User:Pascopedral/2022–23 Hereford F.C. season

The 2022–23 season was the eighth season in the existence of Hereford Football Club and their fifth consecutive in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football. In addition to the league, the club also competed in the FA Cup and the FA Trophy.

Pre-season
Hereford went into the summer with just three players contracted for the 2022–23 season; Harry Pinchard, Ryan McLean and Yan Klukowski. A number of players featured in the previous season were offered deals with all but two accepting; Ryan Lloyd, Luke Haines, Miles Storey and captain Jared Hodgkiss. The previous season's top goalscorer Tom Owen-Evans and Player of the Season Ben Pollock rejected deals and opted to join Kidderminster Harriers and Boston United respectively.

The club's first signing of the summer was 36-year-old forward Tyrone Barnett, recently released by National League club Eastleigh.

The Bulls travelled to Hednesford Town on 9 July for their opening pre-season friendly, losing 1–0 to the Southern Football League Premier Division Central side. They then welcomed Arsenal U23 to Edgar Street, although fell to a 3–1 defeat in front of 2,456 fans, despite taking the lead inside the first minute through Barnett. The Arsenal team featured full Mexico international Marcelo Flores.

Heavy victories, both away, against Malvern Town (4–0) and Coalville Town (5–0) followed the Arsenal defeat, the latter including a six-minute hat-trick by then-trialist Lekan Osideko, who signed for the club the following month although only made three substitute appearances. A Cardiff City XI were then hosted at Edgar Street, who defeated the home side 2–0. The final two pre-season fixtures resulted in a 4–1 win away at former divisional rivals Alvechurch, with goals from Lloyd, Barnett, Osideko and McLean, followed by a 0–0 draw at Rushall Olympic.

On the eve of the opening league fixture, Hereford announced a trio of signings; forward Aaron Amadi-Holloway from League One club Burton Albion and midfielders Jethro Hanson from Leatherhead and Kane Thompson-Sommers, the latter of which featured for the Cardiff City XI that visited Edgar Street during pre-season.

August
Hereford opened their fifth consecutive National League North campaign with a 3–3 draw at home to Spennymoor Town, courtesy of an own goal and a brace of penalties from Barnett on his league debut. This was followed by a 1–0 defeat by Scarborough Athletic, newly-promoted from the Northern Premier League via the play-offs, in their first away fixture of the season. Hereford then got their first win of the season, quickly followed by their second, beating Chester 1–0 at the Deva Stadium and Buxton 2–0 for their first home win. This put Hereford into fourth place, however August was rounded off with two straight defeats. A 3–1 loss at last season's Southern Premier League Division One Central winners Banbury United and 3–1 at home to local rivals Gloucester City left the club seventeenth at the end of the month.

The first five matches of the season saw Hereford name an unchanged starting XI, with Hodgkiss, Thompson-Sommers and Storey dropping out for the Gloucester defeat.

September
September began with a 1–1 away draw against Alfreton Town, thanks to a twenty-fourth minute equaliser from Ryan McLean. Their next fixture against Farsley Celtic was due to take place on 10 September, however it was postponed along with many other English football fixtures due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Three days later Hereford travelled to Brackley Town and succumbed to a 2–1 defeat.

On 12 September assistant manager Steve Burr departed the club to join Hednesford Town as their new manager. 17 September saw Hereford's first match of the season in the FA Cup, a second qualifying round fixture at home to Bromsgrove Sporting. McLean's third goal of the season in the fifty-fifth minute secured a 1–0 win and a tie against Three Bridges in the next round.

September ended with two consecutive home fixtures. The first was a 3–0 win against Blyth Spartans, with Jack Holmes scoring on debut and McLean and James Caton getting two late goals to secure their third league win of the season. The final game of the month was a goal-less draw with Leamington.

September also saw Hereford experience somewhat of a goalkeeping crisis, bringing in three goalkeepers throughout the month, due to the injury sustained by Bradley Wade in the defeat to Gloucester. Initially Cian Tyler was brought in on loan from Coventry City, but due to a combination of his parent club preventing him from playing in cup matches plus being called up for international duty with Wales U21s, Hereford signed Harvey Wiles-Richards on loan from Bristol City. South African goalkeeper Dino Visser was then signed to replace Wiles-Richards, who suffered an injury in training and returned to his parent club.

Dover Athletic forward James Caton, Halesowen Town winger Jack Holmes and former Gloucester defender, scorer of the winning goal against Hereford last season, Jordon Thompson, all joined the club during September.

October
October was a successful month for Hereford, winning all but one of their six fixtures, including two in the FA Cup. The month began with a trip to Jubilee Field to play Three Bridges in the FA Cup third qualifying round, Hereford winning 3–0 with goals from Klukowski, Caton and Storey. On 8 October Hereford travelled to Boston United in the league and ran out 4–2 winners, thanks to a fourteen minute spell between the ninth and twenty-third minute in which Hereford raced into a 4–0 lead with goals from Amadi-Holloway, Orrin Pendley, a long-range strike by left-back Jack Evans and Tyrone Barnett with the fourth.

On 15 October Hereford travelled to Hayes Lane to face higher-graded opponents Bromley of the National League in the final qualifying round of the FA Cup. A free-kick from Harry Pinchard put Hereford 1–0 up after 53 minutes, however Corey Whiteley equalised for the home side. Hereford scored a ninety-second minute winner via defender Pendley to progress through to the first round proper of the FA Cup for the second time in their history.

Following the victory over Bromley, Hereford were beaten 1–0 away at Bradford (Park Avenue) in the league, Jacob Blyth scoring an eighty-fifth minute penalty. However, the month ended with two consecutive league victories, beating AFC Fylde 2–1 at Edgar Street through a Barnett penalty and Pendley's third goal of the month. This was followed by a 3–1 away win at Curzon Ashton, a brace from Barnett and a McLean goal ensuring victory at the Tameside Stadium.

Hereford's good form was recognised with manager Josh Gowling being awarded the National League North Manager of the Month for October, with the club ending October in fourteenth place.

Due to an injury sustained by goalkeeper Visser in the victory over Three Bridges, Hereford re-signed Cian Tyler on loan, quickly followed by former Spennymoor Town goalkeeper Dale Eve due to Tyler being unavailable to play in the FA Cup. At this point Hereford had used five different goalkeepers in the space of less than two months.

November
Unfortunately for Hereford, November proved to be in stark contrast to the previous month, winning only one of their six fixtures and losing the remaining five. This included being knocked out of both the FA Cup and the FA Trophy.

The month began with an FA Cup first round proper fixture against League One Portsmouth. The fixture was televised and broadcast live on the BBC. Despite taking the lead through Miles Storey in the twenty-sixth minute after a mistake by a Portsmouth defender, the higher-graded away side equalised seven minutes later and Hereford were forced to defend for the majority of the second half, eventually conceding to Colby Bishop (64') and Joe Pigott (80') goals, both headed in from a corner, leading to a 3–1 home defeat.

Looking to bounce back from their FA Cup exit, Hereford travelled to Kettering Town the following Tuesday but were beaten 2–0 by their lower-placed opponent. The next game however was a narrow 1–0 win away to AFC Telford, the goal from McLean after a goalkeeping error. Hereford then proceeded to lose their remaining three matches in November. The first being a 1–0 home defeat to Peterborough Sports, playing at this level for the first time in their history. This was followed by a 3–0 defeat in the FA Trophy second round away to Heybridge Swifts, a team playing two leagues below Hereford in the Isthmian League North Division. A very poor November was rounded out with a league fixture against Darlington and despite an improved performance from Hereford and taking an eleventh minute lead, were beaten 2–1 to end November in fifteenth place.

Former Aston Villa defender and Bulls loanee Callum Rowe rejoined the club for a second spell on 12 November, but only played two matches before being released. Australian defender Kody Maude was signed from Gibraltar side Mons Calpe to replace Rowe but only featured once, in the 3–0 FA Trophy defeat to Heybridge Swifts, and did not appear for the club again. Two players were also signed on loan; defender James Melhado joined from Salford City, and Ricardo Dinanga joined from Coventry City. Dinanga rarely featured, appearing only three times off the bench, but Melhado impressed during his three-match spell that was cut short due to injury.

December
At the start of the month, Hereford brought in Coventry City's Romanian youngster Marco Rus on loan. December proved to be an equally difficult month on the pitch, failing to register a win, although did only play three matches with three further fixtures postponed due to frozen pitches. The month began on the field with a 2–1 away defeat to King's Lynn Town. Hereford took the lead in the thirteenth minute through Barnett, but The Linnets bounced back and secured the win thanks to a Ken Charles equaliser in the sixty-second minute and an own goal by Bulls defender Thierry Latty-Fairweather in the eighty-fourth minute.

Three days later Hereford drew 1–1 at home to Chorley. Coventry loanee Rus put the Bulls ahead in the sixth-third minute of the match but former Hereford loanee Harvey Smith scored a ninety-fourth minute equaliser, heading in from a corner. On 9 December it was announced that forward James Caton had been released by the club.

Hereford's next three scheduled fixtures, away to Spennymoor Town on 10 December and home fixtures against Chester on 13 December and Southport on 17 December were all postponed due to a frozen pitch. Hereford did not play again until Boxing Day, losing 1–0 at home to local rivals Kidderminster Harriers in front of Hereford's biggest league home attendance of the season, 3,221. Liverpool loanee Jack Bearne scored Harriers' goal in the twenty-third minute of the match.

Hereford ended 2022 in seventeenth place and hadn't won a league fixture since 12 November.

January
January saw the signing of four players in total, three on loan, throughout the month; first Levi Andoh joined on New Year's Day, before Dan Jarvis (Gateshead), Colin Oppong (Salford City) and Thierry Latty-Fairweather (Burton Albion) all joined on loan toward the end of the month. Latty-Fairweather returned after his first loan spell earlier in the season ended prematurely due to injury. The month also saw goalkeepers Dale Eve and Seb Osment leave on loan to find game time due to the return from injury of Dino Visser. This also resulted in the release of former first choice goalkeeper Bradley Wade. Also leaving the club in January was defender Jordon Thompson.

On the field, the month began with a New Year's Day fixture against Kidderminster Harriers, the reverse of the Boxing Day fixture. Harriers again look a first-half lead, this time through Amari Morgan-Smith in the twenty-fourth minute, but Hereford equalised in the sixtieth minute through Andoh, returning to the club after a loan spell from Ipswich Town last season, the game ending 1–1.

The draw at Kidderminster was followed up with two 2–0 home wins. The first was against Scarborough Athletic, goals coming from Pendley and Storey, the latter merely seconds after the restart in the second half. The second 2–0 home win was the rearranged fixture against Farsley Celtic, originally due to be played on 10 September, Storey scoring twice in the space of three first-half minutes.

Hereford then travelled to Gloucester City but were beaten 2–0, both goals coming in the first half from Dominic McHale and Dara Dada. Hereford then travelled to Buxton and secured a 1–0 win through Kane Thompson-Sommers' fifty-sixth minute penalty. January ended with a pair of defeats, the first a 3–2 home defeat to Banbury United. Hereford took the lead in the thirty-second minute through Amadi-Holloway but Banbury scored twice in two minutes through Alex Babos and veteran defender Kelvin Langmead to lead 2–1. Orrin Pendley's fifth goal of the season provided a seventy-seventh minute equaliser but seven minutes later Langmead scored again to secure the victory for Banbury. The second defeat, the rearranged away fixture against Spennymoor Town, originally due to be played on 10 December, ended with a ninety-second minute winner from Paul Blackett for Spennymoor to secure a 1–0 win.

The Bulls ended January in fifteenth place.

February
Hereford had a busy February, playing twice a week, totalling seven matches including two rearranged fixtures, picking up three wins, a draw and three defeats. The month started with a 1–0 away defeat against Farsley Celtic, despite beating the West Yorkshire club 2–0 at home three and a half weeks prior. This result lead to the departure of manager Josh Gowling, who was replaced by player/assistant manager Yan Klukowski on an interim basis.

Klukowski's first match in charge saw a 2–0 home win in the twice-rearranged fixture against Southport. Originally scheduled for 5 November, the fixture was originally postponed due to Hereford's involvement in the FA Cup. The subsequent rearranged fixture was again postponed, this time due to a frozen pitch. A seventy-ninth minute Barnett penalty and an injury time goal from Dan Jarvis secured three points.

Hereford then failed to win either of their next two games, both at Edgar Street, the first being a 0–0 draw against Alfreton Town and the second a 2–0 defeat to Curzon Ashton. They bounced back with two straight away victories, the first a surprising 3–1 win at AFC Fylde, with Hereford going 3–0 up with goals from McLean, Amadi-Holloway and Barnett, Joe Rowley scoring the consolation goal for AFC Fylde. This was followed by a 1–0 win at Southport, Jack Holmes scoring the only goal of the game in the fiftieth minute.

February ended with a 2–1 home defeat against in-form Chester. The fixture, like the Southport home fixture earlier in the month, was twice rearranged, both times postponed due to a frozen pitch. Charlie Caton opened the scoring for Chester in the fifty-ninth minute before Latty-Fairweather cut inside from the left and curled in an equaliser in the seventy-fifth minute. However just two minutes later, Chester were back in front through top scorer Kurt Willoughby who held on for the win.

On 26 February it was announced that chairman Jon Hale had resigned from his role.

Due to Hereford picking up 10 points in March, the club ended February in eleventh place, however many teams around them had games in hand over them.

Due to the change in management at the start of the month, February did not see much activity in terms of playing personnel. Upon Gowling's departure, striker Lekan Osideko, who spent most of his spell with Hereford on dual registration terms playing for Redditch United and Mickleover, left the club. Dale Eve and defender Mark Derricott joined Hanley Town and Hednesford Town respectively on loan, whilst Hereford brought in Welsh midfielder Aneurin Livermore.

March
March began with the club appointing Kevin Phillips as their assistant manager, replacing Jared Hodgkiss who held the role on an interim basis after the departure of Gowling. A day later, former Bulls loanee and Bristol Rovers defender Jamie Egan returned on loan.

On the field, the month began with Hereford recording both their only goal and win in the entire month – a 1–0 home win over Kettering Town with the goal scored by Kane Thompson-Sommers in the second half. This put them within 4 points of the final play-off spot however those hopes faded after they went on to lose 3 of their next 4 games, failing to score a single goal. Hereford travelled to Chorley and despite a good first-half performance, conceded twice in as many minutes through Jonathan Ustabaşı and Connor Hall to lose 2–0. The following Saturday was a home fixture against bottom side AFC Telford United. The match ended 0–0, however Hereford goalkeeper Visser saved a late penalty. Hereford then travelled to Darlington but were comprehensively beaten 3–0, followed by a 1–0 home defeat to promotion-chasing King's Lynn Town, Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain scoring the only goal of the game in the thirtieth minute.

Prior to the King's Lynn fixture, it was announced that Hereford had lost two first team defenders; Levi Andoh, who decided to leave the club and loanee Thierry Latty-Fairweather, recalled by his parent club Burton Albion. Defender Sean Lawton was brought in on loan from Crewe Alexandra before the non-league transfer deadline closed on 23 March.

March ended with the club sitting sixteenth, 10 points off the final play-off position and 7 points above the relegation zone with 6 matches remaining.

April
On 1 April Hereford appointed Chris Ammonds as chairman, filling the role vacated by Jon Hale in February. The same day, the Bulls hosted Boston United, one position and one point behind them but only managed a 1–1 draw. They did however manage to break their four-match goal-less streak thanks to Ryan McLean's strike early in the second half.

Hereford then visited Leamington, occupying the fourth relegation spot, on Good Friday. Hereford conceded a sixteenth minute goal by former loanee Ollie Hulbert before Northampton Town loanee Liam Cross secured a 2–0 win for the home side. This result left Hereford just five points above the relegation zone with twelve points still to play for.

Brackley Town were visitors to Edgar Street on Easter Monday, resulting in an entertaining 2–2 draw. Brackley took an early lead through Callum Stead, before a Ryan Lloyd double put the Bulls ahead at half time. Lloyd could have had a hat-trick but for an offside decision against Hereford. Substitute Sam Smart equalised for Brackley eleven minutes into the second half. The game was noteworthy for a decision by the referee to award Hereford a second half penalty before reversing his decision after vehement protests by Brackley players and consultation with his assistant referee. This was the first time since 21 February that Hereford had scored two or more goals in a game.

Mathematical safety was then guaranteed the following Saturday with a 2–0 away win against Peterborough Sports, central defender Orrin Pendley scored his sixth goal of the season and Luke Haines secured the victory in the second half, leaving Hereford nine points above the relegation zone with two matches remaining.

On 20 April 2023, the club announced former Scotland international Paul Caddis as their new manager, in his first managerial role, and will take the reins from 1 May, after the final league fixture of the season.

The final home and penultimate fixture of the season was a 0–0 draw with Bradford (Park Avenue). The match was a must win for Bradford in their bid to avoid relegation and whilst both sides had chances to win the game, including a blistering start to the second half by Hereford, neither could find a way through. Hereford could have won it at the death as the Bradford goalkeeper came up for a corner, leaving an open goal at the Bradford end, but Hereford could not capitalise despite breaking down field from the corner.

Hereford's final fixture of the season was also the longest away trip of the season – Blyth Spartans. Blyth needed to win to have any chance of avoiding relegation and duly delivered, inflicting Hereford's heaviest defeat of the season and winning 5–0. Hereford finished the season with the same number of points as last season, but this time it was only good enough for 16th.

Matches
The league fixtures were announced on 6 July 2022, with the season starting on 6 August.

Source: Flashscore.co.uk

FA Cup
Hereford entered the competition in the second qualifying round.

Source: Flashscore.co.uk

FA Trophy
Hereford entered the competition in the second round.

Source: Flashscore.co.uk

HFA County Challenge Cup
Source: The FA

Appearance and goals

 * The plus (+) symbol denotes an appearance as a substitute, hence 2+1 indicates two appearances in the starting XI and one appearance as a substitute

!colspan="12" style="text-align:center" | Youth team players

!colspan="12" style="text-align:center" | Players who left during the season but made an appearance


 * }