It was a spirited performance from a young bulls side who eventually fell short in Kington by a 5-2 score line.
Hereford named a side consisting of the Under 18 squad and first team goalkeeper Ollie Lewis for the HFA County Cup tie.
The game kicked off in freezing conditions as both teams tried to settle in with Kington looking the more likely to break the deadlock.
Hereford’s McGowan looked the liveliest in the early stages with a few darting and waving runs down the right flank.
Hereford came close to the opener just before the ten minute mark as a defence splitting ball from Tolley found McGowan whose effort whistled just wide of the left post.
However, 13 minutes in Kington’s height prevailed as Pemberton met a flick on from a throw in to lift it over Lewis into the net.
Kington’s momentum continued as Parry reacted first to another long throw which was well blocked by Jones who showed a very encouraging performance in the Bulls’ midfield.
Kington thought they found their second when a long throw caused chaos in the box with the ball eventually finding Parry, but his finish was flagged by the official deeming him offside.
Another Kington opportunity went begging just before the half an hour mark as Briggs’ header from a deep free kick forced Lewis off his line, but as the ball fell to Watkins, he skied the opportunity.
A spell of possession for the Bulls followed, but the young side struggled to unlock a strong Kington defence who were alert to a number of final balls.
Just before half time, Kington captain Rucklege doubled the hosts lead. A long throw found Briggs’ head again and as the ball made it’s way the skipper, he hammered home into the top of the net.
HT: Kington 2-0 Hereford
Kington started the second half where they left off with Hereford conceding a few free kicks inside their half with Lloyd receiving a booking.
Just before the hour, Jones’ ball over the top found Tolley who slotted past Williams into the far corner as Hereford grabbed one back.
However, Kington restored their 2 goal advantage with just over 20 minutes to go. The ball deflected off a Hereford defender to find Wickham whose powerful effort beat Lewis at the near post. Lewis was shortly replaced due to a suspected injury.
With just over 10 minutes to go, Kington started to dominate proceedings with a few half chances not troubling the Hereford substitute keeper, until Rucklege grabbed his second from a corner rising highest and heading past the keeper.
Kington added a fifth in the 86th minute as Parry broke free down the right hand side, placing his finish into the far corner.
Hereford grabbed a consolation just before the end as Bevan’s pull back down the left hand side found Hereford’s Secker-Howe who placed a well taken finish into the top right corner.
TEAMS:
Hereford
21 Lewis
7 Sahabi
2 Antoniuk
22 Metcalfe
4 Lloyd
14 McGowan
11 Tolley
6 Purvin
10 Jones
18 Dinsdale
8 Bevan
Subs: Mills, Corbett, Warner, Mayo-Evans, Secker-Howe
Kington
1 Williams
2 Davies
3 Briggs
4 Pemberton
5 Weale
6 Rucklege
7 Wickham
8 Watkins
9 Gittoes
10 Robinson
11 Parry
Subs: Goodwin, Thomas, Nielsen, Clarke, Winter
