Hereford FC earned a hard fought point on the road in very warm conditions at Altrincham. Match report below from Official Hereford FC site.
The home side looked to make their mark early on, Jordan Cullinane-Liburd cleared from off the line from Jordan Hulme in the tenth minute following some hesitation as we looked for an offside flag.
Our hosts had the majority of early possession without seriously testing our back-line as we kept them at bay.
A neat move ended with James Poole firing well over for the home side whilst at the other end, Danny Greenslade linked up well with James Waite whose cross was cleared.
Matt Yates did well to tip over a stinging strike from Poole in what was the first real opening for the home side. Then an inviting cross saw Jak Hickman alert to clear.
As the home side turned defence into attack, a break from Poole saw him link up with Hulme who in turn found Yousifu Cessay but he was denied by Yates.
At the other end, Tony Thompson in the home goal was able to gather at the feet of Mike Symons but in truth it was only a half-chance in what was an opening period where defences were very much on top.
With Kyle Finn on at the break in place of Rowan Liburd, he was straight into the action as he looked to launch a raid but his ball in search of Symons was cleared.
Shortly afterwards Finn cut inside to make room for a strike which was well saved by Thompson.
The home side took the lead on 53 minutes when Poole was able to break away and as the referee played an advantage following a foul by Josh Gowling, for which he was later booked, he was able to find Hulme who fired the ball home.
Some good play out wide by Ceesay saw him twist and turn before crossing invitingly as the ball was headed over by Jake Moult.
After Eliot Richards was forced off having picked up an injury following a strong challenge in the middle of the park to halt a home raid, we were able to draw level as play resumed when Tom Owen-Evans was allowed to progress before he arrowed the ball home from the edge of the area to make it 1-1.
In the wake of the equaliser, Keiran Thomas tried his luck with a strike that was deflected wide as the resulting corner was scrambled clear.
The home side went close when Shaun Densmore saw his header shave the woodwork as Yates grabbed on to the loose ball following a teasing ball in from the left by Connor Hampson.
A break out wide by Callum Dolan ended with Gowling defending well as our hosts pushed for a winning goal as the clock ticked down.
We were playing our part in a keenly-fought encounter but despite the best efforts of both teams, it ended with honours even as once again we proved hard to beat.
THE BULLS: Yates, Hickman, Greenslade, Thomas, Cullinane-Liburd, Gowling, Richards (O’Sullivan 62), Owen-Evans, Liburd (Finn 46), Waite, Symons. Subs not used: Ezewele, Wharton, Wesolowski.
BOOKING(S): Gowling, Owen-Evans
GOAL(S): Owen-Evans
ATTENDANCE: 1,407.
