.jpg)
Hereford United were on the receiving end of sound beating as they capitulated at the back and conceded three poor second half goals after going in for the interval with just a single goal deficit. In the end, a hat-trick from Mark Wright plus a header from Cansdell-Sherriff condemned The Bulls to the second defeat in four days.
Jamie Pitman was able to welcome back Rob Purdie, albeit probably short of a couple of days’ training with Werling starting in the left fullback role. Tyler Weir and Stuart Fleetwood dropped to the bench to make way.
The Bulls actually started the brighter and Manset had a chance after Lunt and Werling fashioned an opening but the Frenchman fired his effort into the side netting. Both teams struggled to take control in the early stages but The Shrews broke the deadlock on thirteen minutes when a corner was only partly cleared. The ball fell to Wright, wide on the left, and his cross-shot curled just inside the far post.
Richard Rose tested Chris Neal from just outside the box and Colbeck pulled an effort wide of the upright but the home side, without producing real chances, certainly looked the more likely to score as they asserted their greater physical presence on proceedings. The referee played advantage when Werling was chopped down and only stopped play after Manset was similarly brought to a halt on the edge of the box but the free-kick came to nothing. Whilst The Bulls looked reasonably comfortable in possession going forward, defensively they looked short of confidence. Young Byron Webster gifted an opening to Harrold but Bartlett saved his bacon with a smart block. At the other end, Kenny Lunt set up Richard Rose but his shot was headed off the line with the keeper stranded and it was Lunt again who chipped over the hosts backline only for Manset to blast wide with a low shot.
HT Shrewsbury 1 Bulls 0
Colbeck made an early break just after the interval when he outstripped his markers but his cross into the box was easily cleared. On the counter, the ball was squared across the Bulls’ box and Bartlett had to tip McIntyre’s shot over at the expense of a corner. The Bulls keeper was kept busy as he blocked an effort from Robinson who was through on goal Pitman replaced Lunt with Bauza after an hour but the shape of the team seemed to disappear as the hosts rattled in three goals inside fifteen minutes from opportunities provided by indiscipline in defence. Two strikes from Wright who was in yards of space and a header from Cansdell-Sherriff left The Bulls wishing for the final whistle long before it was due.
Pitman threw on Stuart Fleetwood for the tiring Purdie and also swapped Manset for Canham without result although Fleets did force a rare second half save from Neal.
Late in the game Ryan Green picked up a red card for a strong challenge on Mat Sadler. The Welshman came out of the 50/50 challenge with the ball but presumably incurred the referee’s wrath for showing his studs or leaving the ground. He will probably miss a few games as a result.
As reported elsewhere, there was plenty of banter between the fans who numbered 6576 with a healthy but unknown (600/700?) contribution from The Shire.
FT Shrewsbury 4 Bulls 0
Hereford: Bartlett, Green, Webster, Townsend, Werling, Colbeck, Rose, Featherstone, Purdie (Fleetwood 69), Lunt (Bauza 63), Manset (Canham 78). Subs unused: Heister, Weir, Gwynne, Stratford.
Shrewsbury: Neal, Sadler, Sharps, Cansdell-Sherriff, Wright, McIntyre, Harrold, Robinson, Holden, Disley (McAllister 59), Obadeyi. Subs unused: Leslie, Neal, Van Den Broek, O’Donnell, Smith, Bradshaw.
Another poor result for The Bulls who had shown some endeavour in the first period despite some errors at the back. Dominic Werling offered little more than young Weir had done at Lincoln and Webster varied between composed and chaotic in a defence that provided far too many gifts to an attack that was only too grateful to take the opportunities handed out.
Oh for a Tony James to steady the ship, a full back that marks his winger (Richard Rose anyone?), a back to basics 4-4-2 and don’t start me on traffic diversions.
Goodnight.
