Late penalty serves Bulls promotion body-blow

Kerr: Sent off

By Gregg Davies

Hereford United lost vital ground on the League 2 top-two as they conceded twice to 10-man Lincoln City at Sincil Bank

Scott Kerr’s first-half sending off appeared to have given United a crucial advantage but a Dany N’Guessan brace either side of a Gary Hooper leveller consigned the visitors to a fourth league defeat on their travels this season.

Graham Turner named the same 11 that started the stalemate with Bury, with The Bulls’ one enforced change seeing Sam Gwynne replace Stephen Gleeson – away on international duty – amongst the substitutes.

Hereford made a steady start spreading the ball around with confidence, but it was The Imps who threatened first. Ben Smith’s wayward pass allowed Lenell John-Lewis a free run towards goal, but his ambitious 25-yarder was well wide of the mark.

The visitors twice came close to netting an early lead from set-pieces, with Trent McClenahan picking put John McCombe at the far-post, who could only side foot straight at, goalkeeper, Alan Marriott from an acute angle, before Clint Easton’s in-swinging dead-ball narrowly evaded the onrushing Gary Hooper.

It was the Southend loanee who had an excellent chance to edge Hereford ahead after being released by Toumani Diagouraga, but the striker’s first-touch let him down allowing Marriott to rush out and block his goal-bound effort.

Hooper then squandered a second opportunity after a quarter-of-an-hour, lofting the ball over from eight-yards before the contest was disrupted by a blizzard blanketing Sincil Bank in snow, prompting the referee to call for an orange ball to be used.

Jamie Forrester forced, Bulls net-minder, Wayne Brown into action for the first-time after 20-minutes with a fizzing long-ranger that was straight down the ‘keeper’s throat, whilst at the opposite end Hooper was presented with a third chance to hand The Bulls the lead, but he saw his close-range effort blocked from Theo Robinson’s low centre.

Hereford’s fortunes took a turn for the better in dramatic fashion on the half-hour mark as Scott Kerr was shown a straight red-card for his part in a 50/50 challenge with Clint Easton.

But having committed too many players forward for the resulting free-kick, United were caught cold on the counter-attack, with Dany N’Guessan bursting forward, skipping past McClenahan and burying the ball low across Brown into the far corner.

The Bulls continued to pose a threat down both flanks as the snowstorm moved on, but despite some promising interchanges the ball would not fall kindly for United’s men inside the danger-zone, epitomised in first-half stoppage time when Richard Rose’s 20-yard strike took a wicked deflection but could still not beat Marriott who re-adjusted his body well to keep the ball out.

Hooper: Equalised

Lincoln began the second-period content to protect their slender lead with United camped in The Imps’ half during the early exchanges.

But, again, it was the hosts who threatened first on the break as, goal-scorer, N’Guessan was allowed to run from half-way but dragged his 30-yard shot wide.

The Bulls continued to pour forward in numbers with McClenahan sending a speculative drive from the corner of the penalty-area inches over the crossbar, before Simon Johnson cut-inside from the right-flank and curled a foot wide of the top-corner.

Ben Smith was next to try his luck, seeing his 20-yarder parried wide by Marriott with Hooper unmarked should the Hereford skipper had passed rather than shot.

But United deservedly restored parity shortly after the hour mark as Gary Hooper finally got on the score-sheet, latching onto Robinson’s astute through-ball and sliding the ball home.

One-way traffic ensued as Johnson blazed over from a decent position whilst Hooper’s 30-yard free-kick flew straight into the arms of Marriott, who then got down to smother a Dean Beckwith header from a corner.

But, as in the first-half, the 10-man Imps dealt a body blow to Hereford’s automatic promotion hopes with a rare foray forward. At the same time as MK Dons were grabbing a winner at Accrington and Darlington were clawing their way back from a two-goal deficit at home to Morecambe, Ben Wright was adjudged to have been impeded inside the danger-zone by Easton, allowing N’Guessan to score his second of the afternoon from the spot.

Despite this setback, The Bulls still would have left Lincoln with at least a point had Theo Robinson not been so wasteful in front of goal. The Watford loanee squandered three opportunities in the dying moments – the third of which side-footed straight at Marriott from six-yards – whilst John-Lewis came agonisingly close to bagging the hosts a third goal, but his 20-yard strike cannoned back off the bar.

Defeat sees Hereford cling on to the third automatic promotion spot by a single point from Darlington who could only draw 2-2 at home to Morecambe. However, the gap between The Bulls and the top-two has now widened to eight-points with both MK Dons and Peterborough recording 1-0 wins.

Johnson: Had chances

Lincoln City: Marriott, Green, Hone, Brown, Ridley (Moses 76), John-Lewis, Kerr, Clarke, N'Guessan, Forrester (Pembleton 31), Wright.

Subs not used: Stallard, Dodds, Duffy.

Booked: Hone

Sent off: Kerr (29)

Hereford United: Brown, McClenahan, McCombe, Beckwith, Rose, Johnson (Guinan 75), Smith, Diagouraga, Easton, Robinson, Hooper.

Subs not used: Esson, Gwynne, Taylor, Collins.

Booked: Smith, Easton

Attendance: 3,614 – 381 away