Don’t believe the hype. Three wins in a row and many were buzzing about the new look Bulls. The goals, the spirit, the togetherness. It is only a pre-season friendly but this was the sort of listless, anonymous performance that Bulls fans could have seen under any of the last five managers. No more free scoring wins.
Hereford started with Pond in goal, Skinner, Howkins, Derricott, and Cranston in defence. Anaebonam, Livermore, Taylor and Mari were in the middle with captain Rooney and Cowley up front. On the bench were Sterey, Michasa, Mendes, Babis, Teixeira, Livingstone, Arthur and Stanley. The weather was blustery with squally showers and the Bulls kicked off up the slope. Bromsgrove are managed by former Bull Mike McGrath who started in midfield.
The Bulls were the brighter starters in difficult conditions and looked to be getting the upper hand. Hereford lost possession in midfield and Tee was allowed to run diagonally down the centre of the pitch shadowed by Livermore. Allowed to tee up some space Tee struck a glorious swiping strike curling into the top corner giving Pond no chance. In a competitive match Caddis will demand a tactical foul further out to stop such opportunities. Tee’s strike of quality stood in stark contrast to a disappointing match.
Hereford were not as good after they went behind. Workmanlike, there was not enough creativity against a Bromsgrove side who were not as technically able. Caddis changed Livermore and Taylor for Babos and Teixeira to remedy matters. It helped but not enough and the Rouslers deserved their half time lead.
For the first time Caddis needed to rouse his team at half time but he was unable to do so. Mendes and Livingstone replaced Anaerbonam and Mari. Hereford were more disappointing in the second half failing to work Bromsgrove’s keeper enough. There was a worrying lassitude as the game petered out. It is only a friendly but Bromsgrove did not impress, Hereford lost more than they won. The Bulls best opportunity coming from a deep Cranston cross which Mendes headed back past the post when he should have hit the target.
Cowley and Rooney were replaced up front by Arthur and Stanley, with Babos taking over as captain. Rousler’s keeper Taylor made a mess of a Babos cross but nobody was on hand to take advantage of the loose ball. In a friendly players are often playing to orders or out of position so some positives.
Pond had no chance with the goal, was tidy and showed some reasonable footwork. Skinner was given a hard time early on by Berry but battled back well to gain the upper hand, an encouraging sign. Cranston has a peachy left foot. One first half corner using the wind was possibly Hereford’s best attempt on goal, forcing a good save from Taylor. Cranston also played several other good crosses, advanced well and sometimes other players failed to understand his attempts to play combinations. He was my man of the match.
Derricott cruised through the game, at times you did not notice him, always a mark of a good defender. Howkins times his challenges well, reading when to take the ball intelligently. Cowley buzzes around never giving defenders rest and Rooney showed neat touches and tried to rouse some lacklustre performers.
A wake up call. This was like so much of recent Hereford, lots of possession but no cutting edge.