Hereford FC hit the road on Tuesday evening, with the short hop across to Telford the first of three consecutive away trips. There was some speculation that the match could have been moved back to Wednesday to allow fans to attend as lockdown restrictions ease, but the Hereford head honchos vetoed the idea.
Those awaydays could be just what the Bulls need, as Edgar Street remains more bouncy castle than fortress so far this season. Home draws against Chorley and Kettering are nothing to write home about, unless you’re writing home to say that you find defending solidly for 90 minutes utterly impossible. Setting up away from home as a counter-attacking force rather than trying to break down deep-lying opposition at home does seem to suit this squad of players better, and that theory will be put to the test over the coming eight days.
Tom Owen-Evans thankfully returns for this one after missing out on Saturday due to suspension, and if there’s any counter-attacking being done by the visitors you’d expect him to be heavily involved. He’ll be looking to link up with Kelsey Mooney and Lenell John-Lewis up front, with the former getting off the mark for the season with a goal against Kettering, presumably keeping his place in the starting line-up in the process. Kyle Finn will presumably make way for TOE.
James McQuilkin returns to the New Bucks Head after leaving Telford in the summer, and perhaps it’s written in the stars that he’ll find a peach of a free kick from distance to show his former employers what they’re missing. Jamie Grimes seems to gradually be getting closer to nodding in a corner, and captain Jared Hodgkiss would presumably be disappointed not to score here, and continue his purple patch in front of goal.
The Bucks started the season strongly, in no small part due to the arrival of ‘creative schemer’ James Hardy from Walsall in the summer. His capture was described at the time as a ‘statement signing’. It’s unclear where that sits relative to ‘marquee signing’ in the ‘dopey adjectives for football player signings’ pecking order, but it was quite a coup.
With all due respect to the club, it’s not entirely clear precisely how such a player has ended up there, and at National League North level generally. When Stephen Dawson was briefly at Hereford, it was only his (lack of) fitness that made him look like he was even playing the same sport as everyone else on the pitch, such was the difference in ability. The situation was similar with Hardy, apart from the fact that there were no such fitness issues. It didn’t take long for clubs facing Telford to figure this out, and put two players on him. The Bucks have cunningly got round this by having other very good players to take on MoM duties, notably midfielder Dom McHale and ex-Cheltenham defender Lee Vaughan, set to make his 200th appearance for Telford in this match.
On Saturday Telford did precisely what Hereford should have been doing, professionally seeing off a struggling team at home, winning 2-0 against Guiseley, quite a contrast to the Keystone Cops performance at Edgar Street.
That result leaves them in fourth place, having won three of their last five games, as they bid to return to what isn't any longer called the Conference for the first time since 2014/15, when it was.
Last season they finished just a couple of places above Hereford in a season both would have been glad to see put out of its misery earlier than scheduled.
Manager Gavin Cowan felt that up until recently the team had been punished for not taking their chances. They've clearly sorted that out, so it's encouraging to know that it is possible, and that a play-off position can be the reward for doing so. With the quality in the Hereford squad, the same outcome is achievable, but early chances have to be taken, and defenders have to remember to defend for the whole match.
In the three matches the clubs have played since Hereford ascended to the lofty heights of the NLN, the Bulls are unbeaten. I’ve absolutely no idea why, maybe it’s that unbeaten record, but I’m quite optimistic about this one.
COYW