A look back to this very day 17 years ago.
Bulls fall to Oldham battery
Some
may argue that three wrong penalty decisions by the referee did
Hereford no favours, but it has to be said not only were the Bulls
outplayed by The Latics but they also contributed to their own downfall.
As
early as the fourth minute, Craig Davies cut in from the left to fire a
speculative shot from the angle of the box. Broadhurst was marking Lee
Hughes some ten yards from goal but when Randolph spilled the ball,
Hughes was the only one to move and tapped in from inside the six-yard
box. Shortly after the restart, The enthusiastic Andy Williams who
looked to be revelling in the chance to play as a central striker made a
diagonal run before collecting a through ball and squaring for
Diagouraga whose useful effort was deflected clear. Despite a difficult
start, The Bulls grafted to find a way back into the game and although
failing to create real opportunities the effort did give hope for the
remaining part of the game. Then, on fifteen minutes came the first of
two penalty errors by referee Shoebridge. As the ball was lofted over
the Bulls defence, Hughes and N'Gotty chased it towards the bye-line.
Hughes appeared to get a touch to the ball deflecting it away from the
goal but instead of following the ball he leant into N'Gotty before
collapsing to the ground. The reaction of most reasonable football fans
would have been "nice try Lee...but the Ref won't buy that one". He
did and awarded the softest penalty I've witnessed in fifty years of
watching football. Hughes should be ashamed to call himself a
professional. Andy Liddell slotted home the spot kick. Two down in
fifteen minutes.
Jackson lifted a cross over the bar before both
Kris Taylor and Williams saw efforts squeeze wide of the target.
Hudson-Odoi drifted into the centre to fire a crisp effort from about
twelve yards but appeared to be having difficulty with grip from his
boots and was substituted after thirty minutes when he was replaced by
Simon Johnson. On thirty-five minutes, Daniel Jones not for the first
time left Jackson for dead as he cut inside to fire home a low drive
from 18 yards diagonally across Randolph into the far corner of the net.
A rare decision in favour of the Bulls came when Williams drew a foul
from Hazel on the edge of the box. Hazel received a deserved yellow for
his effort and Kris Taylor's free kick was just inches high as it
clipped the crossbar before going out for a goal-kick. A penalty that
wasn't, a decent goal that could have been prevented and a spilled save
that was tapped in by an unmarked player!
HT Oldham 3 HUFC 0
The
Bulls started the second period brightly and should have been awarded a
penalty within minutes of the kick-off. Andy Williams was fed by
O'Leary and turned his marker before firing for goal. The ball was
palmed away by a defender but neither the ref or the adjacent linesman
felt inclined to award what was a clear penalty and probable card
offence. A period of ten to fifteen minutes saw United produce their
best period of the game in terms of possession and passing but still the
goal threats were few and far between as only occasionally did we have
more than one player close enough to the opponents goal to pose any
danger to the Latics defence. Williams, again, turned his marker and
fired goal-ward only to see substitute 'keeper Fleming tip his effort
over the bar. As the Bulls pushed forward, even Richard Rose found
himself in a position to try a pop at goal. In fact, it was Rose who
produced probably the best cross of the game when he checked back to
leave the defender flat-footed before delivering a fine clipped cross to
the far post. However, the early promise of the second half was
short-lived as Oldham resumed control and United's passing movements
returned to the sideways non-penetrative mode seen all too frequently
this season.
To add insult to the injury of his earlier penalty
misdemeanours, Referee Shoebridge then conspired to produce two cards in
as many minutes to Hereford's hardworking midfielder, Stephen O’Leary.
Both challenges looked fairly innocuous but the second appeared to draw
a straight red from the stage-struck official. Despite being reduced
to ten men, the Bulls still produced a couple of late attempts on goal
and, indeed, had another clear penalty shout as the game drew to a
close. A deep Kris Taylor corner was arrowing it's way towards
N'Gotty's head before he was hauled to the ground by an Oldham defender
when about to head at the open goal. Naturally, Shoebridge didn't see a
thing. Then just before the two added minutes, Danny Whitaker fired a
fourth Oldham goal from just inside the box.
Whilst a good number
of decisions did not go our way, the best football and goal efforts
certainly came from The Latics. Once again, poor defending was punished
and although the return of Steve Guinan was a welcome boost The Bulls
still look way short of what is required to survive or progress in this
League. Square pegs rarely fit in round holes although one talented
winger who was the only "paid for" close season signing did seem
comfortable in his seat amidst the visiting Bulls fans who numbered a
creditable 334 amongst the total of 5468.
Not a good day at the office Gaffer, although the sight of 4-4-2 might be a step in the right direction!
Oldham
Athletic: Crossley (Fleming 46), Lomax, Hazell, Byrne, Jones, Liddell
(Smalley 62), Allott, Whitaker, Taylor, Davies, Hughes (Alessandra 78).
Subs Not Used: Maher, O'Grady.
Hereford United: Randolph,
Jackson, Broadhurst, N'Gotty, Rose, O'Leary, Diagouraga, Taylor,
Hudson-Odoi (Johnson 30), Williams, Guinan Subs Not Used: Samson, Smith,
Chadwick, Beckwith.
Turner Would Drop The Lot
Speaking after the match to BBC Hereford and Worcester, Graham Turner didn't mince his words:
"I've been fairly quiet on any criticism of the players, but I thought the first 45 minutes we were out-fought, out-worked, out-muscled, we just didn't compete in that 45 minutes and effectively the game was over at 2-0 let alone three. At least for 30 minutes of the second half we did up the workrate, the competitive edge to our game."
"It's been an eye-opener, we have lost a lot of games by the odd goal but the first 45 minutes - that's unacceptable. I know we've stepped up a league, I know they're better players we're playing against - sharper - and the front two caused us all sorts of problems. Having said that we've got to do better than we have today."
In regards to Stephen O'Leary's dismissal Turner believed it to be harsh - but couldn't confirm whether it was a straight red or not: "It was never a single red card if that's what he's (the referee) done."
But he ended the interview on a blunt note: "Unfortunately we can't take another eleven (on loan) which I would like to do right at the moment."
If O'Leary did receive a straight red card it would mean an instant minimum of a two match ban. A pair of yellow cards is a one match ban.