I worked out it would take about an hour and twenty to get from home to Hereford. With the time it takes me to get in from work, say hello to the family and jump in the car, I thought this was just about doable. I'd been keen to visit Edgar Street for a while and their 1-1 draw in the FA Cup at Romulus had given me the opportunity to attend this mid week replay.
By all accounts the game at Romulus had been a feisty affair. Both teams went in to the game unbeaten in their respective leagues, the game finished 1-1, both had a player sent off and reportedly there was a bit of needle between players and fans. To add extra spice for the replay, the draw for the next round meant whoever won would visit Romulus landlords, Sutton Coldfield.
The drive to Hereford took me over the old Severn Bridge before directing me north. It was a lovely sunny evening and the route took me through the picturesque town of Cheptsow, past the dramatic Tintern abbey before the road meandered along the River Wye. Invigorated by the cultural scenery I arrived in good time and parked up near the ground.
The recent history of Hereford FC is a very interesting one. A phoenix club, they have only been in existence under their current name since 2015. The immediate period before that was a turbulent one to say the least. After their last high water mark of promotion to league one in 2008, Hereford United, as they had been known since 1924, saw a steep decline on an off the pitch. By the end of the 2013/14 season, things had began to unravel dramatically. Although ex player Peter Beadle had arrived as manager and helped his side avoid relegation from the Conference, the Club was in big trouble financially and it's owners were looking to off load. Their chosen successors purchased the club and it's debts for £2. What followed was a disastrous few months which culminated in the club being wound up in the Royal Courts of Justice in December 2014. In between there had been a series of false promises from the new owners, multiple failed Owners and Directors Tests (ODT's) and a host of exasperated and unpaid creditors including players and staff. The Hereford United Supporters Trust (HUST) was formed in 2013 and was so concerned about the new owners that they quickly applied to have Edgar Street registered as an Asset of community value (ACV), fearing that the new regime were manoeuvring to possibly sell the ground off. They subsequently went as far as boycotting the whole club including attending games. Why they felt compelled to take such drastic action becomes evident when you read the excellent account of this period on the Bulls News website which can be found here: goo.gl/hsnBxA
2015/16 was Hereford FC's first full season. Back under the management of Peter Beadle they romped to promotion and got to the final of the FA Vase. Now they find themselves in the Southern League Division One South & West. They are strong favourites to go up again with their crowds -and presumably their resources- dwarfing those of most of the others in the league. Tonight's opponents, Romulus are in the Northern Premier Division One South, the same level as Hereford in the pyramid system.
I'd purposefully booked my ticket the night before as from what I'd seen and read about the ground online, I was adamant that I wanted to sit in the Len Weston Stand. When I arrived at the Edgar Street I quickly realised it was all I hoped it would be and more. First of all, to a man and woman, the programme seller, security guards and ticket booth lady all exuded helpfulness and friendliness. When the supporters own or at least part own the club, such positivity seems to come easily.
The Len Weston stand really is a beaut. Built in 1974, it oozes character. A narrow two tiered stand, it has terracing on the bottom with thick brutallist concrete pillars holding up the second tier which is all seated.
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| The Len Weston stand |
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| The Len Weston stand |
The view from the top was fantastic, high up and so close to the pitch that you really did feel on top of the action. It reminded me a bit of the away end at Brentford, it has the same steep two teired set up with the seats above the terrace. As I took my seat along with a Balti pie, the tannoy man announced that kick off was going to be delayed by half an hour as Romulus were stuck in traffic. At least this gave me time to take in the surroundings. Opposite was the Merton stand, a smart looking single tiered all seater with the dug outs in front of it. Like many stands it incorporates the club offices and corporate boxes. Unusually however, instead of being at the back of the stand, the offices, complete with many windows were at pitch level with the first rows of seats effectively on their roofs. I imagine this has resulted in a fair few smashed windows. To the left was the Meadow End, a good size covered terrace that still curves too accommodate a running track that has long since gone. The Meadow End was quickly filling up and the father and son I was sat next to told me that this was where the more vocal Hereford fans congregated, and also the end where Ronnie Radford scored the famous 1972 goal that saw off top flight Newcastle. The terrace to the right was a fair size, but not in use tonight. The father and son to my left proved good companions for the game, both season ticket holders and founts of knowledge on the club they helped fill me in on all turmoil that Edgar Street had seen over the last few years.
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| Pie in foreground shot from my view in the front row of the upper tier of the Lew Weston Stand |
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| The Meadow End |
Kick off had finally arrived and the game quickly came to life. Hereford looked decent on the ball but it was the visitors who had the first chance, their number 9, Lima Hailey was put through on goal, raced clear of the last defender, only to shoot tamely and straight at the keeper who easily gathered. I got the feeling Romulus would rue missing what was a great chance. From then on the Bulls started to dominate. Ex Bristol Rovers and Wolves defender Ryan Green was a cool head at the back, the midfiled was moving the ball about nicely and upfront was last seasons top scorer John Mills, who was mysteriously left on the bench in the FA Vase final much to the confusion of the tens of thousands of Hereford fans who made the trip to Wembley. He was partnered by 'The Beast' Mike Symmons. As the nickname suggests, Symmons is a big presence who at first glance looks like he is carrying a pound or two. My new friends said that when he first arrived at the club they were thinking who the hell is this joker? But added that he sure can hold the ball up well. They were right, and in addition, his lay offs and glancing headers were brilliant and it wasn't long before his and Mills interaction were creating chances. The best opportunity fell to Mills when a flurry of quick passes saw him clean through, he decided on an early shot, hitting a fierce effort that smashed against the foot of a post and away to safety.
Romulus meanwhile were still looking capable of scoring themselves, their dimunitive number 7 had apparently made a few enemies amongst the Hereford fans in the original tie, getting drawn in and reacting to some comments from the crowd. He was boo'd from the off tonight and did little to suggest he wanted to avoid the role of pantomime villain, arguing with the ref, reacting to more comments from the crowd and then getting booked after half an hour for theatrically throwing the ball away. He could play though and most of Romulus's best moments involved him on the right wing.
Hereford had the best of the half but it looked like the teams were going to head to the dressing rooms all square. With a minute or two to go though, the dead lock was broken. Tristan Plummer was the scorer. I'd seen him feature last season for Weston Super Mare in a very entertaining mid winter 5-2 victory over Oxford City in the Conference South. After a bit of ping pong in the Romulus box, he picked the ball up on the edge of the area and hit a powerful shot past the keeper that cannoned in off the underside of the cross bar.
1-0 at half time. After a quick cup of tea from the refreshment stand (£1) I perused the programme (£2) some more. The highlight for me was their Ground guide for their next away game at Winchester. Most clubs programmes do these features but they are usually pretty bland affairs limited to directions, parking and ticket prices. This piece written by Simon Wright however highlighted the merits of an overnight visit, pointing out such local attractions as the science centre, named a few local pubs and most impressively named Winchester City's bar manager and revealed amongst other things that he sold Saxon Ale, a 3.8% pale ale at £3.50 a pint. Top effort Simon!
Time for the second half and Hereford were 2 up almost straight away. A long ball was played forward from the back, John Mills spun away from his defender, timing his run perfectly and raced through on goal. Having seen his effort come back off the post in the first half, he opted to take the ball in to the box, draw the keeper out and then coolly slotted it home with his left foot before celebrating with the delighted Meadow Enders.
The comedy moment of the match came shortly after. Big Mike Symmons received the ball with his back to goal on the edge of the area, he easily managed to out muscle the young centre back marking him and turned away with the ball looking to get a shot away, the young centre back lost his balance and on his way down to the floor stuck an arm out which appeared to pull one side of Symmons' shorts down. The Hereford target man continued to try and get the ball out of his feet but was now having to concentrate on pulling his shorts up as well. Meanwhile the Romulus defender was desperately trying to block his path, but was now on the floor so improvised by doing an impression of the worm dance in an effort to keep moving, head first in pursuit of the striker, somehow he pulled it off and another Romulus defender arrived to block Symmons shot and clear the danger.
The Meadow End, which Hereford were now attacking in the second half, was a delight to see and hear in full flow from my vantage point. A beautiful curved terrace, it was rocking tonight. Responding too, and adding to the excitement of the match. Bearing in mind tonight's attendance of 2,200 was quite low compared to Hereford's average so far this season, it must create some atmosphere when full.
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| Hereford attack the Meadow End in the second half. |
Romulus made changes and looked to get back in to the game. They clearly had quality and you could see why they hadn't been beaten this season, if anything they perhaps lacked a striker to make the most of the chances they created, but in truth they were not quite as good all over the park against a Hereford side that are very strong at this level. Jamie Edge added a third for the hosts just before the end to ensure a safe passage through to the next round.
Full time: Hereford 3 Romulus 0.
Due to a series of road works and the late kick off I made it home just gone midnight. A thoroughly enjoyable night though at a lovely traditional stadium. After years of hurt there is definitely a buzz around Edgar Street at the moment and it was great to be welcomed in for the evening. With a couple of Southern League South & West teams on my door step I will try and catch Hereford on their travels before the end of the season if I can't manage to get back to Edgar Street any time soon.
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