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Hereford United came away from Victoria Road with three points this afternoon thanks to a fine headed goal from Yoann Arquin.
Manager Pitman shuffled his pack following the home defeat to Bristol Rovers by bringing in Nicky Feather stone for Barkhuizen who dropped to the bench and with Bruno Dalibard missing through suspension, Simon Clist moved to left back allowing Harry Pell to return to midfield in a 4-5-1 formation.
Early pressure from the hosts produced little danger but Bartlett had to be swiftly off his line to gather a through ball as former Stevenage player, John Nurse chased a long forward ball. An Arquin lay-off found Colbeck but his driven cross was blocked away for a fruitless corner before Pell broke from midfield to play a wall pass with Colbeck but the return ball was poor and the move was halted. The advancing Clist turned a ball inside to Featherstone but his effort went wide.
At the other end, a corner was only half cleared by The Bulls and when the ball was hooked back over the defence, Bingham found himself one on one with Bartlett but he somehow miss his header completely and the ball drifted away for a goal kick.
With the extra man in midfield, The Bulls were trying to play a bit more football than of late but there still far too many passes going astray and Facey’s frequently won flick-ons lacked the support of a runner from the centre. Evans found Arquin with a fine cross-field pass but Yoann’s shot was blocked. Meanwhile, Richard Rose received warm applause from the travelling fans as he took a brief jog down the touchline. Then with around five minutes of the first period remaining, The Bulls took the lead.
From a corner on the right, the routine of sending the strikers in from the corners of the penalty box worked perfectly as Colbeck’s flag-kick found Arquin and the big Frenchman thumped a header past Lewington in the home goal.
The Daggers responded with an attack down the left flank and it was a little odd to see Rob Purdie outmuscle the much bigger Montano to allow the ball to go through for a goal kick. Then, just before the break, Simon Clist went down with what appeared to be a groin strain and had to be replaced at left back by Sam Clucas.
HT Daggers 0 Bulls 1
The Bulls started the second half at a good tempo winning a corner in the first minute. Evans fired a low cross to the near post and Rob Purdie was unlucky to see his neat flick scrambled off the line. From a free kick wide on the left, Facey won yet another header which fell nicely into the danger area but there was no-one on hand to take advantage while at the other end, Bartlett came confidently to claim when tested by a deep cross from the left.
With sixty-five minutes on the clock, Facey outstripped the home defence and put in a wicked cross that was glanced to safety by Ogogo with Colbeck poised to strike. Barkhuizen joined the game at Colbeck’s expense and was soon in the action breaking into the box but couldn’t get the ball out of his feet and it ended up running out for a goal kick. A thirty-yard blockbuster from Arquin had Lewington at full stretch before Facey’s pressure allowed Barky a shot that skidded inches wide of the far post. With time running out, Barkhuizen went on a swashbuckling run from the halfway line, which ended with his effort being cleared for a corner. The attempted keep-ball exorcise in the corner didn’t work but referee Mr Rushton brought proceedings to an end much to the delight of the 187 Herefordians in the crowd of 1732.
FT Daggers 0 Bulls 1 (That’s six points from two away games!)
Hereford: Bartlett, Purdie, Townsend, Stam, Clist (Clucas 45), Evans, Featherstone, Pell, Colbeck (Barkhuizen 70), Facey, Arquin. Subs not used: Cornell, Lunt, Elder.
Dagenham & Redbridge: Lewington, Ogogo, Doe, Spillane, Ilesanmi, Nurse (Reed 70), Bingham (Wearen 80), Abdulla, Green, Montano, Woodall. Subs not used: Hogan, Rose, Arber.
United were more businesslike today in there approach to the game and the solidity of the five-man midfield seemed to give them the confidence to play a little more through the middle. Facey worked tirelessly and won plenty in the air despite being outnumbered sometimes three to one. Barts dealt competently with everything that came his way and the back four always looked in control and took no risks in their duties. The midfield put in a more than decent shift without being unnecessarily adventurous.
Better to watch. See you all in Oxford.
