Bulls in snoozefest stalemate.

Hereford United played out a lacklustre goalless draw with struggling Nuneaton Town at Edger Street this afternoon.

Martin Foyle, understandably named the same side that had performed well at Stockport on Tuesday evening and hopes were high that a home victory would result with the only change coming on the bench where new loan signing Joe Connor replaced Joe Heath.

Attacking the Blackfriars end, The Bulls were almost caught out early on when a swift counter attack required a hasty clearance by James Musa after Gallinagh had been found wanting on the right side of too high a back line.

Stefan Stam Led The Bulls - Pictures Taken By Andy Compton Of The Hereford Journal

Sam Clucas dragged a shot wide of the target as the game made a scrappy start.  Chris Sharp forced a corner on ten minutes but was penalised for a push when Watkins’ flag kick arrived in he box.  For Nuneaton, Moult sent a cross in from the left but it was too deep and went out for a goal kick before another Watkins corner was easily collected by Hereford-born visiting keeper Lee Burge.

Lee Burge

Armson pulled a ball back from the bye-line and Brown’s shot on the turn was just wide.  A Musa long throw forced a corner from which Sam Clucas volleyed over.  Then, A Clucas through ball released Sharp but his final ball to feed Bowman was over=hit and ran through to the keeper.

Brown almost got through The Bulls defence but was pulled back for a modest shoulder charge by referee Swabey.  Bowman was dragged to the ground on the left and when Watkins free kick was only half cleared there was no Bulls player on the edge of the box to capitalise.

As the half drew to a tedious end, a couple of promising moves broke down due to poor touches and miss-placed passes.

Stam, Josh O'Keefe and Luke Graham In the Mix

HT Bulls 0 Nuneaton 0

Any hopes of a sparkling second period soon evaporated as Nuneaton maintained possession far more effectively than The Bulls.  The opening ten minutes served only to administer a further dose of insomnia medication for those roused only by the halftime brew.

Chris Sharp chased into the corner to win a corner which was dealt with by The Bora defence before Marlon Jackson and Joe Connor replaced Sharp and Gallinagh on 56 minutes.

Joe Connor's First Appearance In A Hereford Shirt

Jackson was brought down forty yards from goal but the free kick failed to produce any threat as United continued to treat the ball like a hot potato.  The visitors might have taken the lead but Wesley York blazed over from 15 yards.  Marley Watkins was sent crashing to the ground as he burst towards goal and the resulting free kick was headed over by O’Keefe.

Marlon Jackson and Luke Graham With Josh O'Keefe Looking On

With twenty minutes remaining, Chris Curruthers replaced Clucas who had taken a bang in the jewellery and Luke Graham made a decisive blocking challenge to deny Moult.  CC sent in the cross that Jackson challenged the keeper for but the young Herefordian came off best.

Bittner was forced into a smart save when York got passed Connor and, finally, a Curruthers header was cleared at the back post from a corner to bring an end to a thoroughly disappointing afternoon at The Street and send the visiting 132 in the crowd of 1908 home slightly the happier.

FT Bulls 0  Nuneaton 0

Hereford: - Bittner, Gallinagh (Connor 56), Graham, Stam, Musa, Watkins, O’Keefe, James, Clucas (Curruthers 72), Sharp (Jackson 56), Bowman. Unused McDonald, Smikle.

Nuneaton: - Burge, Phillips, Cowan, Dean, Forsdick (Sleath 90), O’Halloran, Armson, York, Brown, Taylor (Walker 83), Moult (James 88).  Unused Cartwright, Adams.

BN MOM Luke Graham

Following a bright performance at Stockport, this was hardly the spectacle to encourage fans back to Edgar Street.  Lack of close control following some awful first touches and a midfield that once again found itself outplayed resulted in a lack of service to the front men.  Fortunately, the Newport game on Tuesday night will be an immediate opportunity to remedy matters.

Kick-off on Tuesday is 7.45 pm.

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