Saturday, January 28, 2023

From The Archives - This Weekend In 2000

A look back to the last weekend of January 2000 and an away game for Hereford at Hednesford.

TODAY's match between Hednesford Town and Hereford United was delayed due to traffic congestion. The match kick off : 3.45pm.

'WHAT time do you start?

'I'm not sure, what time can you get here?'

The old joke was doing the rounds at Keys Park on Saturday as Hednesford Town's kick-off against Hereford United was delayed by 45 minutes.

Traffic hold-ups were the problem, but not for the Bulls.

Half of Graham Turner's team live in Birmingham, and the delay was caused by the Pitmen's reliance on players based in the north-west, all of whom were stuck in the same jam on the M6.

As one was goalkeeper Billy Stewart and manager John Baldwin didn't have a replacement, the referee was forced to put back the kick-off until he got there.

Hereford had the last laugh, though. Rob Elmes got the winning goal with just 13 minutes left and, as one would expect from the man who spends his weekdays as a Sutton Coldfield schoolteacher, he's never late for class.

HEDNESFORD Town 0 - 1 Hereford United (report by Terry Goodwin)

Hereford United went into this game knowing that they had only won twice away in the league this season - and with a fourty five minute delay thanks to travel problems, it was looking to be a long day. Hednesford's goalie Billy Steward and Ged Kimmins were stuck in a motorway pile-up, and their team not in the best of form, had lost their last three league matches. Graham Turner was unhappy with the original 15-minute delay and was then fuming over a further 30 minutes.

He was, however, to come home pleased with a 1-0 victory but it wasn't until Elmes scored thirteen minutes from time that he could relax. The Bulls attacked from the start and missed chance after chance. Defender Comyn blocked a Parry shot and then United hit the woodwork twice. Snape's header from a Taylor corner on 21 minutes bounced off the post then seven minutes later a surging 40-yard run by Paul Parry meant Elmes hit the post from the edge of the box.

Rodgerson also had a good chance which Stewart tipped away and all those chances came in just the first half. The second half brought Hednesford back into the match. John Hibbins and Scott Bettney, both on loan from Sheffield Wednesday, had great games to prevent United from scoring but they couldn't prevent the 77th minute effort. Gavin Williams, who had played very well all afternoon, squeezed in a cross from the left between two defenders which Elmes found with a powerful header to beat Stewart from six yards. The goalkeeper got a hand to the ball, but it wasn't enough to prevent United going 1-0 up.

Hednesford had been nothing short of awful up to then and one couldn't see their performance improving greatly. Cooksey, making his debut in the Hereford goal in a loan spell from Shrewsbury,, had only one save to make. Three minutes from time a right-wing cross from Kimmins was volleyed by Hednesford defender Chris Brindley but Cooksey saved well. Little can be seen from this match whether him and Tom White (central defender on-loan from Bristol Rovers) are any use. United had the last chance when Fewings, on as a sub, shot but Stewart tipped just wide. The referee, Mr Bryan, had only two bookings to make in the game. Bradley and Evans were carded for Hednesford. Overall a satisfactory performance resulted in a deserved three points for Hereford United.

Attendance = 1,129

Man of the match - Gavin Williams

Hereford - Cooksey, Lane, Sturgess, Snape, White, James, Rodgerson, Taylor, Elmes, Williams, Parry

Sub(s) who came on - May, Fewings