The Best Yet

Bulls fans travelled loyally to Chorley with hope more than expectation. They were rewarded with the best performance of the season so far. Hereford had to make several enforced changes and lined up with Pond; Skinner, Southern in for the suspended Howkins, captain Cameron, Livingstone; Teixiera, Mendes in for injured Lyden; Tolley, Babos, Ceesay; Livingstone; Teixiera in for the Alfretoned Lyden; Tolley, Babos, Ceesay; Livingstone back for Rooney who dropped to the bench. The other substitutes were Cranston, Stanley, Arthur and for the first time in months Cowley.

Hereford started brightly with Tolley catching the eye. He gave Moore a difficult afternoon. With one delicious flick he nutmegged the Chorley right back and it was see you later. Freemantle coming back from a knee injury did not look to be running comfortably and had a heavy touch or two. Gradually he seemed to run it off and came more into the game. 

 

Chorley were underwhelming. A patched up Hereford side looked like the play off contenders and the Lancastrians seemed disinterested. Having come out with a positive attitude the Bulls realised they could out football Chorley and started to enjoy themselves. The only thing not coming together was the finishing with Freemantle, Livingstone, Ceesay (several times), Tolley, Babos and Skinner all playing well but failing to hit the target when they had the opportunity to do so.

Ceesay Goes For Goal

Chorley were relying on set pieces to threaten. A long throw from Ellis on the right was flicked on high and Pond had to stretch to tip it away and stop it dipping under the crossbar. Big Curtis made an even better stop just before half time. Keeper Urwin kicked long and Cameron missed his header allowing the ball to bounce. Livingstone miscued his header flicking it into the path of Ubaezounu. He cut inside drawing Southern and Skinner, he then slipped a ball down the inside left channel into the box. Striker Johnson surged on to it and hit it hard and low just inside the post from close range. Pond got down and tipped the ball past the post, making a difficult save look routine. With a rainbow in the distance the big man is undoubtedly Hereford’s pot of gold.

At half time the Bulls should have been two up. There was poor decision making with attempts on goal. Often there were players up with play so working the keeper to create rebounds or crossing was more important than attempting to hit the top corner and going high or wide. 

Ceesay And The Chorley Keeper Collided - Thankfully Both Were Able To Carry On.

Chorley came out better, but not much. The Bulls fans were non stop whereas the Lancashire lads and lasses were getting on the backs of their team. Any team watching Hereford will have seen how influential Babos is. Chorley paid him the compliment of marking him tightly through midfielders Nolan and Calveley. Alex was less involved but Chorley were also limited by having to stop Alex. Caddis changed this at half time encouraging Babos to press higher. At times he was playing alongside Freemantle and they pressed the back four. This created space and seemed to surprise Chorley. Goalkeeper captain Urwin grew increasingly frustrated with his team mates. Epitomised when he played out to defender Ellis. Ethan was on Ellis as he tried to control the ball and nicked the ball away for a throw in. At times Urwin went long but he did not seem satisfied that enough players were showing for him.

Then came a goal which epitomises what Caddis is seeking. Teixiera and Babos both challenged for the ball in the middle of the field but were unsuccessful, yet their pressure saw Chorley’s defence back pedalling to the edge of the box. Moore rushed across to cover and tried to clear but Mendes was now up and charged the ball down. It broke to Freemantle on the left and he advanced and crossed. 

 

Tolley was free in acres of space with Moore having had to cover his colleagues and had a simple tap in to take the led. Chorley fans were rightly angry at a shockingly bad goal to concede but Caddisball had worked. A combined eager team pressing for the Bulls made for a goal created by half the side doing the hard, dirty work that gets results.

It was good to see Tolley score. This was his best game yet and especially in the first half he looked a level above and was combining well with Skinner down the right. Just after the hour Arthur came on for Jack.

Chorley tried to raise their game but things were even and Hereford won several corners, Livingstone will be disappointed at how many Urwin claimed. Chorley brought on Mayo for Nolan who had been poor. Moore was booked for a foul. Hereford looked comfortable and cut out an attack and worked the ball back to Pond. He struck pass of the day a low humming ball from the left of the box diagonally down the centre of the pitch. Babos was on to it and away with a disgraceful amount of space provided by Chorley’s centre backs including former Bull Harvey Smith. The ball raced and bounced, Alex let it run across him and then half volleyed a glorious strike. The finish of a man in fine goal scoring form.

Dozens of Magpie fans in the crowd of 1,366 streamed out. The 150 or so Bulls fans started to have a party. 

Chorley’s fans had been unhappy with the poor performance of their striker Johnson and he was put out wide on the left. He partly redeemed himself by beating Skinner and crossing into the middle of the box, Cameron jumped but could not reach the ball and Sampson behind him looped the ball over Pond for a consolation.

Cowley came on for Freemantle. I would love to say that Jason looked good but he did not. He was well off the pace and did not have his usual hustle and bustle. The one time a ball was placed near to him, compared to his normal self he reacted almost in slow motion.

A week might change things but it will take a major improvement in fitness for him to start or play more than a cameo. He was booked for kicking the ball away to waste time at the end.

Cranston came on for Teixiera. The referee had been clear that he would not entertain back chat, warning Freemantle who was subbed soon after. He then booked Caddis for something he said, the manager had been acknowledged earlier and advised that referee Dawson was aware.

Chorley seemed poor but their fans said this was a typical performance. This kind of suggests that there is very little between most teams and attitude will often be the deciding factor. It was for Hereford. Mendes made a big difference but the team as a whole raised itself. One man redeemed himself. Possibly the worst performance by a Bull this season was Southern when he came on at Tamworth with poor control and several errors.

At Chorley he looked like a man who had been playing every week. He kept breaking the lines with excellent distribution Downing would have been proud of. He shackled Johnson so well the crowd got on the Magpie striker’s back and he had to be moved to the wing to try and get some joy. His relationship with Mendes from having played with him last season saw lots of simple progressive play. An outstanding performance.

This was the best team performance yet. They started on the front foot and never let the home team get the upper hand. The only criticism has to be that their finishing meant the score did not reflect fully how well the Bulls played. In a tight division the goal difference needs improvement.