HEREFORD manager Pete Beadle has urged the Bulls faithful to stick with his team after they suffered a humbling defeat at Stourport Swifts on Tuesday night.

After Saturday's excellent 4-1 win against Dunkirk, hundreds of Hereford fans made the short journey over the Herefordshire-Worcestershire border to see the Bulls' first away game in the Midland Football League Premier Division.

But Stourport did not read the script and deservedly won the game 2-0.

"It's always going to be tough, it's still a new team and a lot of young players in it," said Beadle.

"We've got to make sure that we perform better for them because when they do come in numbers, we've got to perform for them.

"They will walk away disappointed and rightly so and, as I said to the players after the game, they will back and support you but expect commitment.

"But from one to 11 I don't think we had that, so they are quite right to have their opinions.

"We've got to man up and take it on the chin."

Beadle said he had no complaints about the game and Hereford got what they deserved,

"The most disappointing thing is they wanted it more than we did," said Beadlke.

"Credit to them [Stourport], I thought they were excellent throughout the night.

"They were sharper, brighter and wanted it more.

"If you don't it want it more than the other team then you're not going to get anything out if it.

"We didn't deserve anything and got exactly what we did deserve was to not get anything from the game."

The turning point in the game was a penalty awarded in the 37th minute.

Nathan Summers was deemed to have brought down Swifts winger Jamie Baldwin and was duly sent off.

"We were a long way away, lots of people around saying he got a touch on it and even Nathan said "I definitely toe-poked the ball away from him and as I did so, he fell over" but doesn't matter because we were poor up until then anyway," said Beadle.

"Yes, that changed the game, being a man short always makes it tougher but in the second half we dominated without really creating too many real good chances.

"Ben {Miller} had a good chance from the penalty spot but just missed it and their keeper made four or five really good stops, but as a whole I'm really disappointed in the way we played and the way we got about the game.

"You can prepare and do all the work on the training ground but as soon as they cross the white line, it's up to them.

"Sometimes you can get away with it if one or two aren't at the races but from one to 11 we weren't at the races."

The penalty was dispatched by Ben Maund, with Joe Phillips sealing the win eight minutes from time.

Hereford are again on the road this Saturday when they face Highgate United, who have won their opening two games.

Beadle said Hereford cannot afford to lose the game, but knows it will be tough.

"All this talk about not losing a game and winning by four or five every week doesn't happen," he said.

"At the end of the day it's 11 v 11 and when you go out on the pitch, your 11 has to want it more than their 11 and we didn't.

"As the games on, you would like to think that we'll get better but we've had two games that we haven't clicked yet.

"We got away with it on Saturday but not on Tuesday.

MATCH FACTS

Hereford: Rivers, Kontic-Coveney, Edwards, Birch (Hughes 76), James, Summers, Miller (Page 64), Purdie, Mills, Haysham, Wheatley (Haines 39).

Subs not used: Lee, Gwynne.

Stourport: Richards, Hanson, Hyde, Robinson, Willets, Wollacot, Hurrell, Hill (Dean 86), Maund, Phillips (Rogers 86), Baldwin (Hickman 82)

Subs not used: Bailey, Wager.

Sent off: Hereford – Summers, professional foul, 37.

Referee: Andrew Ellis.

Attendance: 1,321.