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A spirited Westfields performance was overcome in extra-time by Hereford United, who eventually won the game 6-1. The scoreline, however, flattered Hereford. John Trewick handed starts to youngsters Jordan Fitzpatrick, Sam Gwynne and Marcus Palmer, along with a majority of first team players.
The first half was largely uneventful as Westfields defended well and battled hard to keep Hereford at bay. Stuart Fleetwood looked a threat with some long range efforts, whilst Westfields had their fair shares of chances. The only goal of the half came when Tim Sills was felled from behind in the box; Fleetwood tucking home the resulting penalty to hand United a narrow half time lead.
Westfields were on level terms early in the second half, when a defensive mix-up between Glyn Thompson and Dean Beckwith, led to the Hereford centre half heading into his own net. Once again, both sides had chances to score, with Andy Williams blazing over from close range and Westfields nearly snatching a late winner. However, neither side could find the net again and the game progressed into extra time.
Hereford's fitness shown through in extra-time as they put five goals past Westfields. Fleetwood was replaced by youngster Craig Jones, and within minutes of the restart, Palmer chased a long ball and managed to flick the ball over the Westfields keeper to give Hereford a narrow lead. More goals followed, as Phil Gulliver smashed home a volley after a Sills head down, and Jones tapped in Williams' driven cross.
Both Karl Lewis and Simon Travis played cameo roles, as they replaced Thompson and Alex Jeannin respectively. Palmer then struck twice more in the second period of extra time to put the result beyond doubt, firstly taking advantage of a mix-up between goalie and defender to tuck in, and secondly, being played through before striking home, despite the chance looking to have been lost.
The scoreline suggests an easy victory for Hereford, but it was far from it. Westfields worked hard throughout the game and caused problems for the away defence, but in the end, the extra fitness led to Hereford being able to strike five goals in extra-time. A total of 419 fans were present on a cold evening, which sees Hereford progress to the final of the Herefordshire Senior Floodlit Cup, to face Ledbury in the final.
Hereford United: Thompson, Rose, Gulliver, Beckwith, Jeannin, Williams, Palmer, Gwynne, Fitzpatrick, Sills, Fleetwood.
Subs: Lewis, Travis, Webb, Jones.
