An exciting game is in prospect

The weather on Saturday promises to be very cold but the atmosphere at Edgar Street could be very warm with the visit of Exeter City to Hereford United.

And if the message boards of both clubs are anything to go by, supporters are really looking forward to this game.

Talk of at least 4,000 supporters, maybe nearer 4,500, piling through the turnstiles will give the Bulls the best attendance of this season so far.

Both teams are in good form.

Exeter did lose to Grays Athletic at St James' last Saturday, but then so did Hereford at home back in August. Otherwise the visitors won four and drawn one of their previous five games.

To their advantage is that they were knocked out of the LDV in the first round so
haven't had a game this week other than a local friendly against Weymouth which Exeter lost 1-0.

In theory they should be just that little bit fresher than the Bulls on Saturday.

Hereford are also on a good run. An excellent win over Woking two weeks ago may prove to be the turning point in their challenge to make a play-off place in the Conference for the third season running. The home side are unbeaten since the Accrington game, from which many supporters thought the Bulls deserved at least a point.

In both the last two seasons the two clubs have met over the Christmas period.

Exeter had the upper hand last season defeating Hereford 4-0 at St James' and then coming to Edgar Street and winning 2-1 in front of 3,978 fans.

The previous season Hereford drew at Edgar Street 1-1 and defeated the Grecians 1-0 at St James'. However when the Bulls went to Exeter a week or so later for a FA Trophy game that Exeter won 3-2.

Currently Exeter lie third in the Conference table with 34 points from 18 games whereas Hereford are eighth with 29 points from 17 games.

This season supporters will look to the mean Hereford defence who have only let four goals, in eight Conference home games, past them. In contrast Exeter have scored 16 goals on their travels in nine games.

The Grecians have conceded 11 goals away but Hereford have only scored 13 and eight of those have come in two matches, against Scarborough and Woking. Average those figures and a low scoring draw looks a distinct possibilty on Saturday.

But there may be other factors to be taken into account. Exeter will be without Lee Phillips, their joint top scorer with 6 goals so far this season, and Hereford could miss Ryan Green who took a nasty sounding knock in the LDV game.

Steve Flack will probably take Philips' place, but it is less certain who might replace Green if his knock keeps him out. Although Simon Travis replaced him on Tuesday, Graham Turner may think it is too soon for Travis to start this game after his long absence.

Andy Williams and Tony James missed Tuesday's match. Williams was said to have taken a knock at Dagenham last Saturday, but should be available for Saturday. James was rested and will return as captain.

Should it be as cold as forecast, Hereford players are tough. Of the eleven who started on Tuesday only three were wearing long-sleeved tops.

It is unknown whether Graham Turner has watched Exeter recently, however Alex Inglethrope revealed to the BBC that he watched Hereford last Tuesday. And he has also spoken of the value of plenty of away support.

"The support has been tremendous this season and it's been one of the key factors in our success," Inglethorpe told the Express and Echo.

"It's a real boost, particularly away from home.

"It's great when the players step on to the pitch as they did at Kidderminster and the atmosphere is like we're at home.

"In home games the noise can be diluted because our fans are on three sides of the ground.

"But away it is concentrated in just one end and it makes for a fantastic atmosphere."

Hereford United will need to counteract that arguement on Saturday. Whilst the Meadow End are expected to lead the support for the Bulls, given the likely atmosphere, it seems inevitable that as long as the team rises to the challenge, home supporters will be right behind them in whatever part of the stadium they are and will out-sing the visitors.

An exciting game is in prospect.

---