MANY memories will be rekindled for Hereford United fans when the Bulls line up against Brighton & Hove Albion in a League 1 game at Withdean Stadium on Saturday.
Few fans who were present will ever forget the last time that the clubs squared up in league action 11 years ago for the final-day-of-the-season relegation decider which sent the Bulls down into the Conference.
All of the Hereford players who took part that fateful day have long since moved on and the history between the two clubs is unlikely to mean much to the current crop.
“The biggest problem for the players is that the Withdean is a strange place for them to go to play,” said boss Graham Turner, who was also in charge at Edgar Street that day back in 1997.
“There is a running track all round the ground and the stands are a long way away. It creates a strange atmosphere.”
Long-term injury victims Robbie Threlfall and Sam Oji are likely to be sidelined for some time yet and Moses Ashikodi will probably be absent for a further fortnight with his hamstring problem.
Stephen O’Leary’s sending-off at Oldham has brought him a one-match ban but Ben Smith is now fully over his recent illness and should be ready to return to the side.
Nick Chadwick, who was among the unused substitutes at Oldham, may have forced himself back into the reckoning with the goal for United Reserves in their 1-1 draw with Coventry Reserves on Tuesday.
The Seagulls are yet to win at home, with three draws and two defeats from their five matches at the Withdean, so this may represent a good chance for the Bulls to pick up their first away points of the season, after five straight losses.
“I saw them play at Leeds last Saturday and they have one or two good players,” said Turner. “They now have Robbie Savage on loan and he is their focal point in midfield.
“But we certainly need to improve our defending as a team and that is what we have been working on this week.”
On Tuesday evening, United return to Edgar Street when they entertain Carlisle United in a 7.45pm kick-off.
United begin their defence of the HFA Floodlit Cup on Tuesday, November 4 when they make the short trip to Old School Lane to take on Pegasus Juniors in a quarter-final tie.
