The Bulls return to league action this Saturday as they travel to Derbyshire to take on Alfreton Town.
Hereford will be looking to get back to winning ways after they were knocked out of the FA Cup last weekend with a 3-2 loss to Bishop’s Stortford.
‘We’ve let the fans down and we’ve let the club down. We’re bitterly disappointed,” said Paul Caddis in his post-match interview.
Caddis’ side are also on a three game run without a win in the National League North with two 0-0 draws in a row against King’s Lynn and Spennymoor after a 0-1 loss to Needham Market.
Despite this, they still sit in eighth, just one point off the play-offs with only one loss in the league this season.
Alfreton have got off to a fantastic start to the season as they currently occupy fifth with four wins, the same number of draws and just one loss.
The Reds had a weekend off last week as their FA Cup tie with Biggleswade Town was postponed, before this their last game was a 0-1 win away to Kidderminster.
Billy Heath’s side are on a great run at the moment with 10 games unbeaten in the league and cup, with the last loss coming on the opening day when they were beaten 3-1 by Southport.
However, they have picked up a lot of draws recently and have only won one in their last five in all competitions.
The side from Derbyshire came close to promotion last season as they finished fifth on 80 points, although they lost in the play-off quarter-finals to eventual winners Boston United.
Hereford have had their struggles against Alfreton in recent years, with no wins against them since 2018, the travelling fans will be hoping that comes to an end on Saturday.
Team News
HEREFORD:
Jason Cowley continues to be absent from the squad after picking up an injury in pre-season and he has unfortunately suffered a setback with Caddis expecting him to hopefully be available in eight weeks.
Aaron Skinner has been for an X-ray for a possible fracture in his ankle and will be out long-term.
Alex Babos fell awkwardly in the replay against Ilkeston Town which caused his arm to swell and he still does not have full mobility in his elbow.
Preston Bitemo has suffered a suspected stress fracture, and if that is the case, will likely be out for the next 10 weeks.
Last Five
HEREFORD:
0-0 (A) Spennymoor 07/09/24
1-1 (H) Ilkeston Town FA CUP 14/09/24 (Yusifu Ceesay x1)
0-1 (A) Ilkeston Town FA CUP 17/09/24 (Adam Rooney x1)
0-0 (H) King’s Lynn 21/09/24
3-2 (A) Bishop’s Stortford FA Cup 28/09/24 (Ceesay x1, Andy Williams x1)
ALFRETON TOWN:
0-0 (A) Darlington 03/09/24
1-1 (H) Scarborough 07/09/24 (Billy Fewster x1)
0-0 (A) Spalding United FA Cup 14/09/24
1-1 (H) Spalding United FA Cup Replay (4-3 Pens) 17/09/24 (Billy Whitehouse x1)
0-1 (A) Kidderminster 21/09/24 (OG x1)
One to Watch
Jed Abbey (ALFRETON TOWN):
The midfielder has started this season in fine form for Alfreton with five goals in nine appearances in the league so far. Abbey may be familiar to Hereford fans after he came off the bench to score for South Shields against the Bulls last season. He has not scored in the last three league games, before that he had scored five in six, Heath will be hoping he can return to goal-scoring ways.
Head-2-Head
Hereford 3-3 Alfreton 12/03/24 (National League North)
Alfreton 3-1 Hereford 24/10/23 (National League North)
Hereford 0-0 Alfreton 11/02/23 (National League North)
Alfreton 1-1 Hereford 03/09/22 (National League North)
Hereford 1-2 Alfreton 02/04/22 (National League North)
