Test

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Holders tighten grip on Trophy

Grays Athletic overcame an, on the day, poor Hereford side to tighten their grip as holders on the F.A. Trophy at Edgar Street this afternoon. Both sides made several changes from their previous outings, with United making six in total in just their starting eleven. Craig Mawson, Tony James, Ryan Green, Daryl Taylor, Craig Stanley and Stuart Fleetwood all started as Wayne Brown, Simon Travis, Dean Beckwith, Andy Ferrell, Danny Carey-Bertram and Adam Stansfield made way.

Hereford enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening periods but it was the visitors who had the early chances. Aaron McLean got a run through on goal when Alex Jeannin mis-controlled but was denied by Mawson and it was then the ever-impressive skipper Stuart Thurgood who worked some space, got a clear sight on goal in the box, but saw his shot rebound off the legs of Mawson.

Fleetwood burst through the Grays backline and forced a save from Ashley Bayes, despite the angle being very much against the striker and Bayes then gifted The Bulls another chances with a poor clearance, that led to Green having a shot deflected wide for a corner. Stanley almost scored a wonder-goal when he played a one-two with Andy Williams but his flying half-volley was just inches too high. James headed a Williams cross over just before the break as a pretty poor first half came to a close.

The second half wasn't any better either and, despite some neat passing from both sides, little in the way of goalscoring chances were created, until the hour mark when the headlock was broken. It was no surprise either that the goal came from a set-play, and was aided by a defensive lapse that allowed Michael Kightly to fire in, un-marked at the far post, to the the top corner on the half volley from Thurgood's corner.

Graham Turner wrang the changes immediately with a triple substitution that saw Ferrell, Carey-Bertram and Stansfield replace Stanley, Taylor and Fleetwood respectively but to little effect. United continued to enjoy possession and a fair few crosses were delivered into the box, but it was a Grays player who met them every time, other than when Williams glanced a header wide of the far post. With around five minutes remaining Carey-Bertram found space on the right flank and took the chance to run at the defence, who backed off. He shot powerfully but the ball hit the defender and rebounded to Stansfield. He, though, headed at goal when perhaps had the time to take a shot, and Bayes didn't have to move.

This was the final chance that United had of forcing a replay, which was probably the last thing they wanted. Six changes obviously disrupted the side and it will be no suprise to see just as many when Halifax visit Edgar Street next Saturday. No doubt both the players and the supporters, of which there were 1,609 (44 away) today, will be more "up" for the Conference fixture.

HUFC: Mawson, Green, James, Mkandawire, Jeannin, Nicolau, Purdie, Stanley, Taylor, Williams, Fleetwood. Subs: Beckwith, Ferrell, Caldicott, Carey-Bertram, Stansfield.

Conference Results Round Up

Stevenage beat Aldershot 2-1 to move closer to the Bulls and into 6th. Morecambe moved second after a 3-1 win over Burton. Halifax slip to third after a 0-0 draw with Kidderminster.

Down the bottom, Altrincham beat Scarboro 2-1 to move 11 points away from the relegation zone. Scarboro are five points away, having played four games more than 21st place Crawley.

Grays End Bulls Trophy Run

Grays ended the Bulls FA Trophy aspirations for another season with a 1-0 victory at Edgar Street.

A jittery Grays defence gifted the ball to the Bulls strikers on several occasions, but a finishing touch was lacking.

Full Report Later.

Several Conference games today

Although Hereford United are otherwise occupied in the FA Trophy, there are several games in the Conference this afternoon.

Halifax entertain Kidderminster, Morecambe play Burton, Scarborough are at home to Altrincham and Stevenage have Aldershot as their visitors.

Should Halifax and Morecambe both win then the Bulls could drop back down the table to fifth, but will have played two less games.

List of Trophy Games this afternoon:

Hereford United v Grays Athletic
Stafford Rangers v Forest Green Rovers
Crawley Town v Boreham Wood
Woking v Welling United
Tamworth v Dagenham & Redbridge
Exeter City v Cambridge City
Accrington Stanley v Worksop Town
Salisbury City v Stalybridge Celtic

Friday, February 03, 2006

No deal announced yet for Scholar

Hereford United told BBC Hereford and Worcester that the deal to take a young midfielder hadn't been completed as of this afternoon.

Previously in his weekly interview with the station, Graham Turner had spoken about the transfer situation.

"We're a little bit light at the back with only three central defenders, but having said that the transfer window has closed but it doesn't stop us taking players.

"We can take scholars. Decent players at 19 at Premiership clubs and Championship clubs. There's nothing to stop you registering one of those.

"We have in fact made arrangements that we are going to take a mid-field player from a First Division club on work experience. He's played in what is a very successful First Division side at the moment. He's played in their first team. So he's had that little bit of taste of first team football.

"And that should all go through with us having the opportunity to play him as and when we want him."

Turner also spoke about Stuart Fleetwood who has joined the club from Cardiff City.

"Stuart has given a fair amount of his contract up at Cardiff to come and play with us and I like that attitude.

"He wants to play, he wants to prove people wrong and he's got a lot going for him.

"He's certainly made sacrifices to come here. From the start I like that in a player, somebody who wants to come and prove himself good enough and enjoy playing.

"He's quick and we have seen him quite a few times in Cardiff's reserves including the game he played here against our reserves. I've always felt that pace and he's got good technique on the turn. He wants to turn defenders, he's unpredictable around the penalty area and I think he has a future in the game.

"He's only 19. We're not expecting him to come in and set the world alight but I think he can contribute between now and the end of the season."

Changes expected in Bulls line-up

There are likely to be several changes in tomorrow's starting line-up. According to BBC Hereford and Worcester, Ryan Green, Tony James and Stuart Fleetwood are all in-line for a start.

Several players are expected to miss out. Guy Ipoua and Jamie Pitman are definite non-starters, and there are doubts over whether Simon Travis and Daryl Taylor will make the squad. Wayne Brown is 'Trophy' tied, Craig Mawson will take his place.

However mid-fielder Stacy Coldicott may be on the bench tomorrow and could make a short appearance late in the game. He hasn't played for the Bulls since September.

Graham Turner is aware that Grays are the FA Trophy holders.

"They'll be up for the game. They'll be treating it well, we know all that.

"Obviously being in contention for promotion again this season, they've got some good players. They are well organised.

"It should be a good game. If it is anything like the game down at their place, it should be decent entertainment.

"So I'm hoping we'll have a half decent crowd because it looks quite an attractive fixture on paper.

Admission Prices for Trophy Game

Hereford United have announced the admission prices for tomorrow's Trophy game.

Seats: Adults £12 Concessions £9
Terrace: Adults £10 Concessions £6.

Everyone pays, season tickets are not valid for this game.

For anyone unable to get to Edgar Street, there will be second half commentary courtesy of BBC Hereford and Worcester.

This will go out on 94.7FM locally and on the internet.

Several injury doubts for tomorrow

Graham Turner, the Hereford United manager, has told the Worcester News that he thinks his side is full of confidence in advance of tomoorow's trophy game against Grays Athletic.

"Obviously they (Grays) will be tough opposition as they are having a good season. But, having said that, we are full of confidence at the moment, especially after the Cambridge result on Tuesday.

"Coming back from two goals down against them to draw 2-2 also gives us a big psychological boost ahead of the game.

"We know they are a good side and, as defending champions, they will want to retain the trophy. But we are aware of what they have to offer and we know what we need to do to go through."

Turner admits that getting back to the football league is his priority.

"It's one we'd like to progress in, there's money in it, and there's some prestige in it, if you can get to the final.

"I'd have loved to have played in the final before now, but we've never quite made it, although we've gone close once or twice.

"That said, though, our league campaign is still very much a priority for us."

Turner also told the paper that Guy Ipoua (calf), Andy Ferrell (ankle) and Simon Travis (back) are all being monitored, but he admits they are likely to miss the game. Jamie Pitman (knee) remains a long-term injury victim.

Bookies back big guns

This preview of tomorrow's Trophy games comes from Square Football Website:

The FA Trophy reaches the last 16 stage this weekend and the book makers are backing the big guns from the Conference to reassert that division's dominance. In the past 3 seasons the winners have come from outside non-league's top flight- probably a reflection of changing priorities as so many of the Conference clubs are set on winning a place in the Football League.

This year the top three sides in the Conference are all still in the hunt and Accrington Stanley, Exeter City and Hereford United all have home ties. Edgar Street hosts the tie of the round when 5th placed Grays Athletic come visiting. Stanley should see off Worksop from Conference North and Exeter are hot favourites to beat Cambridge City (not the ex-League side United).

So at least three of the Conference top 5 should be in the last eight and FA Cup battlers Tamworth- finalists in this competition in 2003- are still going strong and host a tough to call tie with Dagenham and Redbridge. In fact there could be as many as seven Conference sides in the last eight; only the Salisbury City-Stalybridge Celtic pairing guarantees that the elite can't take all the spots.

Curiously, many bookmakers have Exeter City as favourites despite Accrington's 3-1 victory on the Grecians' patch last Monday, though Ladbrokes stick with Stanley. All the big hitters are short-priced and for good each way value look at Stafford Rangers of Conference North, drawn in a winnable home tie with Conference strugglers Forest Green. Rangers removed high flying Morecambe in the last round.

Accrington Stanley 3/1

Exeter City 4/1

Hereford United 6/1

Grays Athletic 8/1

Woking 8/1

Crawley Town 14/1

Stafford Rangers 14/1

20/1 bar

Prices from Ladbrokes

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Bailey Departs Southport

Former loan striker Matt Bailey has ended his loan spell at Southport "by mutual consent".

Bailey had an indifferent spell at Edgar Street, but played just one game for Southport two weeks ago, and received critical reviews on his performance from fans. It is believed that Bailey struggled for fitness since leaving Edgar Street, and was not match fit during his spell at Haig Avenue.

Shrewsbury lost £350,000 last season

Shrewsbury Town lost nearly £350,000 last year according to the Shropshire Star. This compares with a loss of £144,000 the previous season when they were in the Conference.

Gate receipts fell by £179,000 to £750,000, while wages rose to £1,375,225 - an increase of £66,112 - despite the number of players and other employees both falling.

Administration costs increased by nearly a third to £98,554 and the income from media including TV fell by £120,000.

Hereford United are expected to announce their results in the next few weeks. It is thought that they will have made a six-figure profit but it will be well down on the previous season's record results.

A view of Hereford from Cambridge

This edited article comes from the Official Cambridge United Website.

Travellers Tales v Hereford United written by Mark Johnson.

Although the journey itself was pleasant enough, there were signs that it was going to be one of those days from the time BBC WM followed a traffic report with an item on how to cook road kill! Speaking of which, we broke our journey at Corley Services, after which we found the motorways continuing to be in benevolent mood and even the slight concerns about hitting Worcester close to rush hour proved unfounded.

All that remained was the winding road into Hereford, through villages that nestled on the misty slopes of the Malvern Hills. And it was here that the strangeness started to increase. From the garage that claimed to be a 'Porsche specialist', but had virtually every other make of car but Porsche on its forecourt, the 'No Fishing' sign at the Hereford & Worcester Ambulance HQ and the Russian T34 tank sat by the side of the road, each village suggested that it would have 'a local shop, for local people' somewhere about its person.

We finally arrived in Hereford just after 5pm and found that it was shut. With the ticket office, club shop and supporters bar all not due to open for another hour, the sign for the public toilets at the cattle market across the road from the ground suggested a welcome relief until one of our travelling party was greeted by a cheery 'hello' from one of the cubicles. We made our excuses and left!

A missing fax further delayed entry into the ground, but there was no real inconvenience as the person who had the key to the press box didn't turn up until 6.35pm. The team, who arrived while we were trying to negotiate entry into the ground, experienced a similar problem with the key to the away dressing room also conspicuous by its absence.

At the Ground: Set between the aforementioned cattle market and a public car park (with cheap parking all day and free parking in the evening), the ground could most kindly be described as 'old fashioned'.

A traditional main stand, with the rows of seats just a fraction too close together to provide enough leg room, ran along one side of the pitch. The first row of seats was elevated due to the front projection of the pitch-side executive boxes with, presumably, toughened glass windows. This area jutted out a fraction from the base of the stand, allowing space on its roof for a number of plant pots.

The main road that ran behind the stand on the other side of the pitch, seriously curtailed its width. This narrow construction was two-tiered, with claustrophobic looking terracing beneath seats whose faded colours had come from a vast palette. United fans were allocated half of this stand.

To the left of this stand the main area of home terracing had covering only at the back from where the lights of the tea bars shone brightly. This was in marked contrast to the other end of the ground, where the warm red glow of a scoreboard was the only clue that its empty terracing was not entirely trapped in some medieval time warp. The fact that this terrace had been split into two sections was a reminder that it used to house away fans, and its curved front allowed plenty of space for a semi-circular patch of weeds to gain a foothold between the terrace and the pitch.

United Fans: Decent support in the first half, they moved up a gear once Hereford's third goal went in as they appeared determined to enjoy themselves despite the match.

Home Fans: Not the loudest.

Stewards: I was impressed by the instructions given at the briefing I overheard before the match, which conveyed the message that all supporters were to be treated with respect and politeness. Not sure that everyone took that message on board, but with a surprising number of Burberry-hatted teenagers amongst their number a 'whatever' attitude was bound to surface occasionally. Generally though, the Chief Steward's instruction seemed to be carried out.

Programme: I wish I'd seen this programme before I commented on Accrington's publication, as, in comparison, the Lancashire club's programme turned out to be good value. 'Bullseye', on the other hand, cost £2.50 for which you got 36 pages - 22 of which were adverts. Of the remaining 14 pages, three were stats, two were standard United pen pictures and two featured a United Dream Team. Oh, and not forgetting the front cover, a couple of half pages of photos and the squad lists.

State of Toilets: Not sure about those for the away fans, but the ones for the main stand were a voyage of trepidation into the unknown with no light, no flush and no sink.

The Journey Home: We were all ready for a straightforward journey home after another away defeat. Unfortunately, there was a delay in getting my post match duties completed, so we couldn't leave the ground much before 11pm. Of course, at that time of night with a long journey ahead, there's then a law that states that every set of traffic lights in Hereford would be red and that progress would be further hampered by then having to follow the team coach through the winding roads back to the M5.

Postcript: Jon Brady on the PA at Edgar Street

"If there was one thing that drove me mad about my spell at Hereford, it was the PA guy's obsession with playing all that daggy dance music. What's wrong with real music played on real instruments? Nothing has changed - the outlook for proper rock fans was still as dead as a dead dingo's donga! We had some African nonsense (Yeke Yeke), that bloody awful 'Horny' record, 'Flawless (if only!), 'Call On Me,' all that soulless machine-produced tripe, then the ultimate insult, a 'dance remix' of Europe's rock classic 'The Final Countdown'! That Republica song's not bad in a poppy sort of way, but the one shining beacon of real rock music, bestriding the airwaves like a Colossus, was the mighty Metallica's 'Enter Sandman.' More of that and less dancey prancey nonsense next time, mate! JBJ verdict: Dancing's for drongoes, unless it's to the Quo! (2/10)"

Turner speaks about probable new signing

Graham Turner has given a little more information about the scholarship player he is hoping to sign to BBC H&W. (see earlier story)

"We're going to take a midfield player from a First Division club on work experience.

"He's played in what is a very successful first division side at the moment. He's played in their first team.

"If that goes through it gives the opportunity to play him when and where we want him."

(The loan period for players begins next Wednesday and is available until March 23rd)

Meanwhile Turner has spoken about Saturday's Grays game.

"Obviously the league is the priority, we want to get promotion but the Trophy has its own rewards," he said.

"We've had a good run of late, we want to continue winning so it'll be treated with respect, as Grays will be."

Finally it has been revealed that Hereford United recently made an offer for Barnet's Dwane Lee, but the midfielder did not want to go to Edgar Street.

Paul Fairclough, the Barnet manager, said the club would now have to look at the Lee situation. The midfielder remains suspended following a dressing-room spat' two weeks ago.

Tamworth Keeper Lost Eight Litres Of Blood

In an interview with the Tamworth Herald Lambs keeper Scott Bevan told the reporter that he had lost eight litres of blood during his injury, in which a kidney was shattered, and the subsequent operation.

Doctors had told the 6ft 6in keeper that he would have died if he hadn't been so fit after losing twice the amount of blood in the human body. He was released after a week in hospital, and has been told to rest for six months before considering to recommence his career.

But Bevan says he can't forgive Julian Alsop, the Forest Green striker who inflicted the damage: "I accept that Julian didn't want to inflict the damage his challenge has caused but I can't forgive him. I remember it was a high ball over the top and I came to the edge of the area to catch it. I didn't think he could come for the ball so I didn't lift my knee to protect myself. As I came down, I just felt him hit me. At first I thought I was just winded but then I knew something was seriously wrong."

"The three-hour journey home was the longest three hours of my life and I was ill several times. When I went to the toilet at home that night I was just passing blood so I went straight to the hospital. I don't think I realised how close I was to death. The most upsetting thing is that I have read that Julian said he was trying to contact me but I haven't heard anything from him. I don't know yet whether I will take the matter further but Tamworth FC have said they will support me."

Tam in England Squad

Hereford United's star defender Tamika Mkandawire has been selected for the England National Game XI's game against Italy on Tuesday February 15th at Cambridge.

But there is no good news for Rob Purdie, he has not made the final 16 for the game after being selected in the initial 30 by manager Paul Fairclough.

According to the FA, the fixture at The Abbey Stadium is the second game for both sides in the inaugural European Challenge Trophy, which also features representative sides from Belgium and Holland.

Eight of the squad, all of whom are under-23, represented England in the last international, a 2-0 win over Belgium last November. One of the scorers that night, York's Andy Bishop, is included again after continuing to bang in the goals for York City this season.

Morecambe's David Perkins is once again selected and will be the most senior member of the team, having won eight caps so far, the last one as captain against Belgium.

Turner still hopeful of another signing

Graham Turner has told BBC Hereford and Worcester this morning that he is still hopeful of strengthening his squad.

He said that he hopes to have a deal done by the weekend. It is understood that the player involved is a mid-fielder from an un-named League one club.

Although the Conference Transfer Window is closed, there are ways around the restriction. Players taken on work experience are allowed and loan players can again be taken from next week.

Stimson on the Trophy game

Mark Stimson, the Grays Athletic manasger, has told the Thurrock Gazette that he is hoping his side will pick themselves up after last Tuesday's defeat against Burton.

"The boys were disappointed after Tuesday night," said Stimson.

"I told them that they may never get the chance to go second in this league again. You never know what's round the corner, some might not be here and move on and you have to take these opportunities when they come along.

"I've got to pick them up now for Saturday's game. Over the last six to eight weeks we have had our best results and best performances in the Trophy, the two Aldershot games and Kidderminster. Plus, for some reason we perform better away from home and I hope that can continue.

"Hereford are a decent side but we go there with confidence, we scored two goals against them and beat them at their place earlier in the season so we've got nothing to fear. We just need to get that little bit of belief back that the boys lost over Christmas."

Clough Tops List In Rams Fans Manager Jam

Burton Albion's Nigel Clough is the favourite of Derby County fans to become next manager of the Pride Park outfit.

A poll in the Derby Evening Telegraph sees Clough poll 13.4% of the vote, just ahead of ex-Rams chief Jim Smith with 12.9%.

Sixteen different names polled more than 2% of the vote, with Mark Wright gaining 6% of the poll. The former Derby defender was recently sacked by Peterboro, but now intends to sue the club for breach of contract and damaging his reputation.

In other Conference news, Morecambe have revealed that they rejected an approach from Blackpool for Danny Carlton on deadline day. Canvey Island have resigned striker Neil Midgley after his release from Kettering.

Grays can't fill a bus

Grays Athletic are not running a supporters coach to Hereford for the FA Trophy game on Saturday.

Originally the cost of a seat was to be £35, but then there was talk it might be reduced.

However the coach was cancelled earlier this morning as reported on the official Grays Athletic Website.

Unfortunately due to lack of numbers, the coach for the Hereford game has regrettably had to be cancelled.

Despite an excellent start to life in the Conference the support at Grays is poor. Only 1528 watched the game against Hereford last Saturday and this total included some 369 Bulls supporters.

Last Tuesday when Grays played Burton Albion just 858 watched the game.

Wilson Departs Kettering Again

Kevin Wilson has departed as manager of Kettering for the second time in just over three months.

This time, he was sacked after a run of one win in 12 games. He originally left the managers role to move upstairs in October to allow Paul Gascoigne to take the helm, and departed a few days later saying that the job wasn't what he wanted.

Kettering currently lie 13th in the Conference North table.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Coleman Is Manager Of The Month

Accrington manager John Coleman has received the Manager of the Month award for January.

His side gained four wins and a draw in Conference action, plus a victory at the second attempt in the Trophy.

Ex-Bull Phil Robinson won the Conference North award for Stafford Rangers, while Gary Roberts won the award for crisis-hit Cambridge City in Conference South.

Stafford, who have been under Robinson's charge since the summer of 2002, are three points clear at the top of Conference North.

Bulls report Crawley

This item first appeared on Sky Sports.

Hereford United have reported Nationwide Conference rivals Crawley Town to the league's governing body following the behaviour of the Sussex club's away support in the recent league encounter at Edgar Street.

The Bulls allege that, amongst other incidents, a Crawley fan threw a bottle onto the pitch, and have made both the Conference and Crawley aware that they intend to follow the matter up.

However, United are facing counter claims after Bulls keeper Wayne Brown was reported to have made obscene finger and hand gestures at the travelling contingent following his side's 2-1 victory.

Hereford are yet to respond to the allegations.

Travis looks forward to Trophy game

Simon Travis has told BBC Hereford and Worcester that whatever the competition the side needs to keep moving forward. The Bulls face Grays on Saturday in the FA Trophy.

"We've got to keep on with this winning run. We've got to keep doing things right. Whatever match we play, the Herefordshire Cup, or a Trophy game, the LDV or the FA Cup we have got to play to the best of our ability.

"And that won't change on Saturday with the Trophy.

"We're looking to progress in that competition.

"It's always good for the supporters, and for the club in general, to have a good cup run. So regardless of what competition it is we want to do the best we can.

Meanwhile Grays manager Mark Stimpson wasn't too pleased with his sides defeat at home to Burton Albion last night.

"We are very disappointed that we haven't gone into second place tonight, it hurts.

"We came in to the game in a positive frame but for some reason the players just didn't perform tonight. I think they were all waiting for the man next to him to do the job and that doesn't happen. They've got to take hold of the game by themselves and make themselves the man of the match."

The winners of the game will earn £6,000. However if the game is drawn, there will be a replay next Tuesday.

Loans Still Available In 7 Days

As confirmed earlier in the season, loan deal will be permitted from next Wednesday.

A 7 day embargo now exists on all transfers until the "emergency" loan system returns through to the traditional transfer deadline day, which is March 23rd (5pm) this year.

One deal which may be done by the Bulls in the loan window is an extension to Daryl Taylor's loan. The current two-month spell is due to end on March 6th and can be extended if required. The other current loan players, Wayne Brown and Nicky Nicolau, are both intended to stay for the remainder of the season.

Aldershot Have £130,000 Bank Debt

Information has come to light to show that Aldershot are £130,000 in debt on their bank overdraft.

Aldershot showed just a £13,000 loss for last seasons accounts, but acknowledged at the time of publication that low gates and a higher than expected wage bill would see losses increase.

Now, details have surfaced that the Shots are £130,000 into a £150,000 bank overdraft. A post on the Shotsweb message board made the claims, later verified by the Shotsweb team who confirmed the validity of the statements when presented with the proof.

Aldershot budgeted for a break-even gate figure of "approaching 3,000", but have seen gates hover around the 2,400 mark. The last home game attracted just 2,009 supporters. It is estimated, on the current average, that Aldershot are losing around £5,000 a match.

The club had always operated at a profit since their rebirth until they entered the Conference in 2003, but the transformation into a full time outfit and the chase for promotion caused costs to surge by over £200,000 last season. They recently appealed for a £100,000 main sponsor for the next two seasons, more than double what the Bulls currently receive from their main sponsor.

Preview: Bulls vs Grays

The Bulls entertain Grays for the second time this season, this time in a Third Round FA Trophy tie.

The comeback last Saturday at Grays after going 2-0 down was followed by a 3-0 demolition of a very poor looking Cambridge side - and things are certainly on the up for the Bulls at the moment. No-one noticed, or seemed to care, that the Bulls finished the game with two nineteen year old forwards - a sign of the depth of talent the front line now has.

For Grays, they were conceding three at the same time as the Bulls netted against the U's. Their record now stands at two wins from nine in all competitions and, while they've scored two in four of the last five games, their defensive record is shabby having conceding two or more in six of the last nine games. The only times they've conceded less in that time is their Trophy matches against Aldershot, where they needed extra time to despatch the Shots, and at York - who have scored two in five games.

Replacement Therapy at Edgar Street

An overview of last night from Simon and Glynis Wright:

Not going to The Valley ourselves this evening, but still wanting some sort of replacement therapy, we travelled to Edgar Street instead, for their Conference encounter with Cambridge United, who tumbled somewhat ignominiously into the unspeakable maw of non-league football come the end of last season. Since then, they've flirted somewhat dangerously with dissolution, the sum currently owed being in the order of 250K. Not a lot for such a club, you might think, but the moment this first started, they really felt the financial pinch, ownership of their ground being the first casualty. All their half-decent players have long-since flown the coop, and the only prospect left now is of a mid-table Conference finish, which won't do anyone any good. There is now talk of ground-sharing with the other Cambridge football club. That rankled so much with their support, there's yet another pressure group doing the rounds, hence the presence of a huge banner in the away end tonight bearing the simple legend: "SELL IT BACK".

It soon became clear that the visitors were intending to play it in similarly-turgid pattern to their unlamented former leader, John Beck, the only League manager to progress by boring the rest of the Football League half to death, back in the late eighties/early nineties. A pretty hard nut to crack as a result, and try as they might, one The Bulls couldn't, but doing so was vital to their interests, as there were other games on that night affecting the play-off picture; a win could see them go a glorious second. Mind you, they could have improved their prospects of doing so immeasurably by ditching the idea of playing with but a single target-man up front, a la Kevin Campbell, and getting at least a smidgen of communication going between engine-room and main armament. The crowd, around 2,200 of them, were getting restless - then, The Bulls got the break they badly craved (and so did I, as it was bloody cold in that stand!).

With just 25 minutes on the clock, and totally out of the blue, Adam Stansfield finally broke the deadlock for The Bulls. A fine, individual goal, it was, the lad taking possession of the ball some way out in the Cambridge half, ghosting past a couple of defenders as if they weren't there, then letting fly, pretty much unmarked, from just inside the 18-yard area. In it flew, like a good 'un, and suddenly Hereford had a game on. Deservedly so.

Despite suffering such a vicious body-blow, the visitors were still proving somewhat troublesome. Clearly a much more comfortable 'cushion' was needed, and that's precisely what Hereford's Andy Williams - no, he doesn't grab a mike and sing 'Moon River' when the game's a bit sluggish - managed to achieve just before the interval. The execution of that second strike was exquisite, involving a neat little bit of interplay with a colleague in and around the edge of the box, before unleashing the second thunderbolt of the night. A splendid 45 minutes worth of good honest graft, and the home side well worth their two-goal lead come the break. Just as well they'd settled Cambridge's hash, really, as the news from Grays, their promotion rivals, was that they were becoming involved in one of those pulsating 'tit-for-tat' 'I-score-you-score' encounters with Burton, and currently getting the worst of it.

Returning to the matter in hand once more, although the visitors brought on their 'trump card', a lad whose height couldn't have fallen all that far short of aforementioned Liverpool beanpole Peter Crouch, and whose 'act' solely consisted of trying to out-jump every single opposition player at set-pieces in the box, in the end it mattered diddly-squat. With only minutes of the second half gone, Williams did it again, this time courtesy a defence-splitting Stansfield cross; all the lad had to do was fire home, and the game was in the bag. Cambridge's hash finally settled, all there was left to do after that was play out the remainder of the half, and all without having their peace of mind unduly disturbed either.

Late on, Hereford brought forth one of their late transfer-window acquisitions, a lad called Stuart Fleetwood, whose previous history was certainly lively. A capture from Cardiff City, he did have a little bit of a sorry past; not so long back, he was involved in a car accident which put a team-mate in a coma for quite some time. I gather that the purpose of the transfer was to give him the chance of a fresh start with another club, the lad having well and truly blotted his copybook with the Welsh outfit. Probably a wise decision; if nothing else, The Bulls are widely known as an outfit more than willing to give the fallen from grace a second chance to shine - and it looked tonight as though in Fleetwood, they'd found a gem. Fast, clever, neat with the ball, and unlucky not to get on the score-sheet himself, he looks one highly likely to reap enormous dividends for the cider-slurpers as far as their current promotion push is concerned.

So there you had it - a workmanlike 3-0 win come the final whistle, and Burton beating Grays meant further progress up the Conference table for the home side. All that remained was to exit the ground and beat it hot-footed to our vehicle, parked around a hundred yards away from the exit. Once inside, a quick butchers via the car radio revealed our score at The Valley to be bloodless, still. And that's the way it stayed, of course; according to The Beeb, it wasn't exactly one of the beautiful game's all-time classics, either.

Kidderminster Pair Join Rochdale

Kidderminster Harriers have sold Iyseden Christie and Mark Jackson to Rochdale for a combined fee of £35,000.

Striker Christie, with 13 goals in 30 games, and Defender Jackson were two of the remaining high earners at Aggborough. Ten players have now departed the club since the transfer window opened. Just four of the relegation squad now remain.

Harriers have signed experienced midfielder Paul Smith. Smith, 30, retired from the game in May on medical advice but has signed up until the end of the season. He is just the third permanent signing made in the window, with three more on loan.

Margin could have been greater says Turner

Graham Turner, speaking to BBC Hereford and Worcester after last nights game, thought Hereford should have scored more goals.

"I thought from start to finish we looked sharp and played some decent football.

"Disppointed that we didn't score more goals, another two might have taken us above Exeter.

"But it was a good night's work. We kept a clean sheet, looked solid at the back. Just the one scare in the first half with their long-range shot (Brady) that come back off the bar but other than that I never felt un-comfortable watching them on the ball.

"But we certainly looked right going forward."

Top of the Conference (for full table click on the top left of this page):

1 Accrington Stanley 26 21 58
2 Exeter 27 17 47
3 Hereford 26 16 47
4 Halifax 27 8 47
5 Grays Athletic 26 18 45
6 Morecambe 27 17 45
7 Stevenage 27 8 43

They looked sharper than us said Newman

Cambridge United manager, Rob Newman, was disappointed with his sides performance last night at Edgar Street. The following quotes are from the Official Cambridge Website.

"It was a very disappointing game. I think the two goals we conceded in the first half were their first two shots on target. It's not good enough. We had a goal disallowed and we had a shot hit the bar, but they scored the first goal

"It looked promising until they scored the first goal and then we succumbed after that, and very badly. They looked sharper than us all over the pitch and we've questioned their desire and their attitude tonight; maybe that's something we've got to analyse.

"We've just had a long talk in the dressing room and I thought Jon Brady is the only one who comes out with any credit because he showed a lot of effort tonight and a lot of work rate.

"They've got to wake up and smell the coffee pretty sharpish because I can handle lack of technical ability but one thing I can't handle is surrendering. I can handle losing if they show passion but not lack of effort and it's very disappointing.

"We looked better for the last half an hour but the game was over and we were 3-0 down by then so that's not even an issue."