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STEVENAGE (away) 02/05/05 Danny Carey-Bertram's wonder goal wasn't enough to give Hereford a crucial advantage over Stevenage Borough in the first leg of the Conference play-off semi-final, as a late goal from the home side saw the game drawn. Unsurprisingly, the first half of this encounter was a nervous one, with few clear-cut chances being created at either end. The two defences were on top for much of the opening period, with Hereford strikers Lee Mills and Adam Stansfield seeing little of the ball. Home goalkeeper Alan Julian had little to deal with: Mills did well to turn defender Ronnie Henry before firing just over the bar, before Julian was rescued by the referee, who š probably wrongly š judged that the keeper had been fouled before Stansfield fired just over. Stevenage created more opportunities, but again few of them were on target. Craig Mawson did well to hang on to an effort from distance that bobbled along the corrugated pitch, but Anthony Elding had the best chance of the half when his twenty-yard shot flew inches wide. After the interval, there was more impetus about Hereford's attacking play, and they should have taken the lead just minutes after the restart. Ryan Green's cross picked out Stansfield, whose initial effort was blocked, but the rebound fell invitingly for Rob Purdie, who fired over a gaping goal from ten yards. After this initial period of pressure however, Stevenage continued to carve open the greater number of chances, with Elding missing the target with a header and Dannie Bulman doing likewise with a shot. Stevenage felt that they should have had a penalty when Jon Nurse thought he had been fouled by Green, but television replays showed that the former Welsh international had clearly won the ball. Shortly afterwards, Nurse was replaced by George Boyd, who went on to cause numerous problems for the visiting defence with his pace and trickery. Another substitute, Carey-Bertram, had a far greater impact when he eventually joined the fray in place of the struggling Lee Mills. On 74 minutes, he received the ball, shimmied past a defender and fired a shot from thirty yards into the net for his fourteenth goal of the season. Having taken the lead, Hereford were happy to take their foot off the pedal, and Julian in the home goal was not troubled for the rest of the match. Even after a couple of warnings š with Darryn Stamp and Elding, again, firing wide š it looked as though United were going to hold out for a crucial first leg lead. However, with four minutes remaining, Jon Brady received the ball in acres of space on the right, and his perfect cross was met by the head of Dino Maamria, whose header gave Mawson no chance at all. Stevenage now looked for a second goal that would give them an advantage, but could not get past the Hereford defence. On the balance of play, the equaliser was probably deserved, but even so Hereford will feel aggrieved to have conceded so late on in the match. Stevenage appeared happy to lump the ball forward, with most of the football coming from United. Former Stevenage player Simon Travis was prominent in most of Hereford's attacks with his work rate, but it was the defenders from both sides that were challenging for the man-of-the-match award. Once again, Andy Tretton and Tamika Mkandawire were excellent at the back, and at the other end Jason Goodliffe did an excellent job of containing Mills and Stansfield. Even the pace of Carey-Bertram did not have him unduly worried. Although this was not a bad performance by the Bulls, an improvement will have to be made before the second leg at Edgar Street on Friday. Team and ratings: Mawson (7), Green (7), Tretton (8), Mkandawire (7), Robinson (7), Travis (8) (sub D. Williams (4)), Stanley (7), Pitman (7), Purdie (7), Stansfield (5) (sub James (2)), Mills (5) (sub Carey-Bertram (6)). Subs not used: Scott, L. Williams.
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