Hereford United denied victory at Oxford by bizarre Michael Duberry hat-trick (From Hereford Times)

Hereford United denied victory at Oxford by bizarre Michael Duberry hat-trick

9:20am Friday 27th January 2012

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MICHAEL Duberry did not have the demeanour of a man who would be pleased to be told that he was now Hereford United’s fourth-equal top-scorer.

The Oxford United centre-back had just written his own piece of history by scoring twice into his own net.

He then found the target at the right end in the final minute to complete a highly unusual ‘hat-trick’ which ensured that honours ended even.

Only Tom Barkhuizen, Delroy Facey and Yoann Arquin have scored more Football League goals for Hereford this season than the hapless former Chelsea defender.

Oxford were already a goal to the good when Duberry made his first intervention.

After Rob Purdie had seen a shot cleared off the line early on, Jon-Paul Pitmann was given too much space 25 yards out and sent in a shot which scorched past Adam Bartlett’s stretching right hand into the corner of the net.

But Hereford hit back on the half-hour when Facey sent Joe Colbeck away to deliver a fateful cross.

“The first one, we were attacking and Hereford broke out, crossed the ball and it looked as if I was going to get there but it spun away and came off my boot to beat Ryan Clarke,” said Duberry.

“I was a bit disappointed with that, especially as we had been attacking.”

Arquin should have put Hereford ahead from a Barkhuizen pass just seconds before he applied the pressure from another Colbeck cross which ended with United taking the lead five minutes from time.

“For the second one, we gave the ball away again and the lad sent in a brilliant cross,” said Duberry.

“The centre-forward was all over me and I was so close to goal and there were all sorts of different things in my mind as to what to do with it.

“In the end I tried to head it away, it hit me ‘bang’ flush on the head and went in.”

From his point of view, however, the 36-year-old ex-Leeds and Stoke centre-back’s best moment of the game was still to come.

“The gaffer Chris Wilder said to get up top towards the end of the game,” said Duberry.

“Tom Craddock put the ball into the box and it was a cool, calm finish.

“I can have a smile about that one.

“I don’t want my name on the score-sheet three times. I would rather it was a hat-trick where I get to keep the ball than one where it is two own-goals.

“But that’s football — I put myself in a position to defend and sometimes it goes like that when the ball comes off wherever and I put it into my own net.

“We got a draw but we would have liked a win.”

Hereford (4-5-1): Bartlett; Green, Stam (Clucas 46), Townsend, Purdie; Colbeck, Pell, Evans, Featherstone, Arquin; Facey (Barkhuizen 61). Subs not used: Cornell, Lunt, Elder.

Oxford (4-3-3): Clarke; Batt, Dubery, Wright, Davis; Heslop (Craddock 84), Whing (Hall 72), Leven; Potter (Johnson 64), Constable, Pittman. Subs not used: Tonkin, Worley.

Referee: Iain Williamson (Berkshire).

Attendance: 6,630 (including 397 from Hereford).

Goals: Pittman, 12 min, 1-0; Dubery og, 31 min, 1-1; Duberry og, 85 min, 1-2; Duberry, 89 min, 2-2.

Yellow cards: Hereford – Pell, foul, 36 min; Arquin, 90 min, foul; Oxford – Batt, foul, 85 min.