Test

Monday, April 12, 2004

Brown wishes United luck

After today's match, Aldershot manager Terry Brown told BBC Southern Counties Radio that the two games this season against Hereford have been fantastic encounters.

"I thought the one at their place was as good a game as you'll ever see in non-league football. I think the strength of their bench tells the difference between the two clubs. It's taken Hereford a long time to get to the position they're in. They played good football and good luck to them.

"If you are playing a team of Hereford's calibre and you don't take your chances when they occur, then you pay the price."

Steve Guinan, talking to BBC Hereford & Worcester, said that three points were a must today. "When we were 1-1 you could tell that by Graham Turner throwing Danny Bertram on. Finally, we got the goal we deserved," he said. "Some of the passing movements were brilliant and I think the fans enjoyed it. A great game."

He then spoke of how Rob Purdie, who scored the first goal, has stepped up his game. "I think he has had an excellent season. The energy in the pace he plays, how he gets in behind the defences, he's so awkward to pick up and today I didn't even see him coming, I thought I was going to have a tap in but Rob just came in from nowhere. Fair play, he got the goal he deserved."

Turning to the Shrewsbury/Chester game tomorrow, Guinan said that the Bulls need the Shrews to win. "I wouldn't be surprised if a few of our lads are going to cheer on Shrewsbury! We need them to do us a huge favour."

It is also nice to report that the officials today all had a good game.

Bulls shoot down Shots in tense battle

The Nationwide Conference title race is still alive - just - after Daniel Carey-Bertram's late goal handed Hereford United a 2-1 victory over play-off challengers Aldershot Town.

Today's report is here.

Meanwhile, Crawley wrapped up the Dr. Martens League title and join Canvey Island in the Conference next season.

Sunday, April 11, 2004

Shots manager hopes for win

Terry Brown, the Aldershot manager, is hoping that his team can dent the confidence of Hereford United tomorrow.

"Hereford are probably the best attacking team in the league,so we'll have to tighten up defensively," Brown told the Non-League Paper. "But everyone is beatable, and on our day I think we're more than a match for them.

"Hereford will be up for this game and whoever doesn't win the title will be favourites for the other promotion place. But history shows that teams who come second don't perform in the play-offs because they are low on confidence after missing out on the title, and we can strike at their morale with a good win."

Aldershot will be without defender Simon Downer and midfielder Will Antwi for the game. Roscoe D'Sane could also miss out after he was forced off against Woking, while Chris Giles is still suspended.

There are also slight doubts over the fitness of David Brown for the Bulls.

Barnet's tactics help Bulls

The new Barnet manager, Paul Fairclough, opted to play just one striker yesterday in the match at Edgar Street and Graham Turner seemed surprised.

"I was pleased that they chose to play Grazioli on his own," said the Hereford United manager. "His chasing of our three centre halves took a lot out of him and I don't think we saw the best of him in front of goal."

Commenting on Matt Baker's excellent penalty save, Turner told the Non-League Paper: "It was a great save and absolutely crucial for us."

The referee at Hereford did not have a good day but his actions did not affect the outcome. However the Aldershot manager was furious with the officials at Woking where the Shots were held 2-2. Woking equalised late in the game and Terry Brown made his feelings known to the media about the referee, Rob Desmond.

"He's obviously on his way to the Premiership because he spotted something that more than 4,000 people in the ground didn't."

He was angry because the referee over-ruled his assistant who raised his flag for off-side as Woking scored. However Woking boss Glenn Cockerill suggested that his side were fitter than Aldershot and could have won the game.

It all adds up to a potentially very exciting game tomorrow when the Bulls travel to Aldershot.

Saturday, April 10, 2004

Brown is on nine cards

David Brown is now on nine cards. He would miss two games if booked again this season.

David Brown has been carded four times in the last eight weeks. He served a one match ban last December for collecting five yellows.

Brown has been reported as suffering from a virus and he did not look as fit as usual this afternoon. He was replaced by Danny Williams after 63 minute just a minute or so after he was booked.

Jamie Pitman is thought to be on eight cards.

No change at top

With Chester beating Exeter 3-2 this evening there is no change at the top of the Conference.

The only positives are that Hereford will finish at least second in the league and their goal difference improved by two today and Chester's by only one.

Shrewsbury will need to beat Chester on Tuesday if Hereford are to have any real chance of overhauling Chester. And that assumes that the Bulls first defeat Aldershot on Monday and then Leigh RMI on Saturday.

In effect Chester need four points to become Conference champions.

Meanwhile, all the banter on the forums about which of the two top teams has the biggest support was settled today as Chester only managed to get 4,046 through the gate whereas Hereford's attendance was 4,447, some 401 more.

Barnet brought 232 to Edgar Street meaning that the Bulls support was 4,215. Exeter were thought to have taken over 500 to the Deva Stadium, leaving the Chester support at around 3,500.

Willis will miss Chester game

Scott Willis will miss the Chester game in a fortnight after collecting two yellow cards this afternoon. The tough Bulls midfielder was penalised for two late tackles.

Meanwhile, after the game Tony James told BBC Hereford & Worcester's Peter McMillan about the injury he sustained in the first half of the game.

He suffered a nasty challenge early on in the first half. "It was just a clash of heads," he said. "I got up to head it and the top of his head clattered my chin. I've had four stitches in it."

James was off for about ten minutes but came back to score from a penalty. Willis who scored the first goal was also off for ten or so minutes so the Bulls played with ten men for nearly a quarter of the game.

There were two penalties given in the match. The first after a Barnet player was fouled in the area was taken by Ian Hendon only to be well saved by Matt Baker.

James said: "Matt Baker's got to have a bit of credit for his penalty save and then I've gone and had one not long after."

Talking about the first goal he said: "Slight deflection there. It was Scott Willis's shot. The keeper was totally wrong footed."

Bulls make it eight

Hereford United defeated Barnet 2-0 this afternoon. The Bulls were without both Tony James and Scott Willis at different times in the game.

Willis scored from twenty yards to put Hereford ahead, and James doubled the advantage with a penalty after Matt Baker had saved a penalty.

Thanks to Brian who wrote today's report - it can be read here.

Playoffs make for exciting end to season

The decision to use a play-off competition to decide which team will go up to Division Three with whoever finishes first has made this season's Conference one of the most exciting for years.

For Hereford United, it might have been better for the top two teams to be promoted this time, but rules are rules and the Bulls will have to abide by them.

This morning there are six clubs with a possibility of gaining promotion and with several clashes between the top clubs over the next few weeks, it's still not certain who will make the play-offs other than the Bulls - unless they win the league in which case Chester will be in the play-offs.

Yesterday, Exeter's director of football, Steve Perryman, said that he believes the mouthwatering race for the Conference play-offs is set to go right down to the wire. He is convinced that the top five tussle will remain hanging in the balance until the very last game of the season.

He thinks that this evening's televised match at Chester will be close. "They have an outstanding home record and we have a very good away record. So it is going to be a tight affair. We are going to give it everything we've got. This is a good test and a great chance to send a message to our rivals live on television. Nothing will be decided at the end of this game, but we will have a better clue as to what's happening," said Perryman.

All the clubs involved will be looking for massive gates which will help their finances. For example should the Bulls meet the Grecians in the play-offs, there could be gates at both venues in the region of five to six thousand. The extra revenue could amount to close to £50,000 for both clubs.

Sky are to televise some of the play-off games adding to the income for those clubs involved.

Friday, April 09, 2004

Aldershot game on the net

Monday's important game between the Shots and the Bulls at Aldershot is to be broadcast on the net.

BBC Hereford and Worcester announced last night that Bulls supporters should be able to listen to live commentary as Hereford United take on Aldershot Town on Easter Monday.

The kick-off is at 3pm and the broadcast should start around 2.45pm. Go to BBC Hereford and Worcester's site for the link at bbc.co.uk/hereford.

Twelve goals needed to beat record

With four games remaining Hereford United still need to score twelve goals if they are to beat Barnet's Conference record of 103 goals in a season. And even if they fail in that challenge, they can increase the record number of away goals scored.

Barnet have only conceded 41 goals to date which makes a high-scoring match at Edgar Street unlikely. Aldershot have let in 59 and so, with their style of play, a game with several goals seems on the cards.

But the Bulls have to average three goals a game if they are to overtake the Bees tally, so much could depend on the performance at Leigh next Saturday. The Railwaymen look certain to be relegated and will have little to play for after their latest defeat by Halifax. In fact, if three teams go down then Leigh will certainly be playing in Conference 2 next season. If Hereford can perform as at Dagenham and Forest Green then a good number of goals is quite possible.

It may be that even the attempt at beating the 103 goals record could all depend on what happens against Chester on April 24th.

Fitness could help Bulls

Graham Turner thinks that the fitness of his squad will show up as the season comes to its climax.

"At a time of the year when a lot of players are starting to look tired, a lot of teams are starting to look a bit jaded, we look as fresh as anything.

"If we don't make the top spot before the end of the season and we have to go in the play-offs, I think that will stand us in good stead that we do look fresh, we do look bright and fit and have nothing to fear," Turner told BBC Hereford & Worcester.

Looking forward to this weekend's games at home to Barnet tomorrow and away at Aldershot on Monday, the Bulls manager continued: "I've seen both sides play over the last week or so and they are both decent sides, but the way we're playing and the mood we're in, I think we're capable of meeting anybody and getting the right result."

Meanwhile, Canvey Island have won promotion to the Nationwide Conference as they clinched the Ryman League title.

Big weekend for Bulls

It's a huge weekend for Hereford United, but one that manager Graham Turner is sure that his side can pass through with flying colours.

The Bulls host Barnet tomorrow before making the trip to Aldershot Town on Monday, and Turner told the Evening News: "Our performances have been tremendous over the last few weeks. Seven victories up to now is a tremendous run and we've really hit good form.

"It's a big weekend for us and it will be for Chester. We could do with them dropping some points but the most important thing is that we concentrate on doing our own thing."

However, if both sides take maximum points, Chester will need just one draw from their last two matches to make sure of the title.

Barnet, Saturday's opponents, are not in the best of form, but Turner suggests that this is sure to come to an end soon. "I saw Barnet last week, they are a solid, experienced side who are not easy to play against but the important thing is what we do and hopefully our good form will see us through."

United wait over the fitness of David Brown, who is recovering from the virus that has affected Danny Carey-Bertram and Mark Beesley in the last few weeks. "David should be OK but the big problem is playing two games in three days," added the United boss.

Wright backing Aldershot

Mark Wright's comments after their game against Aldershot last Tuesday could yet rebound on him.

The Chester manager praised Aldershot as being the "best side we've played". He went on to hope that the Shots "will provide the same sort of performance against Hereford and really give them a game".

Both the Exeter manager Eamonn Dolan and Graham Turner, the Hereford boss, were at the game and Wright commented that they would have gone away from the game thinking what they need to do to beat Chester.

Wright also spoke about the timing of his club's televised game with Chester tomorrow.

"Before we kick-off against Exeter City tomorrow we will know what Hereford have done against Barnet and I think that will give our boys a little bit of a lift," he said.

The Chester defender Kevin McIntyre was sent off in the match and, baring a successful appeal, will miss the Hereford game. He clashed with Shot's Dean Hooper who has since left Aldershot by mutual consent.

Thursday, April 08, 2004

Presentation to manager

Earlier today, Hereford United manager Graham Turner was presented with the Manager of the Month award for March.

The presentation was made by Chris Hull, on behalf of the sponsors of the award, Nationwide.

Turner responded by praising all those involved both on and off the field. In particular he singled out Richard O'Kelly for all his hard work.

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Turner watched Chester game

Graham Turner went to the Deva Stadium last Tuesday to watch leaders Chester City play Aldershot. But he has admitted his disappointment with the result as the leaders gained another three points.

"Chester started well and quickly went two goals ahead but when Aldershot got back to 2-1 it seemed as if they might get something from the game," said Turner, as reported in the Hereford Times. "But Chester broke away and scored twice more, from a free-kick and a penalty, and by the end Aldershot looked a tired side."

"They have had three mid-week games recently as well as an FA Trophy semi-final, so, with another game on Saturday, we might just catch them right on Monday as we're still looking quite fresh."

It appears that Mark Beesley has overcome his viral infection and should be available for Hereford's home match against Barnet on Saturday.

Offer to settle CVA

Hereford United have recently made another offer to settle their CVA.

Shareholders were given this information at last week's AGM, according to a report in this morning's Hereford Times.

"We met with the CVA administrators Smith and Williamson and made an offer to settle which has been put to the main creditor," Graham Turner told the 20 or so shareholders at the meeting. "Smith and Williamson are fairly optimistic that the main creditor will accept."

Last time the club offered to settle the CVA with a 5p in the pound payment, it was turned down. It is thought that a payment of around 20p in the pound may be needed to solve the problem. There will be fees to the administrators to pay as well.

Hereford United originally paid its secured creditors in full and its unsecured creditors have received 40p in the pound. The large loans from Chelverton Properties allowed the club to set up a CVA.

It's not over yet says Hendon

Barnet skipper Ian Hendon is confident that Barnet can beat Hereford on Saturday as the Londoners look to move back into the Nationwide Conference play-off zone.

He told the Barnet Times: "We haven't lost away in the league since November 29. That tells its own story. We've played some teams off the park when we've gone away from home this season.

"We're not worried at all and we'll be going there looking to win."

Bees striker Liam Hatch will miss the game through injury.

Meanwhile, Sky have announced that it is to take over the contract to broadcast Welsh international matches from next August. It should mean a larger audience will be able to watch Paul Parry in action.

United fired-up for must-win game

Hereford United's penultimate home match of the season on Saturday will not be an easy encounter - as opponents Barnet need the points to push for a play-off place, kick off 3pm.

The Bees currently lie sixth while Hereford know that failure to win for the Bulls, combined with a Chester City victory over Exeter City, would all but end the Nationwide Conference title race, so the pressure really is on Hereford.

Barnet have recently brought in manager Paul Fairclough to replace Martin Allen, but the North London-based team have drawn six of their last seven matches, and haven't won since the end of February.

Hereford are without the suspended Michael Rose, who serves the first game of a two-match ban, but Mark Beesley could return after a spell on the sidelines.

Following the problems last week at Halifax, which the United chairman diffused, Graham Turner told the Hereford Journal: “There looked like what could be a confrontation between Halifax supporters and our own in the far corner in the final 10 minutes.

“My intervention came after the referee came across to near our dug-out to talk to the safety officer. He could have taken some sort of action, including calling the game off.

“I ushered our supporters back behind the wall where they should be. It wasn’t a major incident, but coupled with others we have experienced it could be a problem if included in the referee’s report – which it probably will be."

Tuesday, April 06, 2004

Chester widen gap at summit

Chester City extended their advantage at the top of the Nationwide Conference this evening with a 4-2 win over Aldershot Town.

The Cestrians now lead the league by six points over Hereford United, with both teams having four matches to play. However, they meet each other at Edgar Street on the final day of season.

Both sides were reduced to ten men late in the second half, with Kevin McIntyre and Dean Hooper sent off, but by that time double strikes from Phil Bolland and Daryl Clare had put Mark Wright's outfit well in control. Adam Miller and Lee Charles replied for Aldershot, and 3,432 attended the match at the Deva Stadium.

To make it even more interesting, both sides have a goal difference of +50, although the Bulls have scored more goals. Only Hereford can reach Chester at the top, and United are assured of a top three finish with only Shrewsbury Town able to overtake Graham Turner's men. Telford United, though, emerged 1-0 victors in the Shropshire derby this evening, meaning two more points will seal a top-two finish for Hereford.

In tonight's only other match Conference match, Scarborough drew 2-2 with Stevenage Borough.

Brown hopes for favour from Shots

David Brown is hoping that Aldershot can do Hereford United a huge favour tonight, ahead of the two sides meeting on Easter Monday.

Brown believes that if the Shots were to defeat Chester tonight then the title will be wide open. "If Aldershot win, the title will be up for grabs," he told the Western Daily Press.

"We're on a run of seven straight wins and on our best form we can beat any team in the Conference. If we do win promotion we certainly have the players with the quality to play in the Third Division."

Aldershot have won all nine of their Tuesday night fixtures this season, and a victory tonight will mean that they will have won every Tuesday night game for a whole year.

Sunday, April 04, 2004

Chester play tomorrow

With no game until Saturday, Hereford United supporters will be waiting with great interest the mid-week results of two of the three matches in the Conference.

Chester City are at home to Aldershot and Shrewsbury travel to Telford for another Shropshire derby.

The game at the Deva Stadium could be a close call. Aldershot will be looking to get back to winning ways after their exit from the FA Trophy against Hednesford. Last Tuesday the Shots defeated Shrewsbury 2-1 at the Gay Meadow and must feel that they have a good chance of taking at least a point from Chester. However their away record is not that good having only won eight of their 18 games and with the exception of the Shrews have not taken points from any of the other top six clubs.

In favour of Aldershot they have won every Tuesday night game they have played this season. Bulls fans will be pleased that the record does not cover Monday fixtures.

Chester, for their part, have only been defeated once at home this season and that was by Stevenage. They have drawn with Accrington, Gravesend, Telford and of course Hereford United.

The form book points to a Chester win. But everyone connected with the Bulls will be praying for Chester to drop some points. The number of games left to be played is getting less and even if the Bulls can win all their remaining games, Chester have to drop three points along their way if the match between the two clubs on April 24th is to be the title decider.

After the defeat of Halifax on Saturday, Hereford United are assured of a play-off place and a note in the record books as the scorers of the highest number of away goals,54 to date, for any Conference club ever. But they are unlikely to know who they may be playing against for another couple of weeks, always assuming that Chester win the Conference. So the result at Telford could give an idea as to whether Shrewsbury will be in the play-offs. At present that looks likely but if they lose then Barnet may not yet out of the running.

Much could then depend on the result at Edgar Street on Saturday when the Bees are the visitors.The Bees have an easier fixture list after the Hereford game with home games against Burton and Leigh and an away match at Northwich but even three wins may not be enough to finish in the top five.

So everything is pointing a final top five of Chester, Hereford, Aldershot, Exeter and Shrewsbury (hopefully not in that order!). Should the Bulls finish second they will have to play the team that finishes fifth in the play-off. For example if Exeter come fifth then the Bulls will travel down the M5 on Thursday April 29th and the second leg will be at Edgar Street on Bank Holiday Monday May 3rd.

Wilder angry at late defeat

Halifax Town manager Chris Wilder was disappointed that his side surrendered the lead to allow Hereford United to win 2-1 at the Shay yesterday.

"I thought we got our tactics spot on and were full value for our lead," said Wilder in the Non-League Paper. "We just seemed to lose our concentration for a five-minute spell late on - and because we switched off twice we gave them a chance to kill the game."

Halifax took a nineteenth minute lead through Craig Midgley's spot-kick, and United defender Andy Tretton said: "It was a penalty. It would have been easy for us to start lumping it up the field, because for a long time it looked like it could be one of those days. But we are not that kind of team - we persevered and it paid off.

"If we hadn't won, our chances of winning the league would probably have gone. Chester are winning, and all credit to them. All we can do is keep the pressure on."

Chester City won 2-0 at Accrington Stanley yesterday, and manager Mark Wright is all too aware of Hereford's persistence. "We will have a rest now until we face Aldershot on Tuesday, but we must keep winning as Hereford are on our tail."

The Bulls' next match is against Barnet next Saturday, and their player-coach Ian Hendon is not anxious about facing in-form Hereford. "We go to Hereford on Saturday as underdogs admittedly, but we haven't lost away since November 24th so we are not worried."

The Bees drew 0-0 with Scarborough, and lie in sixth place.

Saturday, April 03, 2004

Late goals seal play-off spot

Hereford United beat Halifax Town 2-1 at the Shay to secure a play-off spot for this season.

Today's report is here.

Friday, April 02, 2004

Pitman hopes for seventh win in a row

Jamie Pitman, the Bulls midfielder, says that Hereford United are a different side this season as they hope to register their seventh successive victory in a row.

"This is definitely one of the best sides I've played in," Pitman told the Evening News. "Potentially we are a good side and over the last two years we have learned how to win games that perhaps we wouldn't have last year.

"As a side we have matured. We're more resilient than last year. The draw at Morecambe was a good example when last year we might have faltered this year we stuck in the game and did very well."

"Halifax are fighting for their lives so we're expecting a tough game and we'll have to be patient," he said.

"And results elsewhere won't mean anything unless we get three points from Halifax."

"If we keep winning the pressure will be on Chester as well as us," he said. "They are in a good position with a game in hand but the whole thing can turn round in a weekend.

"I hope they do drop a few points and perhaps it comes down to the last game and we have to win that to gain automatic promotion. We've just got to hope they drop points but we have to keep winning."

Thursday, April 01, 2004

Wilder faces exit

Tomorrow's match at the Shay could be the last for Halifax manager Chris Wilder.

Halifax, who have collected one point from their last twelve games and suffered a club record ninth successive defeat at home to Burton on Tuesday, have allowed forward Jake Sagare to return to the United States reports the Daily Telegraph.

Manager Chris Wilder has promised to stay to try to save the Shaymen from the threat of relegation but his team's task tomorrow could hardly be tougher, as they play the Bulls.

Stamp confident about Chester

In this weekend's Nationwide Conference preview, Chester City striker Darryn Stamp is adamant that his club can fend off Hereford United and be crowned league champions. He is confident that Mark Wright's side can keep Hereford at arm's length for the rest of the season.

"It's completely in our hands. We're on a nice little run and confidence is extremely high," said Stamp. "We can't afford to get slack because Hereford score goals for fun and are absolutely flying."

Stamp thinks the Blues can hold their nerve and return to the Football League without having to go through the lottery of the play-offs.

"We're defending well and scoring enough goals so I'll be heartbroken if we don't win the title now."

Meanwhile, Paul Parry is still featuring at the top of the statistics charts for the Bulls. Even though he left the club in January he is still the Hereford player with the most crosses, 86 in total.

As expected Steve Guinan is the player with the most shots, 91. Of these 57 have been on target with 22 hitting the back of the net.

On the card count Jamie Pitman needs to be careful. If he receives another booking he will miss two games as he is currently on nine yellows.

Bulls aim to seal play-off spot

Some of the tension will be eased on Saturday if Hereford United beat Halifax Town at the Shay, kick off 3pm.

The Bulls know that a victory against their former Football League rivals would seal a play-off place for Graham Turner's men.

Goalkeeper Matt Baker and defender Ryan Green were expected to restart training today after knocks in the Shrewsbury match last weekend, and so Ben Smith is the only player absent for the game.

United are favourites to win the match and are also aiming for their seventh consecutive victory, and manager Graham Turner told the Hereford Times: "There is always a danger that Halifax's luck will turn all at once after such a terrible run with a fortunate break or a lucky goal. But if we set about the task in the right way we should be more than capable of getting the three points."

Turner has also received a boost ahead of the game with the news that Jamie Pitman has signed a new deal at Edgar Street, and Danny Williams is expected to put pen-to-paper on a contract by the end of the week, reports United's official website.

Hereford are also aiming for a double over Halifax after beating them 7-1 at Edgar Street in November, a record that Halifax boss Chris Wilder is eager to avoid. They lost their ninth successive match against Burton Albion on Tuesday night, and have slumped into twentieth place in the Nationwide Conference.

Wilder should have Denny Ingram and Craig Midgley back, while defender Paul Stoneman could play his first match for eighteen months after undergoing two knee operations.

Skipper Steve Bushell told Halifax Today: "There won't be anyone apart from the players and the management who believe we can win on Saturday. It is a massive coupon buster and hopefully we can pull it off."

"We have got five games left and the first is against a team that is possibly going to win the title. It is a massive game, but you get freak results in football. Hopefully it comes off on Saturday."

It's difficult to run a football club

The problems at Telford have shown how difficult it is to run a football club, says Graham Turner in his column in the Hereford Times.

He contrasts the position at the Bucks Head where they had a wealthy benefactor and at Edgar Street where he has no such help. Telford, he understands, have the highest wage bill in the Conference and have spent a lot of money on their ground.

"The most difficult part of the game is balancing the books and weighing the demands of success on the field with the need for a strict and structured wage policy," said Turner. "When I became the majority shareholder (in Hereford United) the first four days were spent preparing plans for Chelverton who had to approve the transfer of the shares. In meetings with the bank we were told that they expected to be calling in the guarantees within six months. 'You will not survive,' they said.

"There were days when we almost despaired about where the money would come from to pay the next week's wages and so in this good financial time we hope to make provision for a longer period and not just the remainder of this season."

Hereford United held its AGM last night and Graham Turner hopes that the small loss reported at the meeting can be turned into a profit this year.

Turner takes top manager's award

Graham Turner has won the Manager of the Month award for the third time this season.

As predicted by HU-FC.co.uk after the victory over Shrewsbury, the award goes to Turner as Hereford United have been unbeaten in the month of March.

Meanwhile, United's left-sided defender Dean Craven has joined Grantham Town on-loan for the remainder of the season, having impressed against Dave Norton's men in a reserve game.