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NORTHAMPTON (home) 22/10/02
Two absolutely abysmal refereeing decisions cost Hereford a place in the second round of the LDV Trophy, losing in extra-time to Second Division Northampton Town in an entertaining encounter. Hereford kept the same line-up that started against Halifax, although Steve Guinan was given a place on the bench. Northampton included former Hereford striker and waste-of-space Chris Hargreaves in the side as a left-winger. It immediately became obvious as to why Northampton are a Second Division club, since they took the lead in seemingly no time at all. A low cross from Derek Asamoah was tucked away by Jamie Forrester, without a Hereford player so much as touching the ball. After only ten minutes, the score stood at 2-1 to the Cobblers. Hereford levelled thanks to a comical piece of goalkeeping by Northampton stopper Nathan Abbey. There seemed to be no danger as Mick Galloway crossed from the left. However Abbey, who was destined to have a ‘mare between the sticks, dropped the ball straight to the feet of loan signing Chukki Eribenne, who slotted home from two yards. Northampton soon regained their lead however thanks to another slightly fortuitous goal, this time from Paul Rickers. A low cross was intercepted by Hereford’s Richard Teesdale, but his attempted clearance hit Rickers and went into the back of the net. Not long after, a similar thing happened, this time involving Marco Gabbiadini, but this time the ball ricocheted narrowly wide. Although Northampton continued to be a threat, Hereford also played some very good football and came close on a few occasions. Goalkeeper Abbey did not look confident at all, and was nearly chipped by Galloway. His intended cross dipped and curled at the last moment, and Abbey did well to tip the ball over the bar for a corner. The equaliser came after half an hour from that man Eribenne. Jamie Pitman’s shot was blocked, another effort was blocked, before the ball rebounded to the feet of Eribenne, who lashed the ball home from five yards. Eribenne thought he had completed his hat-trick shortly before half time, when Pitman’s long-range effort was fumbled by Abbey straight to his feet. Eribenne scored, only to have the goal ruled out by a very late offside flag. The half ended with Northampton’s John Frain narrowly heading over his own crossbar.
Hereford started the second
half the brighter of the two sides, and on several occasions threatened to take
the lead. A throw-out by Abbey landed straight at the feet of Eribenne, who
returned the ball back from whence it With twenty minutes to go, Northampton should have taken the lead. Firstly, Forrester somehow managed to hit the bar from two yards out, before the rebound from a similar range was blocked on the line by Andy Tretton. Hereford were creating many half-chances but often couldn’t find the final ‘killer ball’. Pitman and Galloway both had shots blocked, and Paul Parry had a shot turned around the post by Abbey. However, the referee chose to award a goal kick, although by this time it had become patently obvious whose side the officials were on. From a corner, Tretton should probably have scored, his header from six yards going over the bar. Eribenne had a shot from twenty yards, which just crept narrowly over the top. The pressure finally told when Paul Parry scored an excellent goal to put Hereford in front for the first time. Galloway intercepted a pass, and found Danny Williams. He then in turn released Parry, who took the ball past three Northampton defenders before firing past Abbey from fifteen yards. With only minutes left, the first of two pivotal refereeing decisions came. Eribenne chased a long ball out of defence, only to be flagged offside. This was despite the fact that not only was he in is own half when the ball was cleared, but there were no fewer than three Cobblers defenders stood the other side of him! The free-kick was pumped into the box, where the lively Asamoah rose to head the ball over Baker and in. Baker was unfortunate however, getting a hand to the ball. With ninety minutes gone, the scores were locked at 3-3, so golden goal extra-time loomed. Hereford continued to dominate, and substitute Steve Guinan’s cross was cleared only in the nick of time from fellow replacement Rob Sawyer. Six minutes in came the game’s major talking point. A pass from a Northampton player, intended for Forrester, was over hit, and Baker comfortably gathered the loose ball. With no Hereford defender within five yards of him, Forrester went down clutching his face as though he had just been picked off by a sniper. Incredibly, the referee decided to award a penalty; even the Northampton fans were amazed. Forrester than made a miraculous recovery and took the spot kick himself. Baker was again unlucky, getting a hand to the ball, but it wasn’t enough to keep it out. The match ended with the score at 4-3 to Northampton. Hereford will rightly feel that they were robbed – the match hinged on the two above refereeing decisions, with Northampton gaining from it. The Whites did well to deal with a very quick Northampton attack, with Asamoah in particular being a constant threat. However, at times the Bulls played some excellent stuff, and should they continue playing in this way they should have no problems against Arlesey in the FA Cup on Saturday. At least there's always the FA Trophy to fall back on. Hereford: Baker, Clarke (sub Sawyer), Rose, Tretton, Teesdale, James (c),Pitman, Williams, Galloway, Parry (sub Guinan), Eribenne. Subs not used: Griffiths, Purdie, Smith.
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