Hereford United v Torquay United - 5/5/12
Posted: 30 Apr 2012, 11:09
Can United make it third time lucky and snatch a win at Edgar Street to pip Crawley to the post? Or will Hereford build on their quite astonishing demolition of Crawley last time out to try and stave of impending relegation to the BSP? Buoyed by a probable sell out away following and the 'win or bust' situation, i'm confident the lads can put the deflation of saturday behind them and put in one last massive performance to see us over the line. I'm sure they all want the season to end on saturday so they can have a well earned holiday and us fans do too! It is the last game of the league season and we still have a genuine chance of going up automatically - that is truly amazing.
The Bulls have endured a torrid season dropping into the relegation zone and being unable to claw their way out thus far. Manager Jamie Pitman was sacked and current manager Richard O'Kelly was appointed last month in what is his first managerial position. A tough job for a novice. They have the WORST record in the league in terms of home wins with just 4 and the WORST record also for home defeats, 13. In addition they also have the WORST goals scored to goals conceded differential at home in the league. Scored 20 and let in 39, almost double. Given that the Gulls have the second BEST away win record in the division behind Southend then you could be forgiven for assuming this game wil be a walk in the park; however, they need 3 points and we need 3 points and we both have the one game in which to get them. I am anticipating an afternoon of high drama.
Hereford currently occupy the last relegation place on 41 points and they are 2 points off Barnet and off safety. They HAVE to beat us and hope Barnet lose or draw at Burton Albion to stay up. Current top scorers include Tom Barkhuizen with 12 in all competitions, Yoann Arquin the big Frenchman who is on 9 and Will Evans on 5 and we can do the double over them having beaten them 2-0 at Plainmoor back in October with goals just before the break from Nico and Bodin. Their most well known players include much travelled Grenadian striker Delroy Facey, Simon Clist and Joe Colbeck.
Hereford smashed Crawley 3-0 last time out and here is the line up:
1. Adam Bartlett
2. Michael Townsend
3. Ben Purkiss
4. James Chambers ( on loan from Doncaster Rovers )
5. Byron Anthony ( on loan from Bristol Rovers )
6. Harry Pell
7. Rob Purdie
8. Nicky Featherstone
9. Kenny Lunt
10. Joe Colbeck
11. Delroy Facey
SUBS: Stefan Stam ( on for Facey on 85 mins ), James McQuilkin ( on for Lunt on 87 mins ), Yoann Arquin ( on for Colbeck on 68 mins ), Simon Clist, Sam Clucas. Hereford did not have a substitute keeper.
Hereford is a nice compact place and for those of you not wanting to spend the pre-match hours getting mullered in pubs there are some quaint streets to explore with niche shops and also the magnificent Cathedral which houses the Mappa Mundi, the famous medieval map of the world. I visited a few years ago on my only trip to Hereford ( we lost 1-0 ) and the Cathedral was a highlight ( doesn't say much about the game that day then! ). There is a huge pay and display car park next to the ground which i think is a cattle market but i would imagine it will fill up quickly on saturday given the crowd expected and the ground itself is a bit of dump with respect and has the narrowest turnstiles in the whole wide world. I stood on the terrace last time i went and it was pretty uncomfortable, at the back you can't see anything and there are also rows and rows of huge concrete pillars supporting the stand above which block the views. Assuming that we are to housed in the same stand.
All in all it should be cracking atmosphere and a cracking game and if we play like we did against Crewe we should win, if the Wimbledon team turns up we'll get turned over. I just feel there will be such desperation from both sets of players that it will be an error strewn match with no pattern and it will be 3-3 which will be no good to either team. I still think that Eunan owes us a few goals and he squandered chances on saturday, he also had a shocker the last time i went to Hereford a few seasons back. I think it was one of his first games in a Torquay shirt but he was so poor i couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Eunan to get back on the scoresheet with 2 and Howe with the other.
THE BULLS V THE GULLS - I much prefer birds over bovines! COME ON SUNSHINE!!!
The Bulls have endured a torrid season dropping into the relegation zone and being unable to claw their way out thus far. Manager Jamie Pitman was sacked and current manager Richard O'Kelly was appointed last month in what is his first managerial position. A tough job for a novice. They have the WORST record in the league in terms of home wins with just 4 and the WORST record also for home defeats, 13. In addition they also have the WORST goals scored to goals conceded differential at home in the league. Scored 20 and let in 39, almost double. Given that the Gulls have the second BEST away win record in the division behind Southend then you could be forgiven for assuming this game wil be a walk in the park; however, they need 3 points and we need 3 points and we both have the one game in which to get them. I am anticipating an afternoon of high drama.
Hereford currently occupy the last relegation place on 41 points and they are 2 points off Barnet and off safety. They HAVE to beat us and hope Barnet lose or draw at Burton Albion to stay up. Current top scorers include Tom Barkhuizen with 12 in all competitions, Yoann Arquin the big Frenchman who is on 9 and Will Evans on 5 and we can do the double over them having beaten them 2-0 at Plainmoor back in October with goals just before the break from Nico and Bodin. Their most well known players include much travelled Grenadian striker Delroy Facey, Simon Clist and Joe Colbeck.
Hereford smashed Crawley 3-0 last time out and here is the line up:
1. Adam Bartlett
2. Michael Townsend
3. Ben Purkiss
4. James Chambers ( on loan from Doncaster Rovers )
5. Byron Anthony ( on loan from Bristol Rovers )
6. Harry Pell
7. Rob Purdie
8. Nicky Featherstone
9. Kenny Lunt
10. Joe Colbeck
11. Delroy Facey
SUBS: Stefan Stam ( on for Facey on 85 mins ), James McQuilkin ( on for Lunt on 87 mins ), Yoann Arquin ( on for Colbeck on 68 mins ), Simon Clist, Sam Clucas. Hereford did not have a substitute keeper.
Hereford is a nice compact place and for those of you not wanting to spend the pre-match hours getting mullered in pubs there are some quaint streets to explore with niche shops and also the magnificent Cathedral which houses the Mappa Mundi, the famous medieval map of the world. I visited a few years ago on my only trip to Hereford ( we lost 1-0 ) and the Cathedral was a highlight ( doesn't say much about the game that day then! ). There is a huge pay and display car park next to the ground which i think is a cattle market but i would imagine it will fill up quickly on saturday given the crowd expected and the ground itself is a bit of dump with respect and has the narrowest turnstiles in the whole wide world. I stood on the terrace last time i went and it was pretty uncomfortable, at the back you can't see anything and there are also rows and rows of huge concrete pillars supporting the stand above which block the views. Assuming that we are to housed in the same stand.
All in all it should be cracking atmosphere and a cracking game and if we play like we did against Crewe we should win, if the Wimbledon team turns up we'll get turned over. I just feel there will be such desperation from both sets of players that it will be an error strewn match with no pattern and it will be 3-3 which will be no good to either team. I still think that Eunan owes us a few goals and he squandered chances on saturday, he also had a shocker the last time i went to Hereford a few seasons back. I think it was one of his first games in a Torquay shirt but he was so poor i couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Eunan to get back on the scoresheet with 2 and Howe with the other.
THE BULLS V THE GULLS - I much prefer birds over bovines! COME ON SUNSHINE!!!