BN goes back to March 22nd 2003 and an away game for Hereford at Barnet. The situation is somewhat similar to the current season, in that the Bulls were pushing for promotion but results were not going their way.
Graham Turner reverted his Hereford team to a five-man defence with Tony James returning to the starting eleven as Rob Purdie dropped to the bench. John Grant was still missing through suspension, so Steve Guinan was the only recognised attacker in the starting eleven for the second game running.
After just four minutes, Barnet's Neil Midgley opened the scoring. A long throw was poorly defended and Midgley struck from twelve yards out to send the Bees into the ascendancy as they attacked downhill in the first half. A quiet period then followed, until Paul Parry levelled things on twenty minutes. Barnet failed to clear a United throw-in, and Parry hit an angled shot into the far corner from the left of the area.
From then on, it was end-to-end actionb as United's Matt Clarke drilled a forceful header inches over the crossbar, and at the other end Mark Gower's left-footed drive missed the target by about a yard. Clarke also turned a Steve Guinan ball home, but was clearly in an offside position when doing so.
With six minutes of the half remaining, Ben Smith brought down Keith Rowland in the United area. Referee Mr. Probert had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, but Matt Baker pushed away the Wayne Purser penalty to make his second spot-kick save in as many matches.
Barnet, under the caretaker management of Martin Allen, sent on eighteen-goal striker Junior Agogo at the break and although United had the best of the second period, it was the home side who found the only goal. Mark Gower beat the offside trap and squared the ball to Agogo, who fired home at the far post to give Barnet the lead. The goal came six minutes after Steve Guinan had missed a wonderful opportunity for Hereford, when he struck the ball over the crossbar from close range when it looked easier to score.
The 291 Hereford fans became agitated with their side, who couldn't find the goal despite pressuring Danny Naisbitt on several occasions, and the result damages United's play-off hopes. They are now four points behind Morecambe in fifth, and need to collect all three points against Margate next Saturday to keep the season alive.
| Barnet | Hereford United |
| Danny Naisbitt | Matt Baker |
| Craig Pope | Matt Clarke |
| Lee Flynn | Michael Rose |
| Greg Heald (captain) | Tony James |
| Lee Pluck | Ian Wright (captain) |
| Guy Butters | Andy Tretton |
| Keith Rowland | Danny Williams (off, 78 minutes) |
| Mark Gower | Steve Guinan |
| Frazer Toms (off, 62 minutes) | Ben Smith |
| Wayne Purser (off, half time) | Jamie Pitman |
| Neil Midgley | Paul Parry |
| Subs | Subs |
| Ricky Millard | Rob Purdie (on, 78 minutes) |
| Junior Agogo (on, half time) | Ken Griffiths |
| Matt Langston (on, 62 minutes) | Rob Sawyers |
| Bai-Mass | Justin Rowe |
| Chris Cashman | Richard Teesdale |
| Yellow cards | Yellow cards |
| Greg Heald (unsporting behaviour, 44 minutes) | Ben Smith (44 minutes, unsporting behaviour) |
| Guy Butters (foul, 62 minutes) | Tony James (foul, 71 minutes) |
| Lee Flynn (foul, 70 minutes) | |
| Red cards | Red cards |
| - | - |
| Scorers | Scorers |
| Neil Midgley (4 minutes) | Paul Parry (20 minutes) |
| Junior Agogo (67 minutes) | |
| Man of the Match | Michael Rose |
| Attendance | 1588 |
| Referee | Mr. L. Probert (Bridgwater) |
Short of luck
Following today's defeat at Barnet, Hereford United wing-back Michael Rose felt that luck had not been on the Bulls side.
Speaking to BBC Hereford & Worcester, Rose said: "We lost last
week to Scarborough and were disappointed with our performance but today
we worked really hard and just did not get the breaks. The gaffer told
us that we performed well in the second half and he couldn't ask anymore
of us really.
"We seemed to be on top for most of the second half and we pushed on
to try to get the winner to keep us in the play-offs and they just
broke and scored."
Matt Baker saved a Wayne Purser penalty six minutes before half time
and Rose continued: "He's made two magnificent saves in the last two
games but we don't look to give them away.
"We are not going to give up until it's mathematically impossible.
To have such a small squad and be in our position, we've done really
well."
Rose felt that despite three defeats in four games the play-offs are still possible.
Three defeats in four fails to dampen spirits
Hereford
United goalkeeper Matt Baker is confident about Hereford United's
play-off hopes, despite Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Barnet.
Talking to the Evening News, he said: "We conceded some sloppy
goals and you cannot afford to do that. Although we replied and pumped a lot
of balls into their box, we didn't create too many clear-cut chances."
He added: "We are very disappointed to lose. But while there are
points to play for, there's still every chance that we could make the
play-offs. There is no reason why we cannot win our remaining six
matches."