Bulls Bullied

Oh my goodness this was bad. Four avoidable goalmouth scrambling goals, just like the goal conceded on Saturday a defence too slow to react. It is worrying teams are not having to out football Hereford, just be better mentally and physically.

Caddis opted to change formation again selecting a Gowlingesque 4-2-3-1. Pond; Skinner, Hoskins, Cameron (c), Cranston; Teixeira, Barkers making his first start; Mendes, Babos, Obinna; Arthur. Hewlett, Southern, Stanley, Rooney and Livingstone on the bench. A Gowling side may have lost this match, but not by so many goals.

There were over 500 from the Shire in a crowd of 1,809. A cool, overcast day with little wind. Initially Babos looked better for having the freedom to play as a number ten. He won a free kick on the edge of the box which Cranston just put over the angle. 

Tamworth though were getting the upper hand physically. Every Bulls defender during the course of the game was caught out and robbed by a combination of poor control, sloppy passing and struggling with the bounce of the ball on the plastic. It could have been worse. The serial individual errors at the back gave Tamworth encouragement.

Kyle Finn never really made it at Hereford but today he showed what he could do, two goals and involvement in the other two goals. He regularly got down the right and Cranston was not helped by Obinna’s lack of defensive nous. A far post cross fell to Creaney. Pond saved at point blank range but it fell to Cullinane-Liburd on the edge of the six yard box, no Bulls defender was as alive and Jordan blasted home.

Then Howkins failed to control the ball well enough, and tried to toe poke an obvious ball. Live wire Milnes charged it down and was away. Howkins trailing behind. As he advanced towards the rebound, Creaney moved towards it but then realised he was offside. He pulled away and gestured to Milnes that he was on his own. He took the ball on and hit a glorious Cowleyesque curling drive which gave Pond no chance for what appeared to be the second.

Captain Cameron protested and insisted the referee talked to Assistant Thomas. Somehow the Bulls negotiated that Creaney had been interfering with play and to both officials credit they changed their mind. It was impressive to see how professionally Cameron achieved this when in recent seasons a yellow card could easily have been picked up.

Howkins picked up another injury and was substituted for Southern midway through the half. Every Tamworth attack looked as if a goal could result and Creaney missed a golden chance. The striker was one of the few Tamworth players not hitting top form. Another lost possession saw the backline exposed and Barkers rushed back to do enough to stop the breakthrough. However, he was not the dominant midfielder hoped for with variable passing.

Southern was booked for a challenge or possibly kicking the ball away. Finn took a deep corner and Tshikua was free in far too much space at the back, fortunately he missed the target heading wide. Bulls fans gave him stick and he smiled and with his hands indicated the score was 1-0. Tshikua was the best player on the park. A pocket battleship, cruising around the middle of the field. Closing down, winning possession, simple passes but also driving forward and a level of intelligent anticipation ahead of any Bulls midfielder this season. He is just the sort of player the Bulls need and on this form will play at a higher level.

Whilst he stood out technically there was little between the two teams, managerially, physically and mentally there was a gaping chasm. A second goal was coming and the next attack saw the Bulls unable to clear and Creaney slotting home a tap in. 

Tamworth continued to attack, creating good chances. This was by some way the poorest half of Caddis football and substitutions were expected. Hereford were getting no change up front with Arthur more than half a foot shorter than Willetts and Cullinane-Liburd. Many fans expected Hewlett or Rooney to come on. Caddis clung to his plan.

It did not work. Only Mendes consistently tried to pass through the channels to feed Arthur. For the rest too many high balls were pumped towards Koby who ran willingly but had no chance in the air. After an hour Hewlett came on for Obinna and Arthur moved to play wide right with Hewlett leading the line. Maybe the Bulls could fight back. Cameron had a contretemps with Creaney and both players were booked.

Hereford had successfully defended some corners but never looked comfortable. The next corner was deep, Southern got to it but was underneath it and headed high into the air. A Tamworth player recycled it into the middle of the box and Finn was in far too much space to hit a crisp volley home.

The game won and with Creaney on a yellow he came off and Deacon came on. Finally Hereford produced a quality cross via Cranston. Arthur got his header on target but Singh made a good save. 

From a very short list of candidates, Arthur would be my man of the match, consistently chasing lost causes and poor passes up front and getting an effort on target. Livelier still when switched to wide right in the last fifteen minutes.

For the fifth time in a row Hereford conceded in the same manner. Their opponents get a ball into the box, Hereford have a chance to clear it or Pond saves it. Then Hereford are on their heels as their opponents react quickest and get in a strike on goal. This time Cullinane-Liburd caused chaos with his long throw, the ball was not cleared, it got laid back to Finn who shot low and hard through a crowd of players for the Lambs fourth.

Livingstone came on for Babos and took a defensive midfield position with Aurio moving forward. It’s hard to compare as Tamworth were now on cruise control but both Babos and Teixeira looked better as midfielders with less defensive responsibilities. A moment summed up how awful this was. Arthur did well beating his man and getting down the right. He looked up and there in the middle was Aurio who had powered forward marked by two six foot plus defenders. Arthur recognised floating a cross to his shorter team mate was unwise.

Sub Livingstone Goes For Goal

Jellis was booked for a foul and Cockerill-Mollett (they can’t fit all that on the back of his shirt) kicked the ball away and was booked. A remarkably daft thing to do at 4 0 up. Tamworth were full value for their victory. I had not heard of their manager Andy Peaks before but he has created a team a little like Alfreton, and that’s a grudging compliment. Cullinane-Liburd’s long throws remain a potent weapon and created the fourth goal. He and Jamie Willetts both engaged in lots of good humoured badinage with Bulls fans. Every Bulls fan I spoke to was happy to see Jamie doing so well and only sad that he was not playing in a white shirt. Is Kyle Finn a real talent? It’s hard to say the Bulls were bullied all over the park.

Rooney was missed for his leadership skills and when the going got tough, nobody got going. Caddis seemed unable to change the game tactically nor with substitutions. This was a worrying performance that suggests that there are square pegs in round holes and some players who are not good enough for NLN.