Downes: Bulls made Worksop win 'harder than it should have been'

Aaron Downes admitted Hereford made their victory at Worksop Town “harder than it should have been” – but praised his players’ clinical first-half display.

The Bulls raced into a 3-0 lead before being forced to hold on for a 3-2 win, securing another important three points in their National League North survival push.

Downes said the performance was strong overall but felt the game should have been put to bed earlier.

"I'm pleased with the result, definitely, and a lot of the performance for numerous reasons," he said after the full-time whistle.

"If I get the negative out the way, I feel we made it a lot harder than what it should have been second half.

"But at the same time, I've got to give credit to Worksop because they never stopped. They got their early goal, which they were probably hoping to get, in the second half.

"Then it was a little bit closer than what it probably should have been, but I'll take the result all day long because it's a tough place to come.

"It's a tricky opposition to play against, but I thought we were clinical in the first half and professional in the second half."

Hereford were clinical before the break, scoring three times after dominating possession in the opening stages.

“If you look at the first goal, I think we’ve had the lion’s share of the possession for probably 20-odd passes,” Downes said.

“We moved the ball really well and once you go one-nil up, they have to come off the shape. They have to go a bit higher and a bit more aggressive so then it made it a lot more competitive."

Despite Worksop’s second-half pressure, Downes felt his side still created enough chances to extend their lead.

"We were clinical in our attacks first half and then second half we still had moments. 

"We had more attempts in the second half than we did the first half, surprisingly, through counters, through some good play in the final third.

"But we just weren't able to get that fourth which would have really killed the game off, and made it an easier day for us.

"I can't fault the players, they were superb again today. The effort that is going into everything is so important to us, it's important to me. It's sort of our principles that we've agreed to when we came in."

The Hereford boss also highlighted a key moment late in the first half when goalkeeper Theo Richardson produced a superb save.

“That is an unbelievable save in the first half and that’s a key moment,” Downes said.

"That's just before half time, that allows us to go in at 3-0, not 3-1, and that’s a big point in the game.”