HEREFORD CRUISE AND BRUISE TO VICTORY

This was a crazy game, one of those where you will say I was there. The comeback from three goals down to win at Rocester, four red cards at Northampton and for the faithful fifteen hundred and ninety-three both managers booked, ten yellow cards, a sending off, five goals and a victory to prolong the play off campaign!

On a dry, cool blustery day Hall was in goal with captain Jared, Egan, Pollock replacing Pearce and Revan in defence. Haines and Lloyd holding, Pinchard replacing Vincent with Owen-Evans and McLean creating for Wright. Pearce, Patten, Touray, Vincent and Klukowski were on the bench.

Despite the desperate need for goals and points Hereford again did not start in a lively fashion and little happened in the first ten minutes. Pinchard then played an exquisite, arced ball in behind the defence. Ross got his head to it but barely glanced it into Revan’s path, Seb advanced and fired into the side netting. 

Hereford then won a free kick on the right about thirty yards out. Pinchard floated in another beautiful ball and Haines went up for it in the box with a defender. The ball bounced off the back of Haines neck and shoulder but that sent the ball looping over keeper Sykes-Kenworthy and into the net. It was a tribute to the quality of Harry’s ball in at pace that contact resulted in the first goal.

Hereford relaxed a little and started to look the better team. Bradford finally created a chance when Clee’s free kick was headed back across goal by Ross for Lund to volley just over. Another Bradford attack saw Hall claim the ball and quickly release a long-driven pass to Revan racing up to the halfway line on the right. Revan was again having a fine game although he was booked for saying something after giving away a foul. Hereford were better and Owen-Evans was increasingly influential. Tom got down the right and crossed and the ball was headed clear but only as far as Pinchard just inside the box. 

Harry controlled the ball and feinted left, wrong footing centre back Lund and then moving right have created a smidgen of space curled a classy finish into the far side of the goal. A cool finish any striker would be proud of.

Now Hereford were flying, and quick play found Wright who held the ball and then perfectly released it to the on-rushing McLean. 

Ryan flew forward and although one of the defenders got a nick on the ball as he went into the box Ryan retained control and keeper Sykes-Kenworthy failed to come off his line quickly. 

Apologies For The Out Of Focus Image

McLean said thank you very much and from an acute angle fired across him into the net. Some of the Bradford players looked like their minds were on the beach and the chance to tactically foul Ryan was missed.

Three goals up before half time and this looked the most secure Hereford have all season with total control of the game. However, like some old Western film it was quiet, too damn quiet and chaos was about to unfold. Enter the villain. Dylan Mottley-Henry of Park Avenue sounds like a P G Wodehouse character, but he appeared to get inside Ryan McLean’s head. First Ryan fouled him and then said something, and he was booked. Within a minute there was another tussle and Ryan clearly meant some form retribution going in heavily. Referee Rogers held up the game and talked to McLean, he was clearly worked up about something. The referee then called Captain Hodgkiss over from thirty yards away and gave a stern lecture pointing clearly at Ryan’s misdemeanour and raising two digits possibly indicating this was Ryan’s second and last chance. With Jared’s assurance the game continued, and the team were applauded off at half-time.

Maybe it was the need to take off the injured Haines and bring on Vincent which meant Josh failed to take off McLean who was wound up. Bradford took off Lund and brought on Havern. If you are charitable McLean tried to press high up the pitch to win possession from Clee. He was late and fouled him. The foul itself was not a booking but Rogers had clearly warned Ryan that he had no chances left and would go to jail. Ryan and the Hereford management team had ignored this, so referee Rogers carried through on his final warning, dismissing with a second yellow.

One player had stood out for Bradford and had shown his displeasure at some lackadaisical play by his teammates, one pound a week midfielder Nowakowski who has taken a wage cut to help the club recover from the pandemic. He took a more advanced role and when the ball came in from the right he shot and scored. 

Now Bradford could see a way back and they pressed more. The ball came in from the right and Lloyd tried to chest the ball away. He had his arm tight by his side and tried to avoid the ball hitting his limb but failed to do so. The ball came partly off his chest and partly off Ryan’s arm just below where a tee shirt would finish. Referee Rogers pointed to the spot and Dockerty converted. Josh was very unhappy with the penalty decision and after vociferous complaining he was booked for dissent.

Having scored the penalty striker Dockerty was quickly substituted for Johnson as Bradford smelt the chance of an equaliser. Gowling took off Pinchard and brought on Pearce to play three central defenders, Hereford switching from 4-4-1 to 5-3-1 as they sought to hang on to their suddenly reduced lead. Mottley-Henry was especially lively breaking at speed and looking most likely to create an equaliser. Hereford’s fans were unhappy with several decisions from referee Rogers and called him a cheat, the Meadow End chanting this. One fan brough a ripple of laughter when he said that Boris Johnson was more honest than the referee.

Hodgkiss was constantly engaging with the referee and questioning his decisions and at one stage had a lengthy conversation. When Mottley-Henry fouled Pollock and having committed several other fouls earlier he was booked. Lewis Knight bundled into Pollock and again with the consistency of totting up Rogers issued another yellow. Hereford’s five-man defence was holding out well and Bradford were struggling to get in behind. Josh brought on Klukowski for Wright with Tom going up front as Gowling searched for greater defensive resolution.

Tom even managed to break and pull back the ball for Klukowski, but Jan was too slow, and a Bradford defender easily intercepted. Nowakowski had done well to avoid a booking and when he clashed with the resolute Hodgkiss it was his turn to see yellow. Bradford brought on Toulson for Hinds. Tom challenged the keeper and was booked. Hereford were engaging in timewasting and this wound-up Bradford manager Bower so much that he was booked. I think this may be the first time ever that both managers have been booked in a game at Edgar Street. Keeping the yellow card flurry finale going Ross was booked for a standard foul but Hereford held on to win.

If Hereford are to sneak into the play offs, then goal difference may be vital. Hereford are now plus one and the four teams just above them have between plus two and plus five. Hereford should be on at least plus three. For whatever reason Ryan McLean was very wound up. The referee told him to clam down and gave Hodgkiss a detailed and final warning. If Gowling had taken him off at half time Hereford would almost certainly have eased to victory and as the team were three goals up it is hard to understand why they did not do this as McLean will now miss vital games. Hereford looked like they were going to sort their goal difference out.

On the plus side the perceived injustices of the referee saw immense spirit from the Bulls with Pollock geeing up the crowd and Hall timewasting to the maximum. Revan had yet another excellent performance, Wright gets better with every game, Pinchard made one, scored one and had the sweetest feet on the pitch. Above all though Captain Hodgkiss drove this victory. When injured he took his time to recover, and he took on any Bradford player wanting to discuss decisions. 

He had running conversations in the second half with the Len Weston demanding their support and waved to wind up the Meadow End who called out some quirky decisions by the referee. Up and down the pitch he never shirked a challenge and always looked to create. Jared’s talking to the referee resulted in the referee booking more Bradford players than seemed appropriate. Referee Rogers went down a rabbit hole. Once he had decided to book at a relatively low threshold he had to keep doing so and in fairness to him he did but in the last twenty minutes most of the action was bookings, explanations of bookings, and awaiting recovery of players, there wasn’t much football.

Sometimes in April you see all four seasons in a day and Hereford were like that today. First, they were unamusing, then cruising, losing, and finally bruising their way to victory. Earlier in the season this team may not have held out, but it is a mark of how far they have come that could do all the dirty, gritty stuff for victory.