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Any hope of further FA cup progress was cruelly wiped out as higher-graded opponents Colchester United scored the only goal deep into stoppage time. New loanee Jordan Mutch started in place of Sam Gwynne in an otherwise unchanged line up as Hereford dreamed of reaching Round 3 and drawing a top side.
In a fairly even first half, chances were at a premium. Gavin McCallum grazed the bar with an early cross/shot. New boy Mutch impressed with his probing passes and constructive link play, though the final pass and shot on goal was not forthcoming. Colchester's mighty Kayode Odejayi was causing the Bulls defence, marshalled by the imperious Ryan Green, some problems and he twice came close to setting up strike partner Steven Gillespie. John-Joe O'Toole curled a shot wide of the mark when well placed and Gillespie headed wide from a deep cross. Meanwhile, at the Blackfriar's end, Craig King cleverly played McCallum in, but his shot, like many others in the game, was misdirected. Hereford's best attempt came from a 25 yard Darren Jones thunderbolt which Ben Williams tipped over. As the half time whistle approached, despite the rather dull nature of the game, the Bulls could at least draw confidence from matching their League One opponents.
HT: HUFC 0 COLCHESTER UTD 0
John Trewick substituted Sam Gwynne for Kenny Lunt and Hereford embarked on their best period of the game. With King and Mutch influential, and Ryan Valentine making some useful overlapping runs, the Bulls were in the ascendancy. Mutch headed a desperate clearance straight back into the box, but McCallum was offside, and Valentine sent in a teasing cross which flicked against the bar. King, cutting inside was impeded by the arm of Kem Izzet, an offence for which the referee brandished a card to match his lemon shirt.
L'Orange, in the guise of Mathieu Manset's footwear, then also made an appearance as he replaced Leon Constantine who was not having one of his more influential afternoons. Although we did not use his strength to best effect, his presence lifted the tempo for a while. In one almighty scramble, McCallum did well to evade tacklers but got the ball stuck under his feet and his weak shot was cleared. Once again he burst through, but shot straight at the keeper. Worryingly, Gwynne lost the ball and a sweeping Colchester move ended with a shot over the bar. A curling cross had an assured Adam Bartlett palming the ball for a corner, the first of a series from the visitors which were dealt with efficiently. In an attempt to make a name for himself, Mutch went on a surging run but shot weakly.
As the game petered out, talk was of Sunday's draw and whether it was a good thing to know which number your ball was in the velvet bag in advance. In the dying seconds, four minutes past the ninety, such debate became an irrelevance. Anthony Wordsworth, eyeing some of his daffodil-clad brethren in the box, swung over a cross. Time stood still, as did the defence, and O'Toole fired home to break Hereford hearts. There was barely time for the restart. Ah well. C'est la vie.
FT: HUFC 0 COLCHESTER UTD 1.
Attendance: 2225 including 271 from Essex.
HUFC: Bartlett, Lowe, Green, Jones, Blanchett, King, Lunt (Gwynne 46), Mutch, Valentine, McCallum, Constantine (Manset 60).
COLCHESTER:Williams, Okuonghae, Reid, O'Toole, Izzet, Hackney (Platt 46), Odejayi (Ifil 68), Gillespie (Wordsworth 74), Lisbie, Tierney, White.
