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| Two Goals For Pablo Haysham |
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| Wantage Players With Belmont Girls Formed The Guard Of Honour |
With four minutes on the clock, a defensive error from the Bulls meant they conceded early on. Ryan Green failed to control a back pass from captain Joel Edwards, allowing Todd Hathaway to pick up the loose ball. Hathaway crossed into Mark Francis who fired past Alex Harris to open the scoring.
Pablo Haysham had a chance to pull the Whites back level two minutes later, but his driven shot from 20-yards whistled inches wide of the post.
John Mills came close to scoring in the 13th minute with a slick move, but the ball went wide after he back-heeled Jamie Molyneux's cross.
Hereford kept up the pressure, with Wantage defending well for large periods of the game. Molyneux and Mills both had efforts saved by visiting keeper Eddie Cavanagh, before Jimmy Oates blazed a shot over the bar following a quick break down the right wing.
As half time neared, John Mills’ ball into the box fell awkwardly for Mike Symons in front of goal, and he was unable to convert from close-range. Rob Purdie then had a low drive cannon off the upright, with Mills shooting wide moments later.
HT: Hereford 0 - Wantage Town 1
Hereford continued to dominate the game after the break, as Pablo Haysham forced the keeper into parrying his shot from range seven minutes after the restart.
In the 56th minute, the Bulls scored a long-awaited equaliser. Wantage conceded a free kick on the edge of the area after Pablo Haysham was brought down by Tom Hoskins. Haysham stepped up, and with his low right-footed effort he found the back of the net after the ball took a deflection off the five man wall.
Moments later, supporters thought John Mills had scored Hereford’s second, but his shot from an acute angle agonisingly hit the side-netting.
Alfredians’ keeper Cavanagh pulled off a fine save to palm away Rob Purdie’s shot from outside the box, with Mike McGrath unable to get to the rebound.
With Steve Jenkins in charge pitch side, Hereford made a triple substitution on the hour mark, with Tristan Plummer, Calvin Dinsley and Jamie Edge replacing Mike Symons, Mike McGrath and Rob Purdie.
Plummer should've grabbed a goal two minutes after coming on, but after breaking forward his shot sailed high and wide into a packed Meadow End.
In the 68th minute, both Calvin Dinsley and Jamie Molyneux couldn't beat the keeper with their powerful shots, with Hereford relentlessly trying for a second.
With just over ten minutes left on the clock, Wantage took the lead for the second time in the game. Alex Harris’ poor clearance was headed straight back where Jack Powell was clean-through, lobbing Harris to make it 2-1.
The Alfredians weren't ahead for long, as Hereford found the back of the net two minutes later. Some good play build-up play between Jimmy Oates and Tristan Plummer saw Oates put the ball into the six-yard box, where Jamie Molyneux scored with a close-range header at the far post.
In the 90th minute, Hereford grabbed a late goal to seal Wantage’s relegation from the South and West. Cavanagh was unable to keep hold of Plummer's left-footed shot from 18-yards, with Pablo Haysham on hand to tap home the rebound.
FT: Hereford 3 – Wantage Town 2
Att: 3,484
Sponsors’ MotM: Jimmy Oates
Hereford: A. Harris, Oates, Edwards (c), Purdie (Edge – 60’), Green, Fortune, Molyneux, McGrath (Dinsley – 60’), Mills, Haysham, Symons (Plummer – 60’).
Subs not used: Preece, Horsell.
Wantage: Cavanagh, Preece, McNeil, Glover, Wise, Hoskins, Sadler, Markham, T. Hathaway, Francis, Mason.
Subs: McKeon, Youngsham, M. Hathaway, Powell, Heggie
Next Game: Taunton Town Away on Saturday 8th April at 3pm – All Ticket