LAST stop on Nicky Law's full-time circuit was Hereford, in what proved to be their final League campaign and "an absolute nightmare" for Law. "My manager at Chesterfield, John Duncan, said he couldn't guarantee me a regular place. I left a bit hastily and signed for Hereford on the understanding that I'd come in three days a week.
"When things started to go wrong it became six days a week. If we lost on Saturday we had to go in on Sunday. I was driving three hours each way from my home in Nottingham to do an hour and a half's training."
December 6th:
HEREFORD travel to Colchester but will be without the injured Ian Foster, who was one of the heroes of their first-round victory over Brighton, which avenged the defeat that cost Graham Turner's team their League status earlier this year
COLCHESTER 1 Hereford United 1 (report by Peter Povall)
Hereford's meeting with league club Colchester in the FA Cup was about the only left to keep any interest in the season. With the Conference championship looking out of reach and the FA Trophy yet to be started.
From the start Hereford looked dangerous and both Chris Hargreaves and Brian McGorry threatened the home goal in the first ten minutes by breaking through the soon to be reinforced defence.
Colchester took the lead after 10 minutes though with a well deserved move between Paul Buckle and Tony Adcock allowed them to release the ball through to David Gregory who played a beautiful chip shot over Andy DeBont. DeBont in fairness didn't stand a chance.
Hereford didn't give though and chased the game with confidence as again Neil Grayson pressured the home defence, in a formation which left him fighting primarily on his own.
He came close on a number of occasions and eventually got his reward in the 61st minutes when Hereford were gifted a free kick just outside the penalty area thanks to Colchester felling Chris Hargreaves. The following set-piece could be described as a work of art. The formation was laid out for one of Murray Fishlock's curling shots around the wall. But inside Gavin Mahon tapped the ball through to McGorry whose first touch slid the ball clear where Neil Grayson thundered onto it and quite frankly belted it into the back of the net.
Even if Carl Emberson had managed to get behind the ball, it would have likely carried him into the goal as well, considering the power that was placed upon it.
With the Hereford fans hearts racing the play quickened as Hereford looked for the winner but also came close to losing it, had it not been for the excellent efforts of Andy DeBont whose collected a number of corners and cleared a dangerous cross from the head of Mark Sale.
Hereford didn't get any further real chances and the resulting draw and replay at Edgar Street was the best they could hope for. Now all they have to do is maintain some form and take them with a home win.
December 8th:
HEREFORD United will entertain Tranmere Rovers if they win their replay against Colchester (which they did)
December 12th:
HEREFORD United - the financially troubled GM Vauxhall Conference club relegated from the Third Division last season - are hosting an auction this weekend to raise funds to safeguard their future.
Lots include signed first-day covers from Sir Stanley Matthews, signed shirts from David Beckham and Alan Shearer and a Scotland v Brazil programme autographed by Pele. The auction takes place at the Green Dragon Hotel in Hereford at 2.30pm on Sunday, with viewing from 11am.
December 13th:
FROM the Times:
TIMES are hard at Hereford United, whose creditors have become increasingly itchy since the club slipped into the Vauxhall Conference last season. So, Graham Turner, Hereford's director of football, hit upon the idea of an auction of football memorabilia to help to swell the ailing Edgar Street coffers. He has had a good response, too, with almost every club in the FA Carling Premiership contributing to the cause.
Everything goes under the hammer at The Green Dragon Hotel in Hereford tomorrow at 2.30pm (viewing 11am) and includes signed shirts from Alan Shearer and David Beckham, autographed first-day covers from Stanley Matthews and a Scotland v Brazil match programme signed by Pele. Even Graham Taylor, who did not enjoy the most cordial of relationships with Turner after he replaced him as manager at Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1994, has given freely. Taylor, now with Watford, has provided several mementoes from his days as the England manager. "Ladies and gentlemen, Lot 27. An autographed turnip."
HEREFORD United 2 Hednesford Town 1 (report by Peter Povall)
Hereford have been without a home league victory since the end of September and for the first half, this match did not seem like the turning point.
The domination of Hednesford Town's away form looked set to continue as Hereford struggled in the opening minutes. Hednesford Town, already with nine away victories straight, maintained most of the possession in the first half.
After just 12 minutes, Hednesford Town were forced to substitute Delton Francis as he retired with an injury. Tony Hemmings came out and immediately started to pressure the Hereford defence. He was rewarded for his efforts with a goal in the 31st minute after beating Richard Walker and driving a low shot into the far corner.
Tony Hemmings was lucky, however, to be on the field. He had previously made a vicious challenge against John Brough, which had the Hereford fans calling for the "Off". But referee Guy Beale was generous with the yellow card.
At half time, Graham Turner changed the tactics, withdrawing David Norton who has only recently returned to the field following his groin injury and Jamie Pitman. He replaced them with Gary Cook and James McCue.
Hereford came back out in a new formation with Gary Cook playing in midfield, and with James McCue and Gavin Mahon moving forward to support Neil Grayson. This change moved Hereford's game to a higher level with Neil Grayson getting more of the support that he needed.
Hednesford Town no longer dominated and didn't manage to maintain possession for any length of time for the remainder of the match. Indeed, Hereford's break came in the 58th minute when Murray Fishlock got a foot to the ball and finished it low and well clear of Cooksey, who simply couldn't reach with his dive.
Just 3 minutes later Neil Grayson rose to a superb cross from Gavin Mahon, who had already beaten 2 defenders and lobbed the ball across the Hednesford keeper, finishing with a very positive header.
The final few minutes of injury time caused some concern as Hednesford Town pushed forward desperately, but Hereford remained cool and got the 3 points they rightly deserved.
Dec 16th
The match before the penalty shoot out will be forgotten by history. It was a scrappy first half with neither side making any real progress towards a goal.
The second half was far more exciting with Steve Forbes striking home for Colchester in the 48th minute. All 91 of the Colchester support went mad while the ball was re-spotted.
Their celebration was to be short lived though as the game played down the wing with Hargreaves making a super cross for Neil Grayson to head in to equalise within a minute of the Colchester goal.
Pressure then passed from end to end as both teams made spirited attempts to score with saves being made by both DeBont and Emburson.
Full time came and the pressure continued throughout extra time until the inevitable happened with the referee blowing up to bring us into a penalty shoot out. Pridictions in the Meadow End terrace had expected this from the kick-off but worried fans were wishing for the return of Dean "Deano" Smith.
Hereford must have been expecting this as Graham Turner confirmed after the match that the team had been practicing penalties for an hour on Monday night to help sort out the taker's, the order and the aim of each shot.
Neil Grayson was the first man to step forward to face Emburson. His shot drove into the net to start the quintet to goals. Chris Hargreaves, Richard Walker, Brian McGorry and Rob Warner followed suit. Colchester also drove their first four shots past Andy DeBont who did manage to get his fingers to one of them. The dubious task of levelling the score then fell to Colchester's Simon Betts who had been brought on as a substitution.
His shot was low and to the left but Andy DeBont (Penalty Hero) made his dive at full stretch to push the shot past the post. The instant he touched the ball, fans were on the pitch to congratulate him. Simon Betts had fallen to his knees.
Hereford United were through to the third round which would bring Tranmere Rovers to Edgar Street.
Dec 20th:
WELLING 3 Hereford United 0 (report by Peter Povall)
Hereford United committed a mortal sin by giving their fans a Christmas present like this. Welling have become the first team to do the double over Hereford United this season, and few would have expected it before the season started.
Hereford were simply out-played by Welling, who are a physical side, as they fell to them. Hereford could however lay some of the blame on the FA Cup battle against Colchester earlier in the week, but this should not excuse their poor performance.
Hereford should have been leading after 16 minutes when Neil Grayson flicked on James McCue's cross leaving Chris Hargreaves to finish the job, but his effort was weak and the best chance of the game was cleared from the line by Paul Copley.
Jamie Pitman also set up a half chance when his run down the wing finally found Gavin Mahon who had his shot blocked.
A mere minute later, Mark Cooper, collected the ball some 30 odd yards out and drilled a shot which dipped at the last moment over Andy Quy to open the scoring. This was possibly a "goal of the season" contender in the Conference.
The second came in the 38th minute when John Brough failed to clear and corner and Leon Braithwaite, who was making his debut for Welling, finished the easy opportunity.
United almost managed to start a fight back when Grayson only half hit a shot straight at Glen Knight in the Welling goal.
Welling however denied all hopes with a third in the 75th minute when substitute Mark Watson nicked a cross from Dolby into the back of the net.
Overall, this was a poor performance by Hereford United and we can only hope they do better in the next round of the cup.
December 23rd:
A former Hereford United footballer accused of biting his wife's tongue when she kissed him at a dinner party has been acquitted of wounding.
A jury at Cardiff Crown Court took just 15 minutes to find 36-year-old Chris Pike not guilty of deliberately inflicting the injury on his wife Lesley.
Mr Pike, a former striker with Cardiff City, Fulham and Hereford United, told the court he instinctively bit down on his wife's tongue because she was choking him.
Mrs Pike, 35, needed 12 stitches in her tongue and another three to her lip.
He told the jury: "A goalscorer does everything by instinct. When she shoved her tongue down my throat I acted instinctively and bit down."
The court heard the pair are now divorced and Mrs Pike speaks with a lisp.
Mr Pike, who now plays for Barry Town and is divorced, had denied wounding with intent and unlawful wounding.
Pike joined the Bulls in summer 1993, leaving to join Gillingham in autumn 1994. He made 38 appearances and scored 18 goals whilst at Edgar Street.
December 26th:
KIDDERMINSTER make the short trip to Edgar Street to renew their rivalry with Hereford United. Harriers began 1997 15 points clear at the top of the Conference, and they still feel aggrieved that it was Macclesfield and not them who replaced Hereford in the League. This term their form has been poor - only five clubs are beneath them in the table - and they are desperate for a win today to revive their fortunes.
"It's a tough game," Graham Allner, Harriers' manager, said, "but Hereford can't be happy with their home form. If we work hard our fortunes should improve. The signs are there that we're turning things round." The sides meet again at Aggborough on New Year's Day.
HEREFORD United 1 Kidderminster 0 (report by Peter Povall)
The largest Conference home gate of the season (4,671) saw Hereford United gain another victory which they desperately needed.
Initially, the play had been scrappy at best, with Hereford continually playing the long ball forward which usually ended with them being beaten in the air by Kidderminster's sizeable defence. Why they persisted with this, when they could easily out-play Kidderminster on the ground amazed both myself and many of the home fans.
There where moments at both ends though during the first half as Ian Arnold (Kidderminster) was denied his goal for being offside. Andy Quy also made a couple of good saves to frustrate the visitors further.
Hereford also pressured the Kidderminster goal with both Brian McGorry coming close and Jamie Pitman having a cross almost turned into the net by a defender.
The second half brought much improvement, even though Hereford had Ian Rodgerson sent off for a second bookable offence.
Neil Grayson immediately replied in the 56th minute with a storming penalty following Richard Leadbetter (on one month loan from Wolves) being brought down in the box.
The pace of the game picked up from here with Kidderminster being further denied by excellent saves from Andy Quy who should be declared as man of the match. Neil Grayson also had a late shot pushed over by the Kidderminster keeper Darren Steadman.
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