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Hereford United are taking back what they've given out in the previous three seasons, as they terrorised opposing sides putting several goals past them on several occassions. The Bulls have been involved in several high scoring games in the past couple of seasons or so, but are strangers to being on the wrong end of the scoreline. Mansfield kindly introduced Hereford to this, as they put four beyond them, and had three more disallowed!
The hosts made their intentions clear from the off, and Hereford didn't do a lot to prevent The Stags in another unacceptable first half performance. An early corner was headed over by Alex Baptiste, before United made a couple of half chances for themselves. Stuart Fleetwood made something out of nothing, and forced a good save from twenty yards out, then Tamika Mkandawire fired wide on the turn when a corner fell to him in the box.
United weren't fairing too badly for the first twenty minutes, but then disaster struck. A huge gap was left in the Bulls backline and a ball was threaded through to the unmarked Richie Barker. Martyn Giles did brilliantly to recover and deflect the striker's shot onto the cross bar but then a complete lack of communication between 'keeper and defender meant that Scott Tynan and Mkandawire collided, allowing the ball to roll in off the centre half's back.
Simon Brown fired wide when set through on goal as The Stags picked up the pace, and the momentum had continued until the score line doubled, with seven minutes of the half remaining. United had been passing the ball around the back, with few options in front of them, when the ball was cleared long, and returned straight away, with the defence out of shape. Brown raced onto Stephen Dawson's ball down the line and centered to the near post where Barker held off Dean Beckwith and Trent McClenahan to turn the ball in from close range.
Hereford made a change at half time, introducing Alan Connell in place of Rob Purdie, and switched to what looked like a 3-5-2 formation. It was the same story though, and four minutes later Hereford were three down. Mansfield had set up shop in the final third at the start of the half, and some woeful defending allowed a cross in from Matthew Hamshaw and a near post header by Danny Reet for the third.
On the hour mark Andy Williams replaced a disappointed Tim Sills, just when United had started to improve. The change breathed even more life into the side, as, on occassions, Hereford actually did what they're good at and got the ball down on the ground, and created some half decent chances. Reet had by then though, almost netted again with a half volley from outside of the box, but Tynan saved.
It was after one of Hereford's passing moves, which was on the break, that United clawed one back with Connell setting Andy Ferrell away, who won a corner. Ferrell delivered the corner and it fell to Connell, who poked it in for 3-1 with twenty two minutes left.
The come back was unlikey then, and was even more so when Barker scored a second, and Mansfield's fourth, four minutes later from the penalty spot. What the penalty was given for, I don't know, but it seemed a lot like what happened at Rochdale last week, with Tynan collecting a head back before the referee pointed to the spot, leaving everyone shocked.
Although it wasn't all one way traffic from then on, Mansfield had three further goals disallowed, while Fleetwood, once again a lone threat throughout, went close for The Bulls. The travelling army of 382 in the crowd of 3,242 didn't let the result dampen their spirits though, and totally outsang the home crowd all the way until the end. Anyone passing by the ground would have thought normal service had been resumed, and Hereford had ran wild like back in the Conference days!
HUFC: Tynan, McClenahan, Beckwith, Mkandawire, Giles, Purdie, Ferrell, Rose, Travis, Sills, Fleetwood. Subs: Gulliver, Thompson, Sheldon, Connell, Williams.
MTFC: White, Mullins, Sheehan, Baptiste, Buxton, D'Laryea, Hamshaw, Dawson, Boulding, Barker, Brown. Subs: Muggleton, Lloyd, Reet, Coke, Beardsley.
