Rovers Assets Fail To Beat Hereford

Two teams with divisional aims that are poles apart faced off at the Memorial Stadium, only to find that the gap was not so great after all. Bristol Rovers, installed as second favourites for the League 2 title by the majority of bookmakers, have their sights set firmly on an immediate return to the English third tier come May. For Hereford the task is to maintain Football League status, a feat achieved by a mere three points last season.

The Rovers squad looks to have it all, experience, youth, pace, strength and flair and under the stewardship of daring manager Paul Buckle, a man who took lowly Torquay United from the Conference to the brink of League 1, their fans have good reason to be titillated over their chances of promotion. Twice, too, they attempted to draw blood in the early stages against Hereford, the experience, Scott McGleish, finding the hands of David Cornell with the games first attempt before swiping a low drive across the face of the Swansea City loanee's goal upon being given the gift of space in the penalty area.

Much of the Bulls struggles last term figured around the lack of goals, just fifty in all in the league, Stuart Fleetwood the only man to make it into double figures. The additional captures, however, of experienced striker Delroy Facey, still able to pump his athletic legs across a football field at great speed, and Yoann Arquin, a powerful striker taken from the French lower leagues, had given hope of a change in destiny this time around. The Hereford faithful are still waiting for the wheel of fortune to turn.

Seven games into the season the Bulls have just a brace of goals to show, one apiece for Facey and Arquin, with just one of those strikes coming in league competition. If the West Midlands club are to up their goal tally this year then they will need to be far more ruthless in their finishing than shown in this display, Facey missing his side's only notable chance of the first half, heading wide from a Simon Clist cross.

Tuesday night saw both these sides in Carling Cup action, Hereford dropping out of the tournament after conceding two late goals at Villa Park. Rovers, on the other hand, shook up the already frail foundations of Championship Watford's season, finishing level at 1-1 after 120 minutes of football before hitting the back of the net on four out of five occasions in the shootout decider. The Bristolian's equaliser in midweek came via the right boot of top scorer Matt Harrold, proving, during the early exchanges of the season, to be Rovers in-form man.

The 6' 1" striker is a pivotal cog in Paul Buckle's engine room, responsible for taking the ball out of the air and onto the ground in preparation for further assault on opposition territory, and he proved to be the key man once again in sunny Horfield. It was the Londoner who had the best opportunity of all during the first period, his flicked header from a hurled Matt Gill throw in tipped onto the post by the scrambling Cornell, the Hereford custodian saving once again from Harrold at the start of the second half.

Despite the statistical dominance of the home side it was the visitors ranks that contained the afternoon's shining light, coming in the shape of Harry Pell, a young man who turned down the offer of a new contract during the summer reshuffle at Rovers in search of first team football, happening upon such an opening with Jamie Pitman's side. The former Charlton youth ran the middle of the park for the duration of the game, driving his side on and threatening a steadfast Pirates' defence when the occasion suited.

The luck that has seemingly deserted the Whites for much of the short duration of the season almost emphatically had a change of heart. Man of the match Pell slung in a cross from deep in the right hand channel that viciously whipped over the head of the stranded Scott Bevan who could only listen to the thud of the ball rebounding off the post as he fell backward towards his own line, the defenders in front of him finally clearing the threat.

That slice of fortune did, however, come to the visitors rescue with just seconds left on the clock as Rovers left back Lee Brown blazed into the Bulls penalty area, flinging himself head first at a cross from his namesake Wayne, his neck proving millimetres too short as the ball grazed off his forehead and into the advertising hoardings in front of the Blackthorn End, it's thousand inhabitants left to stand stunned, hands on heads, knowing that was to be the conclusion of the afternoon's quest for three points.