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Back to HQ for Hereford FC on Tuesday evening as they host Peterborough Sports under the soon-to-be-decommissioned Edgar Street lights.
One of the smaller sides in the division, at least in terms of turnover (Hereford-born midfielder Hugh Alban-Jones isn’t small at all, he’s quite tall), Peterborough are now in their third season in the National League North, and thus far have belied that lack of financial muscle in achieving mid-table finishes in both of their first two seasons. Each of those finishes was assisted to the tune of three points by a pair of 1-0 wins at Edgar Street, so everyone in the ground on Tuesday apart from the Turbines’ squad and their clutch of away fans will be hoping that the ‘third time lucky’ maxim proves to have more substance to it than just being something desperate people cling to. It’s time to smash that home record hoodoo against these visitors to smithereens before it becomes truly bothersome, like a Kings Lynn, Brackley or Alfreton situation.
In truth, luck can be removed from the equation if the Bulls turn up and play for 90 minutes in the way they did in the second half against South Shields on the opening day of the season. Post-Chorley, it would be good to see a return to a more grass-based approach, and perhaps less of a predictable reliance on Alex Babos’ long-ish throw every single time it’s an option, mixing things up a bit more in that respect.
It’s unlikely that Paul Caddis will opt to field no strikers, as Josh Gowling did in the first of those 1-0 losses, which should help, and indeed he has a bit of an embarrassment of riches at his disposal up top, and a tricky decision to make. Ahkeem Rose wasted no time in scoring on his Hereford debut on Saturday, taking just quarter of an hour to find the back of the net and set his side up for a barnstorming finish which almost gave the visitors the points. Caddis may opt to continue with the Williams-Gibson partnership, or let the hugely likeable Rose loose from the start. Intriguing, and hugely promising that all three have already got off the mark after just two games.
The Turbines lost their opening game 1-0 at home to Chorley, and by the same scoreline away at Warrington on Saturday, so on the one hand confidence won’t be great, but on the other they’ll be extra determined not to lose again and to get at least a point on the board. With that in mind, they may set up ultra cautiously, and the longer it takes the hosts to break through the more likely it’ll be that the visitors will start chugging painfully slowly through their five substitutes, with their eyes on the prize of a golden 0-0. A nice early goal for the hosts would therefore be a big relief.
Michael Gash co-manages Sports and still gets plenty of game time. As Bulls fans are well aware, strikers in the latter half of their 30s are not to be taken lightly, although so far this season he seems to be operating as a defender.
Their main threat should come from Dion Sembie-Ferris, who scored 39 goals in 56 games for Sports in his first spell with the club as they clambered up through the lesser leagues, which earned him a move to Scunthorpe. It didn’t work out there for him, and he’s now back where he enjoys ‘club legend’ status. That said, half the squad seem to enjoy such status, but that simply seems to be down to the fact that a lot of them have been together for their journey through the divisions before arriving in the NLN. That continuity can only have helped them since that arrival.
To complement what looks to be a solid squad for 2024/25, they’ve brought Lincoln City defender MJ Kamson Kamara in on a season-long loan.
Despite Hereford being ‘off it’ a bit on Saturday, it’s not easy to identify anyone obvious who would benefit from being ‘rested’ for this one out of those who have started the opening two games, and if it is the same starting XI, the bench will have ‘impact substitutes’ written through it like a stick of rock. Aaron Skinner, Cosmos Matwasa, Aurio Teixera and particularly the aforementioned Ahkeem Rose would all give Peterborough something to think about when coming on with fresh legs and something to prove in terms of showing Caddis that they’re worthy of a start next time at Southport.
The Bulls should go into this one full of confidence, as four points from two tricky opening games is certainly not to be sniffed at. This one looks easier on paper, and another win would make the league table a joy to view at 10pm (or 2am if all ten substitutes are used), but there’s just that niggling Peterborough hoodoo to overcome first.
By the end of the season, a point at Chorley will almost certainly look a lot better than it did immediately after Andy Williams’ penalty was saved on Saturday, and a ‘so far, so good’ assessment of events to date would probably be a fair one.
If you’re watching this on the Waitrose roof, give us a wave. It might get a bit parky if you’re still doing so in January though.
COYW