.jpg)
Conceding an early goal, but then fighting back to lead 3-1, the Bulls then pressed the self-destruct Burton and allowed the visitors to snatch an unlikely victory deep into stoppage time. Manager John Trewick was not pleased by the late capitulation, the concession of unnecessary free kicks and the inability to deal with crosses, and hinted that mass detentions in the form of extra training may be the order of tomorrow.
In a fairly even first half, the home side created one or two early openings, with goal machine Gavin McCallum latching onto a pass from Leon Constantine only to be adjudged offside. The Canadian then went on a fine run before shooting wide, and a cross from Ryan Valentine was cleverly chested back by Marc Pugh, and on this occasion, McCallum’s effort was deflected for a corner. At the other end, Cleveland “Ohio” Taylor beat two defenders before firing high wide and none too handsome. With 9 minutes played, Burton then took the lead. Darren Jones misjudged the flight of a speculative punt upfield, Greg Pearson was quick to take advantage and sent in a low cross which was expertly turned home by the prolific Shaun Harrad.
Paul Downing’s trip on Taylor gave the Brewers a free kick in a promising position, but Harrad’s shot was straight at Adam Bartlett. The pairing then created another chance with some neat control and a ball which evaded all and sundry on its path across the six-yard box. As suddenly as the opposition had taken the lead, the Bulls then produced an equaliser. 28 minutes had elapsed when Matty Done sped down the left flank and swept the ball into the path of Pugh, whose shot from the edge of the penalty area appeared to take a slight deflection on its way past Artur Krysiak in the Burton goal. Half chances came at both ends, but no more goal action, and little hint of the drama to come as Mr.Jones, slumming it from the Premiership, blew for half time.
HT: HUFC 1 BURTON ALBION 1
Hereford emerged with renewed vigour after the break. Constantine should have set McCallum up but underhit his pass, Pugh turned cleverly but was hauled back by Aaron Webster, Kenny Lunt had one long range shot blocked, and little Jimmy McQuilkin was terrier like in the tackle and insightful in his distribution. On 55 minutes, the pressure brought its reward. Encouraged to shoot, Lunt let fly from 25 yards. Again a deflection wrongfooted Krysiak, although it seemed doubtful that he would have had a chance to save such a powerful shot..
Ryan Valentine made an over lapping run down the left, and Done’s return pass was accurate. The defender was not able to get his cross in. Then the Bulls scored their third of the afternoon, in a bizarre period of play inside the Albion box. Suffice it to say that no defender seemed able or willing to clear, none of the Bulls attackers could get a shot in, and the football spent a full 30 seconds randomly bouncing about in a pinball-like manner, or perhaps attempting to model Brownian motion. Eventually, the shin of McQuilkin diverted it over the line. 3-1 to the Bulls, half an hour to go, and game over?
Or perhaps not. From the restart, Taylor was allowed time and space and his neat effort found the corner of the net. Mcquilkin made a rapid foray into enemy territory, but chose a long range shot, not really his forte. As the action continued thick and fast, Burton were awarded a free kick for handball on the edge of the Bulls penalty area. The inevitable happened. Taylor crossed, and before the defence could react, Webster headed the equaliser.
The game continued at a frenetic pace, with almost any final score a distinct possibility. Richard Walker, a Burton sub, had two clear openings, and the home side also threatened. Gwynne passed out wide to Lee Morris whose terrific cross found Mathieu Manset’s head. Krysiak parried, the ball fell to Pugh, but the keeper beat away his effort in a marvellous double save. Manset then had a golden opportunity to restore his side’s lead. Looking to be offside, no flag was forthcoming, but the striker somehow failed to finish the job.
Four minutes of added time were announced. In a promising Bulls attack, a foul was awarded when Krysiak appeared to be impeded by one of his team-mates, and a second yellow card saw the dismissal of Webster. As the breathless encounter entered the very last stages, and with nearly 96 minutes elapsed, disaster struck. Pugh did well to chase back, but brought down Keith Gilroy on the touchline. Gilroy took the kick, and there to meet it was the head of, irony of ironies, one Tony James. The ex- Bull, who Hereford had recently failed to tempt back to Edgar Street, had finally settled an amazing, and ultimately frustrating game. 17th place- our spiritual home!
FT: HUFC 3 BURTON ALBION 4
Attendance: 2253 including 310 Brewers.
HUFC: Bartlett, Valentine, Downing, Jones, Lunt, Pugh, McQuilkin, Gwynne, Done, McCallum (Morris 76), Constantine (Manset 76).
Burton: Krysiak, Webster, James, Corbett, Parkes, McGrath, Phillips (Gilroy 61), Maghoma, Taylor (Boertin 94), Harrad, Pearson (Walker 61).
