Points in the bag from Wrexham as Bulls win 2-0

All the usual old clichés can be trotted out tonight…. a win's a win, points in the bag and, of course, grinding out a result. Despite what looks on the face of it a comfortable result, this was far from a convincing display. Manager Graham Turner had hoped for a continuance of the second-half performance at Birmingham on Tuesday and named the side that finished the game at St Andrews with Guinan replacing Benjamin and Taylor for Ben Smith in the starting line-up. Despite a bright start by Hereford, the first half belonged to a Wrexham side that, although not threatening to score, did look the more purposeful. Far too many passes simply did not reach their expected destination and overall The Bulls looked off the pace and lacking in concentration. In particular, the normally dependent Trent McClenahanahan was given a hard time by Wrexham's Matty Done on the flank. The Aussie defender was "done" on four occasions in the first twenty minutes as the winger cut inside to deliver crosses that thankfully came to nothing. However, there were fleeting glimpses of The Bulls' potential including on the quarter hour when Brown released Lionel Ainsworth who played a wall-pass with Guinan before bearing down on the goal only to be thwarted by a late saving tackle from Richard Hope. Theo Robinson saw an effort go high over the bar and another Guinan/Ainsworth move also failed to produce a noteworthy strike on goal. As the goalless first half closed, neither Wayne Brown nor Anthony Williams had made a "proper" save. During the interlude a fellow Bulls fan was prompted to say "that’s probably the worst 45 minutes we've seen this season".

As the coffee and Cornish Pasty were consumed it was hoped that suitable instructions were being handed out in the visitors dressing room before United attacked the goal in front of the travelling Herefordians in the second period. We didn’t have to wait long. The hardworking and pacy Theo Robinson chased a ball into the danger area, rounded the keeper and although his crisp effort was parried by the arm of Hope, Kris Taylor was on hand to stab home an angled shot from 12 yards. Hope was afterwards yellow-carded for his handling offence. By now, the team were looking much better. The passing had improved and there seemed to be a bit more motivation following what I assume were a few short sharp words during the interval. On 65 minutes, a rare mistake by the otherwise excellent Dean Beckwith allowed Eifion Williams a shot from the edge of the box but Wayne Brown was alert to the danger and brought off a fine stop. Three minutes later, Turner introduced Benjamin and Ben Smith in place of Guinan and Taylor. They had been on the pitch just five minutes when Big Trev responded to his benching by smacking in the second goal. A splendid delivery into the six-yard box by Clint Easton found Benjamin who rolled the ball off his body before lashing it into the roof of the net. Shortly afterwards, Williams forced another fine save from Brown who tipped over the bar and a Mark Jones effort was well held by the Bulls keeper. There were very few further strikes on goal as Hereford played out the final five minutes following the start of another "sub" appearance by Sam Gwynne who replaced Lionel Ainsworth.

Whilst the game was no great spectacle, it was pleasing for the 4004 (408 from Hereford) who attended to witness the manner in which referee Phil Dowd allowed the game to flow compared to the stop/start stutterings of last Saturday’s official.

HUFC. Brown, McClenahan, Broadhurst, Beckwith, Rose, Ainsworth (Gwynne 85), Taylor (Smith 68), Diagouraga, Easton, Guinan (Benjamin 68), Robinson.
Subs Unused, Ingham, McCombe.

Wrexham. Williams A, Spender, Evans (Pejic 17), Hope, Valentine, Llewellyn (Carvill 63), Jones, Williams D, Done, Proctor (Williams E 63), Roberts.
Subs Unused. Jones, Mackin.

Final Score Wrexham 0 Hereford United 2

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