It’s time for a bit of gubbage! Too much positivity on this blog, so far. It was the 1996/97 season and Hereford United’s previous season’s exploits had brought about a late run to the playoffs, where defeat to a Darlington side that included Robbie Blake over two legs sunk the Bulls 4-2 on aggregate. The resulting summer had seen top scorer and crowd favourite Steve White leave for Cardiff City and Nicky Cross, Tony James and Richard Wilkins all depart much to the dismay of our fans! Still, we dreamt of another assault on promotion!
We looked to be heading towards mid-table obscurity until a dreadful last few months put us right in the shite! Brighton, yes Brighton, had been docked 2 points that season for failing to control their spectators, which led to a couple of pitch invasions, they were in tatters on and off the pitch! I am sure they were about 11 points from safety come February, yet there we were in the last game of the season needing to beat them at Edgar Street or we were down! All week at school was geared around preparing for this! Let’s get up for it and smash them! I was still only 13 at that moment in time!
I have been to plenty of football matches with both Liverpool and Hereford that have had a special atmosphere. This was different though, there was a tension that was unbearable. The consequences of dropping out of league football and the financial losses made this a totally different kind of proposition! TV and media had built it as you would expect and the spotlight was firmly on the city of Hereford that day.
I was in a packed Meadow End (the kop of HUFC) and everyone knew the minute the whistle was blown at 3 pm, the countdown to win this match was on! A ticking time bomb! As the match started, the tension mounted to what I love to call fever pitch! A pressure cooker atmosphere! When Kerry Mayo diverted Tony Agana’s effort into his own net it went off! Hereford were one up and staying up! It was all terribly cagey still though and had spread to the players on the pitch, understandably! We got through to half-time looking the better side and just 45 minutes away from safety. We hadn’t been caused all that many problems but still, it’s was on a knife edge!
The second half continued in very much the same manner, until, in the blink of an eye, Craig Maskell’s attempt was only pushed on to the post by United keeper Andy De Bont, into the path of Robbie Reinelt, who scored on the rebound! It was at the Brighton end and understandably they were going mental! We had to find a winner or that was that! League status was gone! It was a lousy goal to concede starting from the moment De Bont had scuffed his clearance and given possession away!
The time flew by as Hereford threw the kitchen sink at the Seagulls, when Adrian Foster (bought in as Chalky White’s replacement) had a chance late on to snatch it! The Brighton defence somehow lost him in the last couple of minutes! He went straight at the keeper with his effort though and we knew our time was up! Simple as that.
I cannot really explain the feeling of relegation at the final whistle, it was something as a Liverpool fan I wasn’t used to and let us be honest when it came to Hereford it was always one of those ‘it will never happen to us’ kind of feelings! Gutted would not be the word! I can honestly say I have never seen so many men, women and children cry, as we all balled our eyes out on the Edgar Street turf, where many sat for time and some even longer! I remember sitting in the car with my best pal in utter silence after. Stunned! I think we both just wanted to get home by then and flee the scene!
Boss, Graham Turner offered his resignation in the aftermath but after talks rightly stayed on. I remember trying to console myself, thinking how we would go straight back up. It didn’t quite work out like that!
To be continued.
Andy Del Potro
The Gubbage and the Glory! 