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SHREWSBURY (away - FA Cup) 11/11/06 Hereford and Shrewsbury will have to do it all again in the first round of the FA Cup, after a goalless draw at Gay Meadow. This could quite possibly by the last FA Cup tie to be staged at the Shrews home of 97 years before they move to a new stadium next season, and this game aptly matched its surroundings: dull, lifeless, and not a great deal going on. A scrappy encounter never looked like producing a winner, prompting a replay on Tuesday week. The Bulls were forced into three changes from last weekend’s victory at Swindon, with Richard Rose and Andy Ferrell replacing the cup-tied John Eustace and Neil Mackenzie in midfield. In attack, the much-maligned Tim Sills started in place of Stuart Fleetwood, and while the former Aldershot striker battled manfully he never looked like adding to the solitary goal he has scored this season. He came close ten minutes in but, having played a fine one-two with Andy Williams, he scuffed his volley just wide when it looked easier to score. Shrewsbury came close to taking the lead in an almighty goalmouth scramble, with a combination of goalkeeper Wayne Brown, a clearance off the line, and some poor finishing preventing the ball from entering the net. Rob Purdie was presented with a goalscoring opportunity from Neil Ashton’s awful backpass, but home goalkeeper Scott Shearer came out to block his shot. Despite being on the ground, Purdie somehow managed to flick the ball past the stranded keeper, only for Alan Connell to dismally fail to connect with Purdie’s pass. Even though they created more chances, the Bulls would have fallen behind had Shrews’ skipper Stewart Drummond not struck the bar from ten yards in what proved to be the best opening of the game. Likewise Derek Asamoah had a fine opportunity to put his side ahead; however, having got ahead of his marker his touch let him down and the chance went begging. Connell had a shot saved by Shearer, with the rebound from Sills being blocked by a defender. A second effort from Connell appeared to strike Jamie Herd’s arm, although it was definitely a case of ball-to-hand. Williams was next to try his luck, and his shot also hit Herd’s appendage: this time, referee Drysdale immediately ruled that it was not a penalty, having seen the incident on this occasion. Wayne Brown was largely untroubled throughout, as, although the home side created more chances after the break, many of the Shrews’ shots were charged down or sailed wide. Andy Ferrell in particular spent large parts of his afternoon clearing goalbound efforts, although this meant he was more conspicuous by his absence further forward. Neither Ferrell nor Rose can match Eustace or Mackenzie, the men who have replaced them in recent matches, in terms of creativity and producing chances for team-mates. Most of Hereford’s more intelligent passes came from Alex Jeannin, who had another fine game at left-back. Michael Symes - largely nullified throughout by Phil Gulliver, having scored the goals that ended Hereford’s interest in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy - shot into the side netting and Ben Davies twice shot over. The lively Davies was denied on other occasions by some calm, composed defending from Jeannin, with the Frenchman being less rash with his tackling of late. With the game drifting towards a goalless conclusion, there was a late flurry of activity as both sides chased a goal, eager to avoid a replay. Connell’s header was firmly on target and drew a fine save from Shearer, who also produced a scrambling save to deny Sills. Shrewsbury’s response was more direct, coming from corners and free-kicks, but the Bulls were able to deal with these without concern. Hereford created more chances throughout this cup-tie, but it was the Shrews that produced the more glaring misses. A 0-0 draw always looked to be the likely outcome, with both sides looking to Sunday’s draw safe in the knowledge they are both in the hat for the second round. Team: Brown, Purdie, Mkandawire, Gulliver, Beckwith, Jeannin, Rose, Connell, Ferrell, Sills, Williams. Subs not used: Thompson, Webb, Sheldon, McClenahan, Gwynne. Star man: Alex Jeannin
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