Fireworks needed following Halloween horror

An away match! Hurray!

Hereford FC travel up to Lancashire to play Chorley on Saturday, presumably grateful for a break from Edgar Street and a chance to pick up some points on the road. Three home games have delivered no points and no goals recently, so this, and a trip to troubled Morecambe on Tuesday in a Lancashire double-header, could be just what’s needed to regain some confidence.

A 4-2 loss in this fixture last season, courtesy of some characteristically charitable defending, resulted in the first real groundswell of movement among fans against Paul Caddis continuing as manager. We may be having a bit of a wobble, but things are generally a lot rosier a year on.

The club has benefitted from some bumper gates this season already, suggesting that the coffers are in a reasonably healthy state. If the manager felt that some strengthening was needed he’d presumably be backed, but that may be a bit premature if recent form is just a blip, and he seems keen to allow the squad as it stands the opportunity to prove that.

There’s a slight sense that the side is getting out-nastied on occasion and is consistently second-best in playing the ref. There’s plenty to recommend that from an ethical point of view, but the National League North isn’t exactly known for prioritising or rewarding an ethical approach. 

Aaron Downes does have some scope for tinkering in order to get the side out of this poor recent run. Fit-again Joe Willis could start in the centre of midfield with Kam Kandola slipping back into a three at the back. More will presumably be seen of Kameron Muir over the next few games, and of course club captain Lewis Hudson is back in the squad. Downes would presumably prefer to initially bring him on for a few minutes at the end of a game that’s already been put to bed, which will hopefully be this one.

Preston Bitemo is back, and the Bulls’ poor patch has coincided with his absence, so perhaps that bit of bite(mo) that he provides has been lacking.

Billy Phillips wasn’t deemed quite ready last Saturday after limping off against Telford, but could make the bench here.

While recent home form has been horrible, the Bulls’ away record this season reads W4 D1 L1. Plenty to be positive about there.

Chorley are all over the place form-wise, alternately winning and losing each week. It’s unsurprising then that they’re bang in the middle of the table, six points behind Hereford. They’re solid enough at Victory Park though, having won four of their seven home games.

Andy Preece will be irritated by that inconsistency, and I can’t imagine he’s much fun to be around when he’s irritated. The Worcestershire-born manager would have been hoping to turn things round this season, following a finish last time only five points above Hereford. Early signs suggest that they’re still some way short of returning to being one of the hardest-to-beat sides in the division.

Ex-Bull Harvey Smith has now been at the club for several seasons and is something of a fixture in their starting XI. They have lost someone who was even more of a fixture though in long-term goalie Matt Urwin, who is now at Spennymoor, although it was reported by something presumably AI-generated that he was having a ‘career break’, which is a bit insulting to Spennymoor.

Higher up the pitch ex-Alfreton forward Lewis Salmon has scored against Hereford before, and centre forward Elliot Taylor looks to be something of a find. Signed from lower-league Burscough in the summer, the 24-year-old has five goals this season.

Whilst Hereford were having an absolute horror-show on Halloween against Kings Lynn, Chorley also lost, 2-0 at struggling Spennymoor. That result will have done little for the Magpies’ spirits given that Moors have been losing to everyone, and offers plenty of hope for Hereford if they can put those home wobbles behind them and remember how good they’ve been away this season.

They also got dumped out of the Cup by Worcester recently, although maybe it’s safer not to dwell on getting dumped out of the Cup too much, especially as they went deeper into the competition than, er, some teams did.

Time to put this recent nonsense to bed and start shooting on sight, scoring goals and winning games again. 0-2 Bulls.

COYW