Hereford Should Be So Lucky; Lucky, Lucky, Lucky

It would have been naughty of the excellent Matt Healey to pop on a bit of Kylie at the end of the game. However, it would have raised a smile and summed up the good fortune of having Caddis as manager. It was a glorious evening for football with large numbers queuing for tickets and supping a pint. With 22 from Rushall in a crowd of 2,522 the feel good buzz continues.

Hereford lined up with Pond; Skinner, Howkins, captain Cameron, Cranston; Stanley, in for Cowley who failed a fitness test, Teixeira, Babos, Livingstone; Rooney; Obonna. On the bench were Barkers, Hewlett, Singh, Southern and Arthur.

Rushall started brightly and you kept expecting Hereford to get into the game but it did not happen. Rushall played 4 1 4 1 and were fluid. They played pleasing triangles and cut through Hereford’s midfield at will. A poor clip forward by Teixeira was easily blocked, he missed the chance to recover possession and then lost the opportunity to get a challenge in on the half way line. Waldron waltzed on cutting inside towards the D and sensing danger Cameron took him out at the cost of a yellow.

Thankfully Rushall’s free kick was poor. It almost felt as if they could not believe how easy the game was. With more ruthlessness they could have scored a few goals. Stanley Obonna is no Cowley. He does not sense the next player to chase and close down until it is too late. That’s fair enough he is no number nine and did his best but the team did not help him. With his pace there should have been early balls into channels for him to run on to but only Cranston and Pond tried this.

All of Hereford’s midfield would have struggled to get a six out of ten mark and the only question next week will be which player makes way for Mendes. Neither Darlington nor Rushall were especially physical by NLN standards and I do fear they could be overrun. Poorest of all was Rooney. I have been effusive about how he manages on the pitch but he could not change Hereford’s poor play. He made little impact himself and could not work out where to play himself to improve matters.

Hereford attacked and lost possession. Skinner picked up the ball to delay the restart and as the first player to do that on the evening and referee Smith booked him. No other player did the same again so hopefully the new rule will work. Almost immediately Teixeira turned sharply and it fooled Shorrock who clattered him late for a yellow, that was almost an orange!

In an effort to improve Livingstone I presume, Stanley swapped wings with him. It made little difference to Livingstone’s anonymous display but Connor was brighter on the left with his trickery showing the first signs of a consistent attacking threat. A cross was flicked on by Stanley but Rooney had not anticipated it. Fletcher was booked for a foul but Hereford did nothing from the free kick.

Rushall though remained the better team but thankfully did not get on the end of crosses and consistently shot over or failed to get strikes away sharply. It takes a big man to admit he was wrong but Caddis acknowledged his selection error by taking Obonna off for Burton loanee Hewlett before half time. It is so refreshing to see a manager see what is wrong and do something about it. There have been too many managers who would stubbornly wait until half time thinking their words of wisdom would help, by which time the game was away. Caddis’s humility saw Hewlett immediately chasing and anticipating lost causes cheering the Meadow End.

Teixeira tried to clip a ball to the far side of the box. It was half blocked and ran towards the other side of the penalty area. A poor touch by a Rushall defender saw the ball bouncing loose. Hewlett had raced across, he got to the ball and was challenged by young West Bromwich loanee Foster for a clear penalty. 

The keeper lost his team the game as the ball was going nowhere. Having missed on Saturday, Rooney gave way to Cranston who sent the keeper the wrong way, drilling hard to the left for an utterly undeserved lead.

Hereford would surely play better in the second half? There was a quick burst of better activity before Rushall resumed dominance. Pond had to save well from a Coyle volley. The votes for August player of the month could be counted now. Pond would waltz it. He has been exceptional and it is pleasing to see him on contract. If he can keep his impressive form then he could easily playing at a higher level in 2024.

Masidi replaced Shorrock who went off to pantomime villain jeers, but he had played better than any of his opponents. Rushall captain Green was booked for a foul. The purple and red shirts kept coming forward with neat, incisive passing with Gosling next to bring out a good save from Pond. Carvalho-Landell replaced Coyle. Surprisingly Fletcher who had perhaps been the most impressive Rushall player was replaced by Moore. 

Rooney was replaced by Singh who made little impact and was booked for time wasting. It appeared the Rushall manager said something as he was booked. Stanley was the best Hereford attacker in the second half but sadly that is not saying much. He has great control and balance but teams realise that his size means he will struggle with the physical battle and he also lost possession too easily. Hopefully he can improve but it is hard to see him regularly playing ninety minutes. Barkers who replaced him was as anonymous as the rest of the midfield.

Rushall continued their dominance until the end, but Hereford played out time in proper Natural League North fashion. Pond again making saves. A good keeper is worth 20 points a season, Curtis could smash that, he’s probably on 5 points he’s earned for the team already and he again was man of the match. Loyal, veteran sponsors Roger and Margaret Talbot awarded their man of the match to Jordan Cranston and he was best of the rest, probing forward, defending well and putting in more crosses.

Hereford’s midfield is a cause for concern. Hereford train near Rushall and on this showing you would pick every Olympic player ahead of their Bulls equivalent. Defensively the Bulls midfield did work back hard to help keep the clean sheet, but that’s a basic although one which has not been a given in recent seasons.

In past seasons Edgar Street has inspired smaller teams to come and play as impressively as Rushall did. Peterborough Sports last season, but there’s a series of them going back decades to Welling. Somehow this Hereford ground out an utterly undeserved victory. Pond is possibly the best player in the National League North.

The defence though played well. Howkins especially got in several blocks although one or two looked liked they might have been penalties with a harsher interpretation of the law. Cameron and Skinner both played more than 75 minutes on a yellow card. Neither gave a hint of picking up a second, yet both were resolute as Rushall passed through Hereford’s midfield at will.

If Hereford continue to play the same system and Cowley remains unavailable then Hewlett will surely start. He worked hard, won the penalty but faded in the second half. Hereford are in the top three, but the three teams they have played are all in the bottom six. They need to show they were a good team who won when not playing well, rather than lucky, lucky, lucky.