TWO relatively new clubs - Hereford and Merthyr Town - will meet next season on an equal footing in the Premier Division of the Southern League, assuming all goes according to plan.

And while these two clubs have never met before in a league fixture, there will be plenty of echoes from the past as games between the two respective predecessor clubs, Hereford United and Merthyr Tydfil, linger strongly in the minds of many of the clubs' longer standing supporters.

Back in the 1950s, the two sides often used to battle it out at the top of the Southern League Premier Division, when that competition was, along with the Northern League, the top standard outside the Football League.

Merthyr in the years just after the Second World War, were a top side in non-league circles.

In the five seasons from 1949-50 to 1953-4, they were Southern League champions four times without really having a sniff of a chance of being elected to the Football League in those days long before automatic promotion.

Hereford were runners-up to Merthyr in 1950-1 and must have been pleased with their very impressive goal tally of 110 from 44 games, except that Merthyr scored an extraordinary 156.

From the mid-1950s, however, Merthyr's star began to wane and they found themselves more often than not in the second tier of the Southern League with only the very occasional return to the top flight.

By the early 1970s, they were very much Hereford United's poorer cousins but the two clubs were matched once again in the Bulls' first season in the Football League when the Welsh Cup draw brought the men from Penydaren Park along the A465 to Edgar Street for a quarter-final tie.

There was more than a little spice added to the tie by the presence of the great John Charles, by now player-manager at Merthyr after laying the foundations of the famous Hereford Giantkillers side which had won the coveted League place.

Charles, once voted the best player in the world in two positions - centre-half and centre-forward - was now 41 and grey hair had replaced the familiar blonde locks.

But, despite his age, he was still a formidable opponent as the Bulls were about to discover.

Wearing the purple number 10 shirt, Charles played as a sweeper and hardly allowed the Hereford attack, which included Eric Redrobe, Brian Owen and George Johnston - occasionally joined for set-pieces by the towering threat of Billy Tucker - a kick as the visitors escaped with a goalless draw.

Granted, there was the presence of another former Wales international, Mel Nurse, and plenty of other experienced performers in the Merthyr side, but it was Charles who continually caught the eye with his expert positional play and seemingly undimmed heading ability.

"I did not expect that we would do so well," he said afterwards, adding modestly: "But all the team raised their game in containing Hereford."

An extraordinary crowd of 8,462 turned out to see the former Bulls hero perform and 5,196 returned the following week when the replay was again staged at Edgar Street.

On this occasion, Charles decided to lead the Merthyr attack and there was not to be such a happy ending.

Tucker controlled the game at the back for Hereford in much the same way as Charles had done for Merthyr the previous week and, although the Gentle Giant did get the ball in the net towards the end of a game which Hereford won 3-0, the strike was disallowed, much to his disgust.

There was a brief resurgence as Merthyr subsequently went on to reach the Conference for a handful of seasons, rising to finish fourth on one occasion. For some seasons, they were managed by another Hereford legend, Colin Addison, who had been in charge of the Bulls for that memorable Welsh Cup tie back in 1973.

But it was a gradual downward spiral and the club was eventually liquidated in 2010 to allow Merthyr Town to begin a rise through the pyramid.

Now, the man in charge at Penydaren Park is another former Hereford United favourite, Gavin Williams who honed his trade at Edgar Street before going on to the top level and gaining international caps of his own.

No doubt, he will be looking for the sort of memorable impact his great predecessor achieved all those years ago when the sides meet at Edgar Street next season.