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Hereford lost their unbeaten run and the chance to go top of League 2 when losing out to a single Danny Foster goal on the stroke of half time at Victoria Road last night against a resurgent and resilient Dagenham & Redbridge.
Manager Turner had named an unchanged team and The Bulls started brightly enough and probably shaded the possession for the first twenty minutes or so while creating some decent opportunities in front of goal. At the other end, Strevens just failed to get on the end of a John Nurse cross before Gary Hooper was unlucky with an overhead effort which was narrowly wide of the mark. There was some familiar Hooper/Johnson interplay down the right flank with one particular Hooper cross just evading the onrushing MacDonald before the Dutchman was cruelly denied a shooting opportunity when through on goal. Referee, Mr Singh, pulled play back for free kick in favour of The Bulls when allowing the clear advantage could possibly have seen Hereford take the lead. Other opportunities fell to Johnson who screwed his shot wildly wide of the target and MacDonald who was defeated by an excellent block tackle from Anwar Uddin.
As the half progressed, The Daggers began to show glimpses of why their form had improved so dramatically since the comprehensive beating they received at Edgar Street a fortnight earlier. The strikeforce of Strevens and Nurse were a constant threat with their movement off the ball causing problems and space for the supporting midfielders, Foster and Southam. The latter part of the first half saw the hosts assume control, particularly in midfield where they frequently seemed to have a spare man. Foster had already come close when he was narrowly off target when meeting a cross from Strevens' low cross. Just before the interval, Clint Easton was penalised for a foul 25 yards from goal and although Southam's free kick was partially cleared, it was into the path of Foster who headed home from 12 yards.
The restart saw Graham Turner throw on Theo Robinson in place of Easton with the dangerous MacDonald moving to a wide position. However, despite some tidy, passing movements The Bulls continued to fail to test the Daggers keeper Roberts as the home side's midfield retained a grip on the vital central territory. Ben Smith worked his socks off but was constantly thwarted by a bobbly pitch as he tried desperately to conjure the required scoring chances. McClenahanahan managed to release Hooper as he got away from his marker but the Southend man's crossed was blazed wide by Gleeson when well placed. As the game was drawing to a close, Turner introduced Trevor Benjamin in place of Johnson and later replaced the industrious Ben Smith with Kris Taylor. However, having four strikers on the pitch is fine…so long as the midfield is in control and producing chances. It wasn't, and John Still's team got to the whistle without keeper Roberts having to make a single noteworthy stop in the second period.
With hindsight, it may have been better to use Taylor as an additional midfielder rather than a replacement. Wayne Brown brought off a couple of typical blinding stops in the second period which helped make up for his first half error when Johnson had cleared off the line following a miss-handling.
Defensively, The Bulls looked OK although Big John McCoooooooombe collected a late yellow for what looked like a well considered obstruction. The midfield grafted with Smith in particular looking to produce but the second half attacking formation looked toothless. Robinson seemed lightweight and did not produce the enthusiastic performance expected of a player looking to win back his starting place, whereas Big Trev was just one throw of the dice too many in an overloaded attack that lacked supply from an outnumbered midfield. Don't get me wrong, this was not a bad display. It was more to the credit of The Daggers organisation and workrate against a side that was just a fraction off-colour and off-balance. A crowd of just under 2000 attended with 326 reportedly supporting The Bulls.
Dagenham & Redbridge: Roberts, Southam, Nurse, Rainford, Griffiths, Uddin, Strevens, Foster, Smith, Gain, Arber. Subs not used: Hogan, Sloma, Saunders, Taiwo, Baidoo.
Hereford United: Brown, McClenahanahan, McCooooombe, Beckwith, Rose, Johnson (Benjamin 78), Smith (Taylor 87), Gleeson, Easton (Robinson 46), Hooper, MacDonald. Subs not used: Ingham, Threlfall.
Onwards and upwards.
