Hereford

Ground: Edgar Street

Visits: 1

Date: 20th April 2019

Match: Hereford - Telford 1-1 (National League North)

Attendance: 2 623

On Easter Saturday there are not many options in the top five divisions anymore. Only six Premiership games and Accrington v Luton in League 1 was on offer. I looked elsewhere and two games, both in National League North, stood out. Chorley hosted Stockport in a top of the table encounter and at Edgar Street Hereford hosted Telford. The game at Chorley was made all-ticket and with no on-line sale the decision was quite easy, Hereford v Telford for me. From my base in Birmingham it was around 80 minutes by a local train service to Hereford. I arrived quite early, around 11.15, and headed towards the city centre where I visited the cathedral and the river Wye. It was yet another glorious day in western England and temperatures reached 21 degrees during the afternoon. Shortly after noon I was looking for a nice pub or restaurant and at The Imperial I found a beer garden where I had lunch. They showed Manchester C v Tottenham on big screens and this time around City fans could celebrate.

Edgar Street is a lovely old-style English football ground. It was the home of Hereford United during their entire existence, 1924 to 2014. It is now the home of Hereford FC, a phoenix club formed to replace the former club. The record attendance is 18,114 when Hereford United played Sheffield W in the FA-Cup. Nowadays the Blackfriars End is closed and the official capacity is around 5,000. The by far most famous football match being played at Edgar Street is the FA-Cup match versus Newcastle in 1972. Hereford United were then in the Southern League (level 5 at the time) and Newcastle in the First Division. Hereford won 2-1 and Ronnie Radford scored one of the most famous goals in the history of the FA-Cup. On a quagmire of a pitch Radford scored a 30-yard stunner which sparked a pitch invasion. You can find the goal on Youtube!

My seat was in the Merson Stand and unlike yesterday I avoided sitting directly in the sun. Only those in the terraced home end had to endure the hot conditions I experienced yesterday. I was hoping for at least 1,500 to show up but being a proper club Hereford have a good local support. The official attendance was given as 2,623 (230 away fans) and for this level that is a pretty good attendance. On the pitch Telford are having a better season the Hereford and the visitors are currently in a play-off spot. Hereford started the better team today and after seven minutes it was 1-0 at Edgar Street. Not many chances in this encounter but Telford managed to equalize in the 2nd half and it ended 1-1, a fair result in my opinion. A lovely ground and fantastic weather, this was a great day out and I can really recommend a visit to Edgar Street. You won´t be disappointed.