes, a bit of a disappointing game. They got a lot of players behind the ball after they went 1-0 up and we found it really hard to break them down. They needed it more than us and I think it showed especially in the first half.
"We did not start very well. They got their goal and they just camped themselves in their half and we could not break them down."
Asked about getting motivated for the last few games, James continued: "You have got your own pride when you are playing games. I think we have acheived quite a lot this season as a new team put together. I think we need to work on things for next season."
On Monday the Bulls travel to Southport. "It is not a bad place to go," continued James. "It will be a decent game for us to go and sort things out and hopefully get a few goals."
What was surprising was the attendance today of 1690, including twenty-four from Leigh. Many feared that with the play-offs missed supporters might have stayed away in bigger numbers. In fact the number of Hereford fans attending was 150 or so more than at the Burton game two weeks ago.