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Not quite a dead rubber then for Hereford FC this weekend as they travel to Warrington for the penultimate game of the season, but certainly a rubber on its last legs, a rubber at the bottom of your pencil case, all dusty. However, there’s still much to play for: a top ten finish, a 70+ points total, and pride, which this squad has shown in abundance over the course of the season – pride in the shirt and pride in each other as a collective unit. It’s been so refreshing to see.
Warrington’s manager is Mark Beesley, a member of one of the better Hereford United squads that were put together over the years. Beesley has coaxed his charges through a very solid first season in the National League North since promotion from the Northern Premier League last May. They’re currently a place and three points behind Hereford, having played the same number of games.
The Yellows are no better at home than they are away, so there seems to be no real advantage for them here.
Last Saturday they drew 1-1 at champions Tamworth, surviving a wind-assisted long throw onslaught from the hosts in the first half before admirably clawing their way back into the game after the break.
If Issac Buckley-Ricketts and Connor Woods can be marked out of the game, 50% of their goalscoring threat is nullified. Those two have an impressive 28 goals between them this season.
Influential if ageing central midfielder Jay Harris will be missing here as he completes a suspension. The ex-Tranmere and Wrexham player will be a big loss for them.
Long-serving captain Josh Amis hasn’t played a full part this season due to injury, but is now featuring off the bench.
42-year-old centre back Peter Clarke has 900 professional games behind him, and apart from a little break over Christmas has been ever-present for Warrington this season. That’s not bad going at all.
With last Saturday’s trip to Scunthorpe being the third game in six days towards the end of a gruelling season, the minds and bodies of the part-time Bulls squad were perhaps understandably crying ‘Give me a break’ in the second half up there. With a full week’s rest, the side can go again relatively fresh in a bid to finish the season on 70+ points, which would represent a 15-point progress leap on last season, with what seems to be a lesser playing budget. A similar rate of progress next season could be enough to top the table.
Jordan Lyden was missing last weekend but otherwise the midfield is looking fairly fully staffed, whereas the defence is now looking at least as threadbare as the midfield was a few weeks ago, and the attack was in the first few months of the season. With a bit more luck in terms of injuries, the five or so points the Bulls will be shy of come the end of the season could have been earned, and chucking away victory at home to Kings Lynn when the game was there for the taking still sticks in the craw. However, there’s no point crying over spilt cider. Unlikely and lucky points have been picked up along the way too.
A grand total of three defenders are fit or unsuspended enough to play here by my reckoning, unless Mark Derricott is permitted to return early from his loan spell at Bromsgrove Sporting and make a belated seasonal debut for his parent club. Similarly, if allowed, Jordan Cranston could come back from Redditch.
Up front, it would be good to see both Andy Williams and Jason Cowley get a few more goals before the final whistle of the season is blown against Boston next Saturday at Edgar Street. It would be a fair effort to get towards 15 each for the season given that the pair didn’t start properly until advent calendars were being dusted down ready for use.
South Shields and Curzon Ashton both have to just draw on Saturday for it to be all over for Hereford for this season, not quite mathematically, but every other -ally you care to mention, especially ‘realistic-ally’, and in fairness that’s been the case since the Buxton game. Curzon are at home to Gloucester, who are down and out, and South Shields go to Tamworth, who could quite well still be drunk having spent the week celebrating winning the league, possibly by doing long throws down Tamworth High Street, and encircling anyone unfortunate enough to be dressed in black and complaining to them at length about imagined injustices. Sour grapes? Moi? Anyway, it’s not looking promising for a play-off miracle.
However, all the pressure is now off and it would be nice to see the players expressing themselves here with a bit of free-flowing football, and if they’re keen to stay for another season at the one club in the National League North with a bit of self-respect about it, a decent display here and against Boston next week can only help their cause contractually.
COYW