31-12-22. Match preview Vs Hereford FC

Preview: Phil Lench

The Harriers will be going all out to get their first double over Hereford FC/Utd since the 1998-99 season tomorrow. On Boxing Day 1998 we won 1-0 at home through a goal from Wayne Thomas and then in the New Year we beat them 3-1 down there with two goals from Steve? Taylor and then the third from the infamous Leroy May. I vaguely remember being there in the freezing cold too numb to take it all in.

Back to the present and last Monday the Harriers recorded their first win at Hereford since 2012 when a Jack Bearne goal gave us the points in a far from enthralling game. It could have been two if a speculative Ashley Hemmings cross/shot had gone in but that was tipped over by the Hereford keeper, Dale Eve. The Bulls showed very little and failed to really test Tom Palmer in the Harriers goals apart from routine ball collections and complaining about his time wasting. Then again so did we.

It was a shame that it was seen by so few Harriers fans with only just over 550 there when, if we had been having a better season, there would have been far more than that figure. Hereford will be expected to bring around the same number to us tomorrow even though they’re having an equally poor season.

We should be at full strength once again and should be able to start the game with Shane Byrne and Joe Leesley, this time, after they turned up late at Hereford, through no fault of their own, and had to make do with a place on the bench. Although he didn’t even make the bench Tom Leak won’t be available to us after he joined Alfreton Town on a months loan on Thursday.

Whether the Man of the Match Kai Lissimore gets a start could be interesting after he was chucked in at the deep end on Monday but turned in a solid showing despite that including a superb through ball setting up Bearne to score.

Hereford will probably make a load of changes following that dire showing but the manager, Josh Gowling, is not known for being the brightest spark and will probably go for the same infectivity again. Thierry Latty-Fairweather pulled a hamstring in the game so will miss out and is expected to return to his parent club Burton Albion soon. They do have other injuries but rather than listing them all again in here just refer back to my previous preview for Boxing Day: https://harriers-online.co.uk/khfc/24-12-22-match-preview-vs-hereford-fc/

So there we go. Let’s see plenty of you there tomorrow backing the boys in blue (again) and another three points. But most of all a long overdue double against that lot from the Welsh border.

Photo © KHFC

Teams:

Harriers from:

Palmer, Emery, Richards, Foulkes, McNally, Pearce, Margetson, Byrne, Brown, Lissimore, Owen-Evans, Leesley, Rogers, Martin, Freemantle, Bearne, Hemmings, Morgan-Smith.

Hereford FC from:

Eve, Visser, Tyler, Wade, Hodgkiss, Haines, Lilly, Pendley, Evans, Thompson, Rowe, Maude, Klukowski, Pinchard, Lloyd, Hanson, Thompson-Summers, Campbell, Holmes, Rus, McLean, Storey, Barnett, Osidiko, Amadi-Holloway.

Referee: Mr Matthew Scholes. Telford

Talk about the game here

Links to Hereford FC websites here

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