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The Bulls and The Pilgrims shared the spoils at Home Park this afternoon with much of the spoiling provided by some poor refereeing. Tom Barkhuizen gave Hereford a deserved lead only for the home side to draw level through a contentious penalty converted by former Bull Nick Chadwick.
Ryan Green had gone down with stomach sickness following the overnight stop in Plymouth meaning a call-up for Benoit “Bruno” Dalibard to an otherwise unchanged side. Rookie keeper Dan Hanford was named on the bench along with Richard Peniket who also debuted in the first team squad.
An early home throw on the right found Robbie Williams but his snapshot was screwed ten yards wide. Chadwick tried a crude attempt at winning a free kick but the referee was aware of his backing in. The hosts continued the early threats but The Bulls defence was solid despite Bruno allowing the ball to bounce before clearing under pressure. He received a swift rebuke from Rob Purdie for his dallying.
Barkhuizen’s shot from the right was blocked away and Townsend headed the corner well over the bar before Chadwick was lucky not to receive a card when he went straight through the back of Dalibard as he shielded the ball out for a goal kick. The former Bull was proving a handful for The Pilgrims as he drifted away from Townsend before coming back across to beat him to the ball on three occasions without hitting the target. Facey headed a Barkhuizen cross over and Bartlett had to be quick off his line to clear a long punt downfield as Sutherland closed in.
Barkhuizen was alert to a loose ball in midfield and fed Arquin but the Frenchman’s deft shot on the volley was just wide. Townsend headed a half clearance back into the home box but Facey’s first time shot rose over the goal as The Bulls started to get a grip on the game. More pressure from The Bulls including a bout of head tennis in the box finished with Pell blasting his shot high and wide.
HT Plymouth 0 Bulls 0
The Bulls came out more purposeful in the second period and Arquin chased down a “Peters” ball into the right corner before laying back to Rob Purdie whose cross was met by Featherstone but the chance failed to produce a goal bound effort. In the next attack, Arquin was again involved this time cutting in from the right and sending his shot just a foot wide of the far post. Facey then took his turn to run the right channel and his driven cross was sliced onto the crossbar by a home defender and the ball fell to Featherstone but the midfielder tried to take a touch when a first time swipe at the ball might have proved more effective. Meanwhile, at the other end, Chadwick brought Bartlett into action to tip a header over the bar.
United had a good shout for a penalty turned down when Leslie’s throw was flicked on by Facey and Blanchard clearly controlled the ball with his hand before clearing upfield. Facey then crossed for Barks to head over before The Bulls took a deserved lead on 67 minutes. A throw on the right found Pell and he drove into the box to pull back from the bye-line and Barkhuizen swept home from 10 yards.
The home side responded with a period of pressure but the final ball was poor. Pitman replaced the hard working Arquin with Nathan Elder with a little over ten minutes remaining and two minutes later the home side equalised from a dubiously awarded penalty. Featherstone, back defending in his own box shaped to clear the ball and substitute Warren Feeley fell over his legs as the ball was cleared. From the far end, it seemed very soft but Chadwick blasted the spot kick past Bartlett to level the scores.
Townsend picked up his second yellow of the game to earn pole position in the showers as he, not for the first time, got caught the wrong side of an attacker and whipped the legs of Hemmings away.
Not to be outdone, Darren Purse launched a two-footed challenge on Elder that brought him a straight red. The remaining 20 men saw out the final few minutes without further exciting the crowd of 6531 that included 193 from The Shire.
FT Plymouth 1 Bulls 1
Hereford: Bartlett, Purdie, Dalibard, Townsend, Clist, Barkhuizen (Clucas 90), Pell, Featherstone, Leslie (Colbeck 64), Arquin (Elder 79), Facey. Subs not used: Hanford, Peniket.
Plymouth: Cole, Berry, Blanchard, Purse, Williams, Atkinson, Walton (Young 70), Hourihane, Hemmings, Sutherland (Feeney 58), Chadwick. Subs not used: Larrieu, Daley, Soukona.
On the balance of play, The Bulls probably deserved more than a point, as it was a strong showing from the squad robbed, at the last moment, of the inspirational Ryan Green. On another day, one might hope, a couple of the wayward shots would have found the net. However, there is still some positional work to do at the back.
Have a good Christmas everyone. See you all on Boxing Day.
