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Hereford United will be disappointed with the point that they took from this afternoon's game against Morecambe. The Bulls dominated throughout but failed to turn possession into goals and with this in mind will see the result as two points dropped, rather than one gained.
Hereford were still without Adam Stansfield, who was expected to make a return to the subs bench at least following a couple of weeks out with an ankle injury. Jamie Pitman was the only other absentee as he failed to recover from his calf injury. Graham Hyde continued in his place.
Morecambe, defending the Meadow End in the first half, started well and Hereford seemed to still be in the dressing rooms by the time the deadlock had been broken. Hyde blocked a cross, diverting it out for a corner on the right, which Kieran Walmsley swung into the middle. Darren Kempson met it with his head and the ball bounced in the box and found its way through a crowd of players into the back of the net in only the second minute.
Hereford from then on dominated possession but found clear cuts chances hard to come by as the Shrimps packed the defence in order to keep the Bulls out. Mark Robinson's cross was just too far in front of the ever dangerous Brian Smikle and Craig Stanley volleyed Simon Travis' cross over the bar from six yards out. Smikle headed a cross from Purdie, after a short free kick, just wide before he glanced another header into the outstreched arms of the 'keeper Robert Robinson, this time from Danny Williams' free kick.
Then, after yet another free kick on the flank, Smikle's header was deflected out for a corner. With just three minutes of the half remaining the Bulls hit back. Robinson swung the corner in and Tamika Mkandawire headed into the top corner. Moments later Smikle almost handed the Bulls the lead when he was played in behind the defence by Travis' flick, but his cross-cum-shot flew inches wide of the upright.
The second half continued in the same way the first, United dominating possession but with Morecambe's defensive tactics foiling their attacks. Against the run of play, Morecambe broke and almost took the lead once again when Michael Twiss found Walmsley in space to the right of the area, but Mawson was quick off his line and blocked the shot.
Jimmy Harvey decided to change things around a bit by bringing on an attacker and midfielder in Gary Thompson and Lee Elam to try and give them extra options in the final third. Hereford finally had a shot on goal in the second half, but Williams, who reacted to the loose ball on the edge of the box first, shot tamely at the goalie. Hyde then found Danny Carey-Bertram in the box and he spun off his defender but was denied by the onrushing Robinson, as he faced a one-on-one situation.
Hereford then made a change, bringing Lee Mills on for Williams meaning that Rob Purdie dropped into the midfield. Another free kick led to another chance for Hereford, but Smikle's well hit effort was luckily deflected off target by a defender. Stanley then gave Thompson a clear run on goal with a poor pass back from the midfield, but luckily for him man of the match Mkandawire was able to make a superb recovering challenge as Thompson raced clear.
Purdie crossed for Mills who volleyed towards the bottom corner but the 'keepers fingertips diverted the ball into the side netting. Mills then shot from thirty yards out forcing the Robinson into a smart save as the ball bounced in front of him. A good switch of play led to Robinson crossing from the left, and Mills met the dropping ball with a powerful volley that was palmed around the post by Robinson, ensuring that the 102 away supporters saw their side gain a point.
The most part of the crowd of 2,657 will no doubt feel that Hereford should have taken all three points from the game, considering the amount of possesion they had. However, once again, it was the final pass that was lacking from United and this proved to be their downfall today. The one point may not seem so bad though, should they take all three at The Lamb on Tuesday evening, when they visit Tamworth.
HUFC Team: Mawson, Travis, James, Mkandawire, Robinson, Williams, Stanley, Hyde, Smikle, Carey-Bertram, Purdie. Subs: Tretton, Green, Scott, Brown, Mills.
MFC: Robinson, Howard, Kelly, Bentley, Kempson, Swan, Walmsley, Hunter, Blackburn, Heard, Twiss. Subs: Sollit, Curtis, Thompson, Carlton, Elam.
