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TORQUAY (home) 09/12/06 Hereford extended their winless league run to four matches after failing to overcome relegation-battling Torquay at Edgar Street. Alex Jeannin was the unlikely goal hero as the Bulls fought back to equalise having fallen behind in the first few minutes, but the main talking points centred on two penalty awards. The first saw Gulls keeper Nathan Abbey save from Rob Purdie, with the visitors having a spot-kick of their own ‘unawarded’ in a farcical incident that encapsulated the match as a whole. The first moment of farce saw Torquay take the lead just two minutes into the contest. Lee Andrews’ throw into the box somehow reached Stevland Angus, and the midfielder managed to turn past his marker before his weak effort appeared to take a deflection as it bobbled past Wayne Brown and into the net. Having taken the lead, Torquay were happy to sit back and hit Hereford on the counter attack. Their tactics worked a treat. The Bulls became panicky and inaccurate with their passing as their opponents worked tirelessly to close their men down, not giving Hereford the opportunity to create anything as the match descended into a scrappy contest. Tim Sills directed a header wide before having the first shot on target, which was easy enough for Abbey to deal with. Abbey was similarly untroubled by Neil Mackenzie’s daisycutter as anything Hereford created was from distance. The Gulls keeper did, however, have greater trouble dealing with crosses. Having missed one ball into the box, Abbey was grateful to see Alan Connell have his header cleared off the line. The visiting custodian flapped again from the resulting corner and, sensing Abbey’s trouble from crosses, it was no surprise that Hereford equalised from a ball into the box from the right wing. Purdie created the goal, with his low cross picking out Jeannin at the back post. The Frenchman initially attempted to volley the ball in, but instead teed himself up perfectly to slot the ball past Abbey for his first goal in almost a year. That one came against another Devon side, namely Exeter, in December last year. One point was the limit of Torquay’s ambitions, with the second half mostly one-way traffic in terms of goalscoring opportunities. Not that many were forthcoming, as the Gulls stuck to their gameplan of frustrating the home side and hitting them on the break. This approach almost brought them a goal when Jordan Robertson intercepted Mackenzie’s poor pass to Tamika Mkandawire. The on-loan striker easily beat the displaced Mkandawire and raced towards goal, only to have his shot deflected inches wide by Phil Gulliver. Abbey pushed away a Dean Beckwith header after the Bulls won a corner within seconds of the restart, with a follow-up effort hitting a defender. Any shots Hereford could muster went straight to the goalkeeper, as if ball and keeper had been magnetised in some way. Indeed, the only time Abbey had a good save to make was on the hour from Purdie’s penalty. Substitute Andy Williams’ cross picked out Jeannin - more by luck than judgement as the pass was over hit - on the opposite side of the penalty area. The full-back then crossed the ball back into the danger area, where former Gulls striker Connell was bundled over as he jumped for the ball. Purdie placed his kick to the left, but Abbey dived across and turned the ball behind for a corner. The second penalty award came ten minutes from time and summed up the questionable refereeing of Gary Sutton. A ball into the box was chased by Torquay’s Chris McPhee, only for him to trip over the outstretched leg of his strike partner Carl Motteram, who had gone for the same ball. Incredibly, Sutton awarded a penalty, despite the nearest Hereford defender, Dean Beckwith, being at least two yards away. After consulting his linesman however, and amidst furious protests from Hereford players and staff, the referee changed his mind and ordered a drop-ball. Motteram eventually managed to get a shot away, but it was comfortably saved by Brown. Clearly riled by the decision, Hereford went back on the attack as Torquay retreated into their collective shells still further. Another replacement, Luke Webb, had a fierce shot blocked by Andrews’ desperate defending, before in injury time the same player wasted a golden opportunity, shooting narrowly over the bar from fifteen yards. As on Tuesday against Peterborough, this was certainly a case of two points dropped rather than one gained against a side that slipped into the bottom two after failing to win. The Bulls have scored just twelve goals at home in eleven league matches, and it is clear that it is this factor above anything else that is preventing Hereford from climbing higher up the table. Team: Brown, Purdie, Mkandawire, Gulliver, Beckwith, Jeannin, Eustace, Connell (sub Webb), Mackenzie, Sills, Fleetwood (sub Williams). Subs not used: Thompson, Travis, Ferrell. Star man: Dean Beckwith
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