More than a month after a 0-0 draw with Kings Lynn, Hereford FC finally return to home soil on Saturday with Farsley Celtic the guests, and if the Bulls can start renovating their home form so that it comes close to mirroring this season’s results on the road, things will start to look very good indeed.
It’s been a difficult start to the season for the Yorkshire side, currently with no pitch to play on at the Citadel pending a switch at some point to plastic. All their games, even their ‘home’ ones, have therefore been away, and their form suggests that the situation was catching up with them a bit. Prior to their midweek game at ‘home’ (actually at Bradford) against Peterborough, they’d picked up just five points from six games. However, despite their current travails they cruised to a 3-0 win against Sports, a win that eases them into mid-table, and such is the nature of the division that mid-table means being just two points shy of the play-offs.
Ex-manager and ex-team mate of Paul Caddis Clayton Donaldson is still at the club, now solely in a playing capacity and seemingly not bearing a grudge having been sacked, unless his plan is to play deliberately badly and not score. He’s currently not getting into the squad, perhaps for that reason.
Set-piece expert Ben Atkinson is arguably their biggest goal threat, with ten goals last season and four from just 11 games so far this term. Ex-York and Alfreton defender Tom Allen is a big unit and will be key to stopping the goals going in at the other end, as well as being an attacking threat at set pieces.
The hosts go into this one off the back of a rare defeat. Whilst Tuesday’s 2-0 loss against a very one-dimensional Warrington side wasn’t much cop on paper, on grass it offered more evidence of the spirit of this squad and, in bossing the game for periods when a man down, also showed the potential to do well this season when fully staffed on the pitch.
Tuesday was a funny one in that there’s a case to be made for it bringing the players closer together and instilling more belief – a bit odd given that the game was lost.
Sammy Robinson’s suspension for his straight red on Tuesday won’t kick in until next Saturday’s game against Chester, so he should be even more motivated than normal here to make amends for that rush of blood to the head against Warrington, and to go into his enforced three-match break having made a significant contribution to securing the three points here.
There was bad news in the week regarding Aaron Skinner who may be out for months if he requires surgery, and Preston Bitemo looks unlikely to play before Christmas because of his bad back, and this, and several games to come, will be too soon for Jason Cowley. Generally though, the fit players are looking more and more capable of doing something exciting this season, by which I mean challenging for promotion rather than going on a pub crawl round Hereford pre-Christmas.
Optimism was justifiably high for the home games against Radcliffe, Peterborough and Needham Market, only for it to prove to be misplaced, with none of those home games won. However, with a quarter of the season now gone, the players now have a better idea about what they’re doing (which didn’t always seem to be the case in the three matches mentioned above), and that makes the Bulls long odds-on favourites to win here, to my mind. Despite Tuesday’s loss, Hereford still sit in fifth place in the National League North table, and a win here would consolidate that play-off position nicely.
Farsley were thoroughly taken apart in the first half in this fixture last season, going into the break 4-0 down. Their recent form, notwithstanding that game against Peterborough that they reportedly bossed, suggests that again the hosts should have the bulk of possession. With the sort of blistering start we saw against Needham Market, and some of the luck in front of goal that wasn’t in evidence in that game, it would be nice to think this one could be put out of the visitors’ reach by half time again to secure a rare home victory. After all, it doesn’t seem too likely that a whole season can be built around narrow away wins, although I suppose it’s possible.
With Oxford and Marine visiting the home of football next, seven points from this Saturday and those two games, bare minimum, doesn’t look like an unreasonable points target around that tasty trip to Chester.
Fingers crossed for a big reaction here with lots of refereeing decisions going the home side’s way. It’s getting to the point with the officiating where there’s a case to be made for locking the ref and linos up in the Addisons cellar when they arrive and for Paul Caddis and two of his backroom staff to don fake beards and black kit and sneak out onto the pitch as the officials. Clayton Donaldson could be chosen as the fourth official given that he might be harbouring some bitterness towards his own club. Just a thought.
COYW