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With a balmy seven degrees forecast for Saturday, it should be all systems go with no risk of a P-P as Hereford FC host Banbury United, and the hosts will be super-keen to make it four league wins in five against a side that looks to be running out of puff a bit after a hugely impressive start to their debut National League North season.
The scheduled visit of Chester last Tuesday was scuppered by the stubborn refusal of Jack Frost to remove himself from the Edgar Street playing surface. It was the second quite handy postponement of that game this season, allowing Josh Gowling more time to scour the lower leagues, and who knows, the upper leagues too, for a top-notch loan striker, with Ty Barnett injured and Aaron Amadi-Holloway needed at the back in Luke Haines’ absence through suspension.
That search hasn’t unearthed a hidden gem so far, or at least if it has the golden child has yet to be unveiled, or he broke down injured in his first training session on Thursday. Characteristically, it'll probably be announced at about 2:30 on Saturday afternoon. Very exciting, but if nothing and no-one is announced it could be you or me up front.
Recent arrival Dan Jarvis looks like a good find, and the home crowd will be looking forward to seeing what he can bring to the party for the rest of the season. On the evidence of his performance at Buxton, it was a shame the club missed out on bringing him to Edgar Street in the summer, which was reportedly the intention
These two teams were second and fourth when they met earlier in the season, with Banbury running out comfortable winners, but with Hereford having a rocky time before Christmas and Banbury struggling recently, this is now very much a mid-table encounter. That said, the home team are on the march following three wins in four, and the visitors are on the slide with three losses in five. Losses to Brackley and Fylde are forgivable, although the Fylde one was a 5-0 thrashing, but a loss at Telford gives considerable cause for optimism among home fans here. The visitors look to be currently in that precarious place with regard to their form where an early goal from Hereford could see their heads drop, and then it’s just a question of exploiting that – simple. The fact that they’ve lost half of their away games this season should help in hastening that head drop if things start going against them.
Ex-Bull Jak Hickman is enjoying a decent season in defence for the Oxfordshire club, and club captain Georgio Rasulo outscores anyone in the Hereford line-up, with nine league goals so far this season.
Attacker Morgan Roberts, who scored twice against the Bulls in that comfortable win in August, has moved across to Wiltshire to join Swindon. Filling the gap left by Roberts could be everyone’s favourite ex-Bull Jaanai Gordon. Jaanai played in the Puritans last game (which was that 5-0 horror show at Fylde), but that was way back on 7 January so he may well have left and got through two or three new clubs since then. If he is still there, it’ll give the home fans a bit of vocal-chord exercise, bless him.
Banbury manager Andy Whing briefly assisted Russel Slade at Hereford during the latter’s uninspired and uninspiring spell at Edgar Street, and went on to take the top job at Banbury, winning the Southern Premier Division Central title last season at an absolute canter with four games remaining, earning promotion to the NLN in finishing on 102 points, 23 points clear of Peterborough Sports. Like Peterborough and Buxton, this is the highest they’ve ever been in the pyramid.
Banbury’s last trip to Edgar Street was in 2017/18, when the Bulls cruised to a 3-0 win en route to a very comfortable promotion themselves. Banbury finished a distant ninth, but that was then and this is now, and they’ve clearly come on in leaps and bounds since.
However, they’re now just possibly limping a bit rather than leaping and bounding, and this looks like a great opportunity for the Bulls to continue edging up the table and building a bit of consistent form with a positive, front-foot performance and a willingness to take a few risks. A win will take them above Banbury and ever closer to the top seven, whereas home draws against teams on the slide are now of very little use. This is precisely the sort of match that should be won by a side with serious designs on indulging in a bit of play-off fun in spring.
And there’s the new striker to look forward to too! Unless it’s me, which wouldn’t be something to look forward to at all.
COYW