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NORTHWICH (home) 28/03/05 Hereford notched up their first home win in over five weeks with a convincing 4-0 victory over struggling Northwich Victoria. The win was tempered however by the 64th minute dismissal of striker Danny Carey-Bertram, meaning the Bulls face two important matches with few attacking options. Northwich had a game plan to sit back and hit United on the break, and they frustrated the home side for much of the first half hour. Loan signing Daryl Taylor looked to cause the visiting defence some problems on his home debut with his dribbling, but often his final pass would be cut out by the massed ranks of the Vics defence. Carey-Bertram also used his pace to good effect, but again was unable to find the killer final ball. The youngster did get the ball in the net after ten minutes, but Adam Stansfield was flagged offside in the build up to the ëgoal'. Only once in the first half did Northwich threaten, when recent signing Chris Gaghan beat Andy Tretton to the ball and shot, but Tretton recovered well to divert the ball behind for a corner. The Vics' resistance was eventually broken when Rob Purdie dribbled clear of a defender, beat another man and put in a low cross that Stansfield fired across keeper Andy Ralph and into the net. In the ten minutes prior to half time, Northwich, and goalkeeper Ralph in particular, caved in and conceded two bad goals. Firstly, under pressure from Purdie, Ralph kicked a backpass straight to the feet of Carey-Bertram, who beat a defender before firing low into the bottom corner. Purdie also had a hand in the third goal, when his shot was initially blocked by Ralph, but the custodian lost the ball from his grasp. A defender, in trying to clear the ball, inadvertently hit Ralph in the head, leaving Stansfield to nip in and rifle the ball into an unguarded net for his 18th goal of the season. So badly had Andy Ralph's confidence been affected, that he did not appear again for the second half, being replaced between the sticks by Ben Connett. He did not have to wait long before facing his first shot, when he did well to turn the ball around the post from Jamie Pitman's curling long-range effort. Later on, he made another decent stop, fisting a header from Tretton over the bar. United dominated the second half up until the 64th minute, when Carey-Bertram was sent off for a ridiculous piece of violent conduct. Initially, he had done well to win a corner off Jon McCarthy, who felt that the ball had touched the Hereford striker last before going out of play. The two players ëhad words' with one another, before Carey-Bertram headbutted the former Northern Ireland international. The incident was missed by the referee but not by the linesman, and the young striker was swiftly given a red card. What makes Carey-Bertram's show of petulance even more unforgivable is the fact that Leroy Williams had been sent off in the previous match against Farnborough Town just three days beforehand for exactly the same thing. Both times, the two strikers were dismissed having actually won a set piece in their side's favour. Manager Graham Turner must have been furious and, realising that he faces two crucial matches against Stevenage and Carlisle with limited options in attack, elected to replace the hard working Stansfield, who deservedly won the man of the match award, with Lee Mills, in an attempt to give the veteran striker some match practice. From the resulting corner, Tamika Mkandawire glanced a header into the side netting. Having not been troubled for much of the game, Mkandawire and his defensive colleagues had to deal with quite a few attempts at goal from Northwich following the sending off. Fortunately, Northwich's finishing was even worse than their defending. Mark Quayle fired way over the bar from just inside the area, and Gaghan missed an absolute sitter, putting the ball high and wide from close range. Jonny Allan also shot into the Meadow End, and when the Vics finally did get a shot on target, Steve Garvey saw his strike hit the post before seeing the ball hacked to safety. Despite being a man down, United continued to create chances, particularly through Adam Stansfield. However, having done well to beat a couple of mean, he would often have nobody to pull the ball back to. It was after Stansfield's withdrawal however that the Bulls finally scored a fourth. Rob Purdie's free-kick was well saved by Connett, but the ball looped up invitingly for Mills, who had a simple finish for goal number eleven for the season. Having improved their goal difference significantly after ten goals in two matches, Hereford were happy to knock the ball about for the rest of the games. Andy Williams came on with ten minutes to go for his first appearance in a Conference, and the teenager showed some neat touches when given the ball. After a slow start, Hereford eventually found their rhythm and knocked in three goals in quick succession, which will boost the confidence of the strikers. It took them a while to break down the Northwich defence, but once they had there was only going to be one winner to this game. Northwich were probably the poorest side to visit Edgar Street this season however, so perhaps supporters should not get too carried away with the result. Worryingly, United now face two vitally important matches against sides challenging for a play-off position with only Stansfield, Mills, Purdie and possibly Andy Williams as attacking options. A victory against Stevenage next Saturday would see the Bulls leapfrog the Broadhall Way side and see Hereford into the top five for the first time since the beginning of February. The suspensions of Carey-Bertram and Leroy Williams could not have come at a worse time. That said, ten goals in two games will give Bulls supporters optimism that their side can get some positive results in the weeks to come. Team and ratings: Mawson (7), Green (6), Robinson (7), Mkandawire (7), Tretton (7), Taylor (7), Pitman (7) (sub Hyde (5)), Stanley (7) (sub A. Williams (4)), Purdie (7), Stansfield (8) (sub Mills (6)), Carey-Bertram (6). Subs not used: Travis, Scott.
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