It took a heroic effort got this game on, but it was Scunthorpe who swept Hereford aside to go above Tamworth at the summit of National League North.
Volunteers removed the frost covers at Edgar Street after superb work to beat the freezing weather. But the Bulls were frozen out, against a team who were impressive and clinical.
Hereford manager Paul Caddis came into the game looking up, after an impressive win over Scarborough on Tuesday night. He made one change, with loanee Tom Pugh unable to play against his parent club, so Adam Livingstone was recalled to the starting eleven.
Livingstone Tries To Go Around The Keeper
Scunthorpe came into this match with an away record that was inconsistent, but Jimmy Dean’s side were boosted by news that their long-term future at Glanford Park had been secured, given their travelling fans a timely lift. They named Will Evans in their defence, the man who scored Hereford’s fastest ever goal - just 12 seconds into a match at Macclesfield in 2012.
Scunthorpe took the lead after 12 minutes, after a mistake at the back allowed the away side through. Hereford goalkeeper Curtis Pond raced back to save a looping volley into the box, but Danny Whitehall quickly collected to drive home.
It was 2-0 four minutes later, with Michael Kelly striking on the turn.
Then an incident involving Lassana Mendes and Whitehall. It appeared that Whitehall struck Mendes with an elbow knocking the Hereford player to the ground. The referee took some time to decide to give Whitehall a yellow card when some thought it might have been a red.
Although Hereford created openings, including Yusifu Ceesay’s acute effort bouncing off the top of the crossbar, they looked second best against a clinical Scunthorpe who scored a third in the dying stages of the half. Breaking forward following a Hereford corner, Jacob Butterfield surged towards goal to fire low into the net.
Then it was 4-0 in added time, again Butterfield, but this time scoring from 20 yards out.
Hereford came out brighter at the start of the second half. Paul Downing turned home from a free kick, but his effort was rightly ruled out for offside, while an Adam Livingstone volley was cleared.
But the away side grew in confidence and controlled the midfield. Callum Roberts’ shot was blocked on the line by Hereford, as Scunthorpe looked for a fifth.
On the hour mark, Hereford pulled a goal back. Ceesay slotted the ball towards Jason Cowley and his shot on the turn in the area made it 4-1, and Cowley had an opportunity to make it 4-2 with fifteen minutes to go.
A shot in the area was stopped by a defender on the ground, and the referee judged him to have handballed, so handed Hereford a penalty.
Cowley’s low effort was pushed onto the post by goalkeeper Ross Fitzsimons, who jumped on it to extinguish the threat.
Then with four minutes left, a Callum Roberts corner found its way into the Hereford net for Scunthorpe’s fifth, and the rout was complete.
A crowd of 2,870 will have been impressed with the away side, who on this performance should be champions come May. For Hereford, there was a gap in class - and the Bulls have a chance to bounce back quickly with Warrington next up on Tuesday night. Tom Pugh will be available again, in the final match of his loan spell.
Hereford: Pond, Skinner, Livingstone (Tolley, 70), Teixeira (Freemantle, 73), Downing, Ceesay, Babos, Cowley, Cranston, Pugh, Mendes, Southern. Subs: Rooney, Arthur, Cameron.