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Hereford United face Stevenage Borough tomorrow evening at Broadhall Way in the first leg of the Conference National play offs. The game kicks-off at 5pm.
Hereford finished in second place in the final standings and Stevenage in fifth with just two points seperating the sides. The other semi final sees Carlisle United play Aldershot Town for a place at Stoke as they aim to return to the football league. For the second season running, the play-offs will be contested mainly between sides who have previously been in the Football League. Stevenage nearly made it several years ago but their ground wasn't up to standard at the time.
Hereford will be hoping that their away fans will offer the kind of vocal support that will act as a "twelth man" and spur them on to victory, as they have done in so many fixtures already this season. The Hereford ticket allocation sold out within hours of going on sale and so the Bulls will have a stand packed out behind the goal with 1,400 fanatics cheering them on.
The two teams have are level on "aggregate" from the two league games this season, both having picked up 1-0 victories away from home. Boro stole a late injury time winner at Edgar Street, in a rather evenly contested encouter and at Broadhall Way United emerged 1-0 victors in an entertaining match early last month.
Hereford have almost a full squad to select from, with skipper Tony James returning following a couple of months out with ankle ligament damage. However, in his absense Tamika Mkandawire and Andy Tretton have formed a formidable partnership at the back so James will find it difficult to dislodge either of the two.
Danny Williams has missed a fair amount of training recently but he is on his way back to full fitness and should be avaliable for selection. If required, Graham Turner can still call upon the services of Brian Smikle from West Brom, but it's thought that he will not need to, for the first leg at least.
Simon Travis, who joined Hereford from Stevenage mid way through last season, was a fans favourite with the North London outfit and may have personal reasons to inspire him in the game, should he get selected. He has been struggling with a groin problem of late and has not had much match practise. The back four seems to have been picking itself of late though, and so Travis may only get a chance in midfield, where he is also capable of playing.
Graham Turner will have to make a difficult decision in who to play in their attack, with the four strikers all hoping to get some sort of look in. Adam Stanfield is expected to be a certain starter, but it is unknown as to who will partner him. Lee Mills had a fantastic game against Stevenage in April and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet. His physical presence may also be of benefit against a strong opposition. Danny Carey-Bertram's form since the turn of the year has been impressive, having seen him net fourteen times. Turner's latest addition to his strike force is Leroy Williams and his unpredictable style may be preferred later in the game rather than from the start.
As for Stevenage, Simon Weatherstone, who has been out with a knee injury is expected back and it is thought that George Boyd, who made his comeback against Hereford when the sides last met, will be fit enough to play from the start this time. The tricky winger could prove a hand full for United's defence. Stevenage's strike partnership of Anthony Elding and Darryn Stamp may also prove a problem, but Mkandawire and Tretton delt with him well last time round. However Dino Maamria may possess the biggest threat, playing from a deeper position.
Hereford are hoping to create a "sea of yellow" behind the goal to add to the party atmosphere, which should look very impressive on the Sky TV cameras. Their fans will be hoping their side can get a repeat score-line from earlier in the season when they played at Stevenage, where the travelling support made a fantastic atmosphere in the stand. With a greater number of fans filling the whole of the stand, surely the noise can only be better.
Meanwhile Stevenage Borough have closed the Ticket Office this evening and reported advance ticket sales of over 6,000 for tomorrows game. Almost all the seats have been booked and the East Terrace is expected to be around 90% full.
A spokesperson said "our capacity is just about 7000 and we're sure we'd have made that if the game had not been all ticket."
