THREE POINTS GONE FOR A BURTON

At ten minutes to five, a hard-working performance by a Bulls side strengthened by the return of Steve Leslie and Tom Barkhuizen seemed certain to net three welcome points. The fourth official then indicated an astonishing six extra minutes, fuelling suspicion that such matters are determined by the roll of a die. In fact, less than three minutes were required for some hesitancy at the back to gift two goals to visitors Burton Albion, thus undoing all the good work and handing an unlikely victory to the Brewers. In total, eight minutes of added time were played, with Hereford making some desperate substitutions in order to rectify the situation. With hindsight, these changes could have been made earlier, with several members of the home side visibly, and quite understandably, tiring after an energetic performance.

Tony James keeping Nathan Elder off the ball

Nathan Elder’s physical presence caused problems for the dependable Nathan Stanton and old boy Tony James at the heart of the Burton defence. A free kick was awarded for holding as Elder tried to forge a route to goal. Joe Heath’s delivery lacked accuracy, but a corner kick was won. After some pinball in the area, Barkhuizen spied a chance with his back to goal, but he seemed disoriented as he spun onto the ball and skewed it wide of the target.

Nicky Featherstone then cleverly found Leslie down the right flank, and the cross was beaten out at the expense of a corner. As the ball was played in, Elder was baulked as he made a turn, and the referee awarded a penalty. Up stepped Rob Purdie, showing little in the way of nerves, and blasted a low shot past Ross Atkins to give Hereford a 19th minute lead. Less than five minutes later, Burton equalised. Jacques Maghoma turned one way and then the other, evading Purdie and delivering an inviting cross for old adversary Calvin Zola to nod past a despairing David Cornell.

Buoyed by this, the visitors briefly gained the upper hand. Zola turned provider, creating a chance for Billy Kee who headed tamely over when well placed. Cleveland Taylor made a twisting run and shot which Cornell did well to shovel for a corner. With the clock showing 34 minutes, Featherstone and Harry Pell then showed awareness to feed the lively Barkhuizen. There seemed only a moderate threat, but the youngster showed instant control, and as Aaron Webster backed off in the fear of conceding another penalty, he smashed a shot from a tight angle past Atkins.

Another goal for Tom Barkhuizen, his sixth for the Bulls - Pictures from Andy Compton of the Hereford Journal/Shropshire Newspapers

As the game flowed from end to end, both the imperious Ryan Green and his much maligned partner Michael Townsend made a number of timely interventions, whilst James and Stanton performed a similar role at the other end. A clever through ball from Simon Clist set up Barkhuizen, whose shot was saved. Pell, becoming more influential as the interval approached, passed exquisitely to Leslie who cut inside and sent a raking shot marginally too high. Then our ‘Arry burst out of defence and found himself supported by Elder on the left and Barkhuizen on the right. A through ball found Elder who instantly clipped it across for young Tom, but it just evaded him, and the chance of a picture-book goal was gone.

HT: HUFC 2 BURTON ALBION 1

After the break, Burton emerged brightly. Maghoma made some lively advances, Zola always looked likely to create something, and Billy Kee tried to unlock the Bulls rearguard with a snap shot that Cornell did well to claim at his near post. James took the initiative in clearing from a marauding Elder rather than relying on his keeper, and Stanton calmly dealt with some promising moves.

Purdie’s driven corner was clawed away from under his bar by Atkins. As play continued to ebb and flow, Maghoma collected a header from substitute Gurrieri and should have set up Kee, but his pass was too strong. Clist then made an excellent run out of defence, before Green was called on once again to clear when under pressure from Kee.

Zola had two chances with headers, sending the first wide and glancing the next past the upright. Leslie tried his luck from range, but the shot was smothered, and then Pell fed Barkhuizen who blazed a shot off target; in retrospect a pass might have been a better option, though one could understand the exuberance of youth. A lovely move between Barks and Leslie saw the ball laid into Pell’s path, and a goal-bound shot was deflected away.

One of several good moves by the Bulls in the second half

Pell was then cynically hacked down by John McGrath, who then objected vehemently to the reaction to his foul, thus passing his audition for an early pantomime villain. This proved the only moment of contention in what had been an absorbing contest, as half-chances continued to crop up at both ends of the pitch. As time passed, the Hereford faithful started to imagine the effect of three points on the league table.

Where the six added minutes came from nobody knows. Running the clock down would surely be possible!
90:45 The ball was not cleared from the Bulls box, and ran kindly for an ecstatic Webster to guide home.
92:40 No challenge to Maghoma who found an unattended Kee, who had a simple job to steal an unlikely win.
Even with a flurry of late substitutions, and a half-hearted penalty shout, the day was lost. Despite an encouraging performance, there is now nothing to show for the afternoon’s exploits. Woe is me!

FT: HUFC 2 BURTON ALBION 3

Attendance: 2136, including 270 Brewers.

HUFC: Cornell, Purdie, Green, Townsend, Heath (Dalibard 74), Featherstone (Facey95), Clist, Pell, Leslie, Barkhuizen (Arquin 92), Elder.

BURTON ALBION: Atkins, Webster, Stanton, James, Corbett (Phillips 76), McGrath, Taylor (Gurrieri 57), Maghoma, Bolder (Palmer 46), Zola, Kee.
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