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The presence at Edgar Street of the BBC TV cameras will give the match national exposure, and couldn’t come at a better time in terms of the publicity it will bring the club and the city when negotiations with the council over the future of the Blackfriars End of the stadium, and the length of the lease of the ground as a whole, are being negotiated. It also suggests that the Beeb smells an upset, and why not?
The match will, for many, bring to mind golden memories of 1983/84, the Milk Cup, Mark Hateley, 3-2 Hereford under the lights, Len Weston Stand seats raining down on us in what used to be the family enclosure from the Pompey fans up above. Why did they put the family enclosure under the seated away fans at a time when such scenes were far from unusual? Why was my dad happy to regularly put me in such highly dangerous situations? Maybe it wasn’t the family enclosure at all. It was an awfully long time ago. Another 3-2 would do just fine here though.
Anyway, that was Hereford United’s sole success against the south-coast club in ten attempts, and plenty of water has flowed under both clubs’ bridges since then, and they now find themselves even further apart in the pyramid than they did in 1983. If Josh Gowling can mastermind an upset here it’ll really be a feather in his fledgling managerial career cap.
Since their Cup Final win 14 years ago, Portsmouth have contrived to fall into administration when mired in £135m of debt, and tumble from the top tier to League 2, before returning to League 1 in 2017 and stabilising there, with occasional unsuccessful play-off appearances. The club’s owner Michael Eisner is the former Walt Disney chief executive. Any suggestion at this point that the club is a bit Mickey Mouse would of course be too cheap and easy.
Pompey have had a good start to their season, losing just twice in their opening 15 games. That has resulted in them sitting in fifth position in League 1, with a tendency to draw games being the only thing that’s prevented them from being even higher. With Plymouth, Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby and Bolton around them, it’s very competitive.
Last Saturday they drew 1-1 with the Sloppies, enjoying 75% possession but unable to turn it into goals. The suggestion among supporters seems to be that they’re fine going sideways slowly and keeping the ball, but lack a cutting edge, which sounds a bit like Fylde.
Unsurprisingly they have dangers aplenty in their ranks, but Jay Mingi may be the pick of them. The ex-West Ham and Charlton attacking midfielder starred against our old friends Forest Green recently. Ex-Leamington and Worcester striker Colby Bishop is another threat. Having scored prolifically for Leamington, he earned a move to Accrington, where he settled into life at a higher level immediately, attracting the attention of Portsmouth in the summer. Since moving to the south coast, he’s scored eight in 14. A big challenge for Orrin, AAH and Jordan Thompson then if Hereford continue with three centre backs, but a challenge they’ll surely relish.
We’ve seen two tactical masterclasses from Josh Gowling in the last two games, soaking up pressure from Fylde and gradually growing into and ultimately winning that game, and then adapting the playing formation during the match at Curzon Ashton to suit requirements, and winning that game too. Gowling and the defenders will be irritated by the avoidable goal conceded in that one, and any chance of an upset here will require full concentration defensively for 90+ minutes.
The Bulls’ press worked well last Saturday, and is one of several signs of a squad working for each other and being fully committed to the cause. In common with last season, the dressing room seems to be a happy one.
That press will come in handy again here, denying the visitors the time on the ball they’ll be used to in League 1. Saturday wasn’t just about the press though. Passing quality and a growing confidence suggest that the second half of the season could be something to savour, particularly as the walking wounded return to full fitness.
This may not be the match to demonstrate it given the anticipated onus on defending, but Jack Evans looks to be thriving in attacking positions now that he’s been given licence to play as an out-and-out wing-back. It’s certainly something to look forward to seeing in forthcoming National League North games, one of several very promising sources of optimism recently.
In terms of connections between the clubs, Joe Laidlaw, who died late last year, left Portsmouth to join Hereford in 1980. Joe was just before my time, but from what I hear he would have enjoyed the battle for midfield supremacy in this match. Let’s hope something of his spirit will live on in the heads, hearts and legs of Messrs Hanson and Haines. And if Jared Hodgkiss fancies scoring a goal like that of another ex-Hereford and Pompey player and fellow right back, Chris Price, against Arsenal in the Cup in 1985, I don’t think anyone will mind too much. I may not remember Joe but I remember that like it was yesterday.
If this minor distraction can just be put to bed with the minimum of fuss, securing a place in the next round, we can all move on to the big showdown everyone’s talking about – Kettering away.
Finally, inevitably, RIP Ronnie Radford, although thanks to that moment of inspiration in 1972 you are of course immortal.
COYW