Fifteen years ago to the day Hereford draw at MK Dons. A look back.
MK Fat Lady Still Waiting to Sing
Spurred
on by a vocal 1230 Hereford fans, The Bulls returned from StadiumMK
with a valuable point towards their quest for automatic promotion. It
was a hard earned draw that most would probably have taken before the
game started but credit must be given to an all-round team performance
and in particular Wayne Brown who frustrated the Dons on several
occasions.
Graham Turner kept faith with the same starting eleven
that had opened at Darlington and the first half saw both sides strive
for the illusive opening goal. With Smith prompting from midfield and
Guinan showing good touches and hold-up play it looked in the early
stages that The Bulls might sneak a goal with one probing ball from
Stevie G just failing to reach Hooper who was well position in the box.
For MK, Stirling warmed the hands of Brown when he cut in from the
right but his stinging effort was well collected before Jemal Johnson
drew another fine save from Brown, this time from the left.
The
Bulls did have their chances also with Hooper going extremely close with
a header from a Simon Johnson corner. Hooper also had a goal-bound
shot deflected wide before finding the net only to be ruled offside. As
the half progressed, there was tidy football from both sides as the
respective midfields looked to find openings.
Paul Ince clearly
had a few words at half time because the second period produced a more
direct approach from The Dons...not long ball, but running at the Bulls
defence with pace. There were some nervous fans amongst the padded
seats on the North East corner as wave after wave of Dons attacks broke
down on the edge of the Bulls penalty box. Fullbacks McClenahanahan and
Rose had their hands full but both acquitted themselves well
defensively while Beckwith and Broadhurst, in general, coped with the
central strikers. However, John Miles (wasn't he once a guitarist?)
will be kicking himself as he thumped the ball high over the bar when it
was easier to hit the target.
Turner introduced the pace of
Robinson for Hooper with thirty minutes to go and for five or ten
minutes the Watford loanee looked dangerous as he hassled the MK
defence. Unfortunately, his positional movement did not match his
physical efforts and he rarely looked like ending his goal drought. At
the other end, as The Dons continued to press, Miles had a decent
long-range effort tipped over by Brown and then substitute Gallen was
foiled by a superb last-ditch block by Beckwith. Easton had a curling
free kick comfortably saved by Gueret before Turner decided to batten
down the hatches by replacing Guinan with an extra midfielder in the
shape of Kris Taylor. Chances could still have been created for
Robinson but the timing of his runs seemed poor and too often
opportunities to break away were missed.
As the game drew to a
close, the extra man in midfield enabled Hereford to fairly comfortably
weather the final Dons thrusts and return to The Shire with a share of
the spoils from a game in which, apart from the first thirty minutes, we
looked to defend. The plan worked and now MK have to collect their
reward at Stockport. Job done.
Milton Keynes Dons: Gueret,
Lewington, O'Hanlon, Swailes, Stirling, Dyer, Andrews, Navarro, Johnson
(Wright 59), Wilbraham, Miles (Gallen 87). Subs not used: Abbey,
Hadfield, Regan
Hereford United: Brown, Rose, Beckwith,
Broadhurst, McClenahan, Easton, Diagouraga, Smith, Johnson, Hooper
(Robinson 59), Guinan (Taylor 79).
Subs not used: Esson, Gwynne, Collins
Attendance: 11428 (1230)
Brown Gets Newspaper Plaudits
Wayne Brown has been recognised as the man to thank by the national press for the Bulls point at MK Dons.
The Daily Mail were first off the mark: "Hereford keeper Wayne Brown frustrated the Dons, saving from John Miles, Alan Navarro and Jemal Johnson." while TeamTalk added "Hereford goalkeeper Wayne Brown was the hero as MK Dons were forced to put the promotion champagne on ice after a dire goalless home draw."
The Times considered it a one sided affair, but noted the travelling support: "The visitors, cheered on by a sizeable contingent of fans, posed little threat but were tidy and composed and are well placed to achieve promotion in only their second year back in the Football League. They are third, one point ahead of Stockport."
Superb Support for Bulls At MK Dons
Some
1230 Hereford United supporters watched last night's draw at Mk Dons, an
excellent turnout which surpassed most expectations. The gate was
11,428.
In fact some supporters were late getting into the stadium as the ticket booth ran out of tickets.
In the game Hereford had 54% of possession but failed to take advantage with just two shots on target against six by the Dons.
As
reported earlier Wayne Brown had an excellent game and was given an
eight for his work. Dean Beckwith, Trent McClenahan, Toumani Diagouraga
and Ben Smith all received a seven.
Top of League Two:
1 Milton Keynes Dons 43 43 90
2 Peterborough 43 39 86
3 Hereford 42 25 79
Under Control Most of the Time says Smith
"Whilst we were under pressure it didn't feel like we were kicking balls off the line every couple of minutes," Smith told BBC Hereford and Worcester.
"They flashed a few good balls across the box and we were obviously lucky with the one that hit Toumani.
"I wouldn't say we were comfortable but we had the situation under control most of the time."
As regards the result Smith said:
"This could be the difference between an automatic spot and the play-offs."
"We want our season to finish on May 3 rather than drag on for a fortnight through the play-offs. This point could be the one that makes the difference in terms of automatic promotion for us.
"We targeted between four and five points from the three games this week and we've already banked four.
"And although we've got Peterborough next we have improved a lot since we last met them and will be heading into it confident.
"It was a cracking result against Paul Ince's men and we are delighted with a point. We were under a lot of pressure but it wasn't like we were kicking them off the line."