Will It Be A Good Friday?

With other play-off contenders winning in midweek, Hereford FC know they’ll have to pick up three points on Good Friday as they travel to Oxfordshire to take on a Banbury side that has seemingly come to a grinding halt for the season, resigned to relegation along with Gloucester and Bishops Stortford.

The pickle they’re in isn’t surprising given that they’ve lost their last nine games, with their last win coming two months ago. Astonishingly, they’ve managed to score just 13 goals at home this season in 19 games. For context, divisional whipping boys Bishops Stortford have managed 18.

So, the Puritans are showing every sign of being punch drunk and on the ropes, and anyone or anything showing every sign of being that would not find Jid Okeke coming towards them at pace dribbling a football to be an agreeable prospect. The youngster is capable of doing things at this level that most others aren’t, and seems to be realising it more with every game - not in an arrogant way, just in a highly effective one. Farsley defenders did attempt to slow him down in the second half last Saturday in the only way they were able to, robustly and nowhere near the ball, and that may well happen increasingly as word gets around. Hopefully he’ll be too quick and tricky to get caught and hurt by any of it.

Tope Obadeyi’s performance on Saturday was that of a player from a higher level, and absolutely not that of a player with a broken toe. His history of playing for England at all levels up to under-20, of Football League and Scottish top-tier experience, and three appearances in the Premier League for Bolton at the start of his career, all made sense when admiring the quality of his play against an admittedly limited and presumably travel-frazzled Farsley side. Throw in the fact that he finished last season for Gloucester like an express train and his role in the last few games of the season could be hugely significant. He won’t be featuring here though – Banbury are his parent club and therefore he plays no part.

Yusifu Ceesay’s injury is being described by Paul Caddis as a ‘bit of a sore knee’, which sounds a lot more promising than ‘knee injury’, a description that would probably signal the end of his season. He may train this week and squeeze onto the bench at Banbury.

However, with Lassana Mendes out injured for a couple of weeks and Obadeyi parent-clubbed (or whatever the correct phrase might be), the luxury of easing the winger back to full pace off the bench may not be available to Caddis. He may have to start.

Alex Babos hit double figures for the season with his goal last Saturday. It would be sweet for him I’m sure to add to the tally against his old club. It would also be nice to see him double that in a white shirt in 2024/25, by which I don’t mean Derby realising they missed a gem in letting him go and swooping in the summer to take him back.

It was encouraging to see Jordan Lyden back on Saturday, and equally encouraging to see him withdrawn in the second half for reasons not relating to a part of his body letting him down. It’s been frustrating that his role over the season has been so stop-start, and most frustrating for the player himself I’m sure, but two or three influential performances before the end of the season, the Scunthorpe and Boston games spring to mind for instance, would make it all worthwhile.

The Puritans were thrashed 4-1 last Saturday at Curzon Ashton and then 3-0 at home to South Shields on Tuesday.

Ex-Bull Simeon Maye left the club last week. 19-year-old striker Ben Beresford came in recently on loan from Birmingham as the club tries desperately to find a way to stem the tide that seems to be pushing them inexorably towards the dreaded drop.

Their cause hasn’t been helped by having to bring in another 19-year-old, goalie James Dadge, on a work experience loan from Northampton Town to replace injured first-choice keeper Jack Harding. The youngster’s confidence won’t have been helped by shipping those three goals against South Shields on his debut, and the Bulls should look to exploit any early jitters.

It was perhaps fitting given the seemingly doomed situation the club finds itself in that the South Shields game was sponsored by a funeral director.

This is the second in a clutch of three must-win games. The first was won in 23 minutes last Saturday. It would be good for the nerves if this could be put to bed in a similar way, before the final one against Buxton on Easter Monday. It would then also be good if the next three were all won too.

But back to the here and now, the Whites couldn’t wish for a better opportunity this side of Bishops Stortford.

COYW