Hereford enjoyed a trip to the seaside on Saturday as they faced Weymouth in their eighth league game of the season. After a number of changes for midweek’s County Cup game, Peter Beadle reverted back to the starting XI that beat Kempston Rovers in the FA Cup last weekend.
Despite taking part in the warm up prior to the game, Pablo Haysham and Jamie Bird weren’t part of the match day squad, as Jack Deaman returned from injury to claim a place on the bench.
Hereford started the encounter brightly, with Keyon Reffell forcing the keeper into making a save with six minutes on the clock. After breaking away down the right wing, Reffell twisted and turned his way into the box as he tried to create enough space for himself, finally getting a shot away. But home keeper Mark Travers was on hand to keep the scores level as he claimed the right-footed effort.
Hereford saw their chances limited for the first 20 minutes or so, as they dealt with a number of soft free kick decisions against them. But in the 22nd minute, John Mills took advantage of some indecision from the keeper.
Mike McGrath’s lofted ball forward seemed like it would be an easy catch for the keeper, but amid a moment’s hesitation from Travers, John Mills got enough on the ball to see it roll into the back of the net.
Spurred on by the opening goal, a number of chances followed for the Bulls. Firstly, Mike Symons turned quickly in the box to fire the ball towards goal, but the keeper was well-positioned to make a save.
With 32 minutes gone, John Mills headed the ball over the crossbar from close-range as he searched for his second.
Before the break, Weymouth looked a threat on a counterattack, but Ben Thomson was stopped in his tracks by a well-timed tackle from Ryan Green on the edge of the penalty area.
An effort from 18-yards for Brandon Goodship cleared the crossbar, much to the relief of the vocal travelling support.
HT: Weymouth 0 – Hereford 1
Attacking towards the away end in the second half, Mike Symons missed a sitter seven minutes after the restart. Some good work by Keyon Reffell on the right saw him cut the ball back to Symons, but a mistimed strike left Weymouth with the easy task of clearing the danger.
The Terras’ then thought they’d pulled themselves back level, but substitute Harry Baker looked back to see the flag raised for offside after finding the back of the net. Moments later, with Martin Horsell well off his line, Baker’s ambitious effort from outside the area just cleared the crossbar.
In the 62nd minute, a great effort from skipper Jimmy Oates saw the keeper pull off a fine save, as he dived low-down to his left to deny the Australian at the near-post.
Travers then produced a similar save to prevent Mike Symons from adding a second, but Hereford were able to capitalise on the resulting corner.
Garyn Preen’s corner was taken short to James Bowen, and he unleashed a powerful strike to fire the ball towards the top right-hand corner of the net, ricocheting in off the underside of the crossbar.
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| Mike Symons Didn't Score The Goal But Seemed Quite Pleased That Hereford Had Gone 2-0 Ahead |
Hereford’s domination continued, wayward headers from Mike Symons and Keyon Reffell couldn’t add to the scoreline, before Weymouth did well to clear the ball ahead of John Mills following good build-up play from McGrath and Oates.
The hosts then saw a glimmer of hope in the 71st minute when they were awarded a penalty. A harsh decision against James Bowen saw Brandon Goodship step up against Horsell, but a superb save from the 29-year old denied Goodship’s spot kick, as Horsell recovered quickly to save the follow-up shot.
Just before he was replaced by Lance Smith, Mike Symons thought he’d added a third, but was adjudged to have been offside. Garyn Preen saw his cross from the right blocked, but Mike McGrath was on hand to fire an effort towards goal. After the shot was parried by the keeper, Mike Symons was well-positioned to strike home the rebound, but the assistant’s flag was raised.
Both sides then had chances late on in the game. For the Terras, Harry Baker couldn’t quite connect with Ashley Well’s cross-come-shot that flashed across the face of goal.
A final chance for Hereford fell to Lance Smith, but he screwed his shot wide from 12-yards.
FT: Weymouth 0 – Hereford 2
Att: 1,518
Hereford: Horsell, Oates (c), Bowen, Dinsley, Green, O’Shea, Preen (Page – 79’), McGrath, Mills, Reffell, Symons (Smith – 76’).
Subs not used: Purdie, Harris, Deaman.
Weymouth: Travers, Cooper, Buckley, Wells, Down, Carmichael, Davis (Wakefield – 64’), McCarthy, Thomson (Baker – 46’), Goodship (Stewart – 81’), Diaz.
Subs not used: Sa, Prodomo.
Next Game: Frome Town Away on Wednesday 27th September at 7.45pm