With momentum flowing following a run of five wins in six games, the Bulls should be backed by a decent away following.
These local rivals are playing attractive football this season, and have met twice already in 2021/22, with first blood going to Harriers in that smelly old FA Trophy thing that no-one cares about, before Hereford won gloriously when it mattered, in the league match at Edgar Street in January.
The likelihood is that this match will contrast sharply with the first half on Saturday, in that the Bulls will presumably look to counterattack swiftly with the home team having most of the possession, whereas on Saturday the home team were very much camped in the Guiseley half, to an extent not seen since Hereford FC’s formative seasons playing pub teams. Not too much to be concerned about there in terms of soaking up pressure and breaking at pace, with the players having proved to be able to turn defence into attack into goals regularly and with some aplomb lately.
The Pearce-Pollock centre-back partnership looked solid enough on Saturday, with the latter looking ever more dependable and capable, but Jamie Egan, when coming on as a late substitute, again seemed utterly to the manner born. He just has that look about him.
James Vincent’s influence grows game by game, and he seems to be starting to enjoy himself. He should be right up for this one against his old club, and it really is high time one of the holding Hereford midfielders popped up with a goal, so why not him, and why not now? A career record of a goal every 20 games suggests that there’s something special on the way.
Maz Kouhyar, an obvious MoM awardee on Saturday, also gets better and better and is clearly one who would be fine a division higher up. Supporters will be hoping that the playmaker can be persuaded to join fellow midfielder Harry Pinchard in committing to the club for next season. The latter is now reportedly back to full fitness, and would be a real asset coming off the bench at some point on Tuesday night.
More will be needed from Mo Touray than what he showed on Saturday, but hopefully the Guiseley match will have sharpened him up, rather than tired him out. Miles Storey does of course offer an alternative as a starter in the central striker role, which would only accentuate the team’s ability to counterattack at pace. I’d humbly suggest that he’s earned a start here in a game that might suit him tactically.
Tuesday’s hosts are of course fiendishly tough opponents. They’ve won 15 of their 24 games this season, and irritatingly show no sign of slowing down, despite what has been a hectic and high-profile first half of the season, with their FA Cup run only just coming to an end. The Aggborough pitch seemed to leave cat-kicking cad Kurt Zouma looking like a hippo trying to ice skate when West Ham visited, but it’s to be assumed that the Hereford centre backs, presumably on slightly less than £125k a week between them, will cope more adeptly.
Kiddy had to hold on a little bit towards the end of their 1-0 win at struggling Telford on Saturday, but that win means that they’ve come out on top in 11 of their last 14 league games, with one loss in that time, and we know who that was against.
The dangers from Harriers are familiar ones. Winger Ashley Hemmings, Amari Morgan-Smith and Omari Sterling up front and influential captain Sam Austin will all cause problems.
The chances are that experienced defender and ex-Bull Keith Lowe won’t start, but if he does it looks like the last thing he’d appreciate these days is trying to defend against rapid counterattacking football, resembling as he does a crumpled up bag-for-life on legs.
However, overall they’re good, they’re full time, and they’re still flying.
As good a job as Josh Gowling is doing, whatever he’s saying in his half-time pep-talk he should stop it. In training on Monday the focus should perhaps be on that advanced footballing concept known as ‘the second half’. Again on Saturday a blistering performance in the first half, let down solely by some less than clinical finishing, was followed in the second by what at times looked like a tactical decision to attempt to sit on the 1-0 lead. If that was the case, it should be considered that no-one else in the top half of the table would dream of doing such a thing against Guiseley, apart from maybe Brackley, who seem to base their success on 1-0 wins (great move Jaanai). Maybe that’s partly why they get crowds of 500.
Whether it was tactical, or whether the players had gone down a gear or two again subconsciously for whatever reason, it’s all a bit strange, and something that happens too often to be simply put down to Saturday’s windy conditions.
Anyway, a 45-minute performance won’t wash here. Big test, big game, but a big feeling that it might go well.
COYW