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Preview: Grimsby v Hereford

By: Kevin Dolan
Date: 06/10/2006

AFTER a welcome nine day break since the draw at Darlington, Grimsby Town return to Blundell Park this Sunday to face Hereford United live in front of the Sky TV cameras aiming to put the last two disappointing home games behind them.

Home > 2006-2007 Season > Previews > Hereford (h)


Due to the England match on Saturday afternoon there are League 2 games scattered all over the weekend and, if Boston and Stockport both avoid defeat, Town will start Sunday's match third from bottom.

The Opposition

Overview
After relegation from the league at the end of the 1996/97 season, Hereford finally made it back up last season when they defeated Halifax Town 3-2 in the Conference play off final. The Bulls finished last season losing only one of their last 19 games and have made a reasonable start to their first season back with five wins, one draw and six defeats.

Graham Turner is one of the longest serving managers in the country and took over at Edgar Street in the summer of 1995. Despite relegation in 1997, he was backed to stay on and became the majority shareholder in the club soon after, steering the club through a difficult financial period. After a number of years struggling in the Conference, Turner eventually began to turn the team around and they finished 2nd in 2004, 2005 and 2006 before finally winning the play offs at the third attempt.

Their Squad
Hereford currently lie in 13th place and are four points ahead of Town; although their home form accounts for 12 of their 16 points, and since the opening day win at Stockport they have only managed one point in their following five away games. After a slightly inconsistent start, the Bulls have recently begun to employ a 3-4-1-2 formation

After 10 years at Chester, popular 'keeper Wayne Brown spent last season on loan with Hereford and then made the move permanent over the summer. Malawian defender Tamika Mkandawire has been an almost ever present over the last two seasons and contributed 8 goals to the promotion campaign. Up front is one time Town target Tim Sills (left) who moved from Oxford in the summer, but has only one goal to his credit so far. Alongside him is their joint top scorer Stuart Fleetwood who has netted 5 goals so far this season, although he hasn't scored since his hat-trick eliminated Coventry in the 1st Round of the Carling Cup.

Key Player
Captain and all round midfielder Rob Purdie is the longest serving player at Edgar Street and after arriving from Leicester in 2002 as a youth player has firmly established himself, missing only one game of last season’s campaign. He is also the club’s joint top scorer with 5 penalties to his name this season.

Recent Form

TownHereford
DDarlington(a)2-2
LHartlepool(h)1-4
LStockport(h)0-1
WChester(a)2-0
LRochdale(a)0-1
Currently 19th in League Two.
WMacclesfield(h)1-0
LBristol R(a)1-2
LWrexham(a)0-1
LLeicester(h)1-3 (cup)
WBury(h)1-0
Currently 12th in League Two.

Top Scorers

TownHereford
Peter Bore4
Fleetwood5
Purdey4

Team News

TownHereford

  • With no fresh injury worries, Town should be able to field the same team that salvaged a draw at Darlington.

  • Isaiah Rankin is now back in training after missing three games with a thigh strain and should be available for selection although is likely to be on the bench. Gary Harkins could also come into contention after running out for the reserves during the week.

  • Centre Back Andy Butler has joined on a one-month loan deal from Scunthorpe in order to gain some match-fitness after a long time out with injury; whilst James Lawson has cut short his loan period and returned to Southend.
  • The visitors have an almost full strength squad to choose from. Striker Andy Williams is likely to be sidelined with tonsillitis so Tim Sills is in place for a recall after being dropped for the victory over Macclesfield.
  • Probable Teams

    TownHereford
    1Phil Barnes
    2John McDermott
    6Justin Whittle
    5Nick Fenton
    20Gary Croft
    18Peter Bore
    12Ricky Ravenhill
    8Paul Bolland
    10Ciaran Toner
    27Tony Thorpe
    19Gary Jones
    1Wayne Brown
    28Dean Beckwith
    5Tamika Mkandawire
    17Martyn Giles
    18Trent McClenahan
    4Richard Rose
    6Rob Purdie
    2Simon Travis
    12Alan Connell
    10Stuart Fleetwood
    9Tim Sills

    Subs

    TownHereford
    TBAAndy Butler
    11Peter Beagrie
    16Danny Boshell
    7Isaiah Rankin
    26Andy Taylor
    23Phil Gulliver
    14Glyn Thompson
    TBALuke Webb
    20Alex Jeannin
    8Andy Ferrell

    Head to Head

    Town have a terrible record against Hereford, having beaten them just three times out of 12 matches. Grimsby have a better record against Man Utd, Chelsea and Tottenham than they do against the Bulls.

    P 12 W 3 D 3 L 6 F 12 A 17

    Hereford Head-to-Head (92nd on The Opposition Ladder)

    Last Meeting

    The last time Hereford visited Blundell Park was way back in September 1989 when the visitors recorded a 2-0 victory over the Mariners.

    Grimsby Team: Sherwood, McDermott, Stephenson, Tillson, Lever, Cunnington, Childs, Gilbert, Rees, Watson, Birtles

    Town did manage to gain revenge with a Gary Childs strike earning a 1-0 victory at Edgar Street the following March on their way to promotion from Division 4.

    Prediction

    Town 2-1 Hereford

    Reader's POMs

    Directions

    Click on the link for directions to Blundell Park (left).

    Admission Prices

    Click on the link for ticket prices to Blundell Park.

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