Market Day

Hereford FC have another golden opportunity on Tuesday night to assert their authority at home against one of the smaller sides in the National League North. The Bulls host new arrivals Needham Market, who had looked, prior to Saturday, to be rabbits trapped in the headlights of the nasty monsters from the north, or at least what passes for the north in the NLN, as Bishops Stortford were last season. However, they chalked up their first win of the season, 2-1 at Warrington, and should therefore come into this one with a spring in their step.

That win was thoroughly merited by all accounts, with Jake Dye putting in a ‘marauding’ performance at right back, and chipping in with a goal. Man of the match was playmaker Tevan Allen who, like many in the Needham squad, is having his first taste of step 2 football.

It was also a good example of clubs taking it in turns to beat each other in the NLN. It’s a point Paul Caddis, for whom all this ‘north’ stuff is totally south, has made - this division normally features 18-odd clubs who can take points off one another randomly depending on who gets the luck with avoidable defensive errors at one end and missing or scoring sitters at the other. The trick is to be good enough at this level, and at both ends, not to need luck, and generally that needs money.

So far only Scunthorpe could truly be put into that category of being good enough to take luck out of the equation, but Hereford remain unbeaten, and another win here could take them into second place in the table, and therefore as likely as anyone to become one of the two or three clubs (it’s usually two or three) to sit above the blob with the Iron.

The Marketmen beat the likes of Telford and Leamington to automatic promotion from the Southern League last time, so they’re no mugs despite their inauspicious start to the season at this level.

The 400-mile round trip from Suffolk could induce a ‘bus legs’ element here, although maybe not as much as the winter Tuesday fixtures do.

There was a sense that in the Peterborough and Radcliffe draws the home side weren’t always on top in the physical battle; both of those sides brought a robust approach but nothing malicious, just robust. It contributed to them getting draws, and it could be that visiting teams see it as a route to relative success at Edgar Street. Something to be mindful of, along with the fact that sides are motivated by the proper ground and proper crowd aspect. It’s a bit irritating that it seems to galvanise the opposition just as much as the hosts.

It was to the immense credit of Caddis and his team that they looked to win the Brackley game on Saturday when it was 1-1, when they could have made the decision to start falling over a lot and generally doing what virtually every other side does when a draw looks to be on the cards for them at Edgar Street. Those three points have been a long time coming from trips to Brackley, but it was worth the wait and appropriate reward for that positivity at 1-1.

Yet more credit is due to the management team for the summer shopping spree, in that the spine of the team, or one version of it, is all new and has so far been hugely impressive, namely Chapman-Preston-Campbell-Rose/Gibson. All have contributed significantly this season so far, and enhanced the overall quality of the squad considerably. Unlike this time last year when it was clear that one or two of the newcomers weren’t going to cut it, there’s absolutely no sense of that this time – just the opposite.

Kyle Howkins and Jason Cowley will be missing injured here, although the latter is reportedly edging closer to a seasonal start. Otherwise, Caddis has options galore, with Chay Tilt now fit and already with an assist to his name following his involvement in that sumptuous winning goal at Brackley. The player who got on the end of that assist to score was simply lucky, and if any scouts are reading this he’s useless, you should look elsewhere.

Fingers crossed that Saturday’s magnificent win can be backed up with another one here to keep the floating punters interested as autumn arrives and temperatures drift downwards. Having said that, crossing fingers is for those who have to rely on luck, and this side is showing signs of not needing it, and finally escaping the blob in a northerly direction. Exciting times.

No alarms and no surprises – 3-0 nailed on.

COYW