WOKING (away) 01/04/06
Tamika Mkandawire rescued a point for Hereford with a last-minute header at Kingfield.
Despite looking threatening and seeing a lot of the ball, it looked for a long time as if this game was going to end in another frustrating defeat for the Bulls. It took until the second minute of injury time for the visitors to restore parity, and even after Mkandawire's goal an unlikely winner looked possible from either side in an end-to-end match.
The first half was end-to-end in the sense that both goalkeepers took it in turns to kick the ball all the way up to his opposite number, as the wind made a considerable impact on proceedings. Initially Hereford were playing into the wind, causing the defence some moments of panic, and Woking certainly used this to their advantage. Steve Ferguson showed plenty of application and running but often let himself down with his finishing, shooting wide when well placed and, having fended off the challenge of Tony James, chipped the ball over Wayne Brown but narrowly the wrong side of the post.
Hereford's passing was crisper and neater than that of the home side, with the central midfield axis of Craig Stanley and Robbie King inventive with their passing and strong with their tackling. It was Stanley who had Hereford's first attempt at goal, with a powerful header from Alex Jeannin's cross that struck the underside of the crossbar. The ball was half cleared, and Stanley has another go at goal, but this time his shot was gathered in by goalkeeper Shwan Jalal.
The wind continued to cause Hereford's defence problems: Brown had to come out of his area to head the ball away after it held up in the wind, before getting back to block a shot from Ferguson. The ball ran loose, and Steve Evans shot for goal with Brown out of position, but James headed his effort off the line. Evans' next notable contribution was to send a shot over the bar and into the car park when well placed to open the scoring.
On the balance of play in the first half, Woking deserved to take the lead and did so in first half stoppage time. Ryan Green was adjudged to have fouled Liam Cockerill just outside the area: from Karl Murray's delivery, Craig McAllister was left completely unmarked at the far post to head the ball past Brown.
Hereford made two early substitutions, with Dean Beckwith replacing James just four minutes after the restart, and Stuart Fleetwood making way for Adam Stansfield six minutes later. The Bulls had the better of the second half, with the wind now a help and not a hindrance. That said, United did not rely so heavily on long balls, preferring instead to get the ball down on the ground and pass it about.
The largely disappointing Daryl Taylor managed to twice work his way into the box before missing the target by varying degrees of inaccuracy, with his second attempt more worrying to Jalal than the first. The Cards' goalkeeper was not kept particularly busy despite Hereford having the lions' share of possession, as his two central defenders, former Spurs player Stuart Nethercott and in particular Tom Hutchinson, were in inspired form to thwart the away side's attacks.
Mkandawire had to be alert to make an excellent tackle on Ferguson as he looked to double the lead, but Brown was similarly underemployed between the posts for Hereford.
One last, final onslaught looked as if Hereford would fail in their quest to equalise. Stansfield's shot lacked the power to unduly trouble Jalal, before the Iraq-born goalkeeper made an excellent save to deny Andy Williams, turning his low shot around the post. Two minutes into stoppage time, the Bulls gained their reward. Ryan Green's superb cross from the right found Mkandawire - bizarrely, the only Hereford man in the Woking penalty area - and the defender buried a header past Jalal and into the net.
There was still time for nerves to become frayed, with Beckwith making a fine challenge to clear the ball under pressure from McAllister, and Hutchinson doing likewise at the other end.
This goal was Mkandawire's sixth of the season: a fine return for a defender, but worryingly it now means that only Andy Williams has scored more goals than him this season. Hereford can play as much attractive, passing football as they want, but they must start converting their pressure into goals. A play-off place looks all but secured, but it is that firepower that will be needed once the competition gets under way.
Team and ratings: Brown (7), Green (7), Mkandawire (8), James (6) (sub Beckwith (6)), Jeannin (5), Taylor (5), Stanley (8), King (7) (sub Pitman), Purdie (7), Williams (6), Fleetwood (5) (sub Stansfield (6)). Subs not used: Mawson, Nicolau.
Star man: Craig Stanley