Friday, July 19, 2002

Two excellent first-half goals condemned Hereford United to a 2-0 defeat against a strong Tranmere Rovers side at Edgar Street last night in their opening pre-season friendly, writes IAN MORGAN.

A slick glancing header from former Cardiff City striker Simon Haworth broke the deadlock on the half-hour and then Canadian U20 international Ian Hume sealed the Second Division club's triumph with a blistering 25-yard drive five minutes before the interval.

Although the victory was fairly comfortable for the Merseyside club, the performances of the lively Paul Parry, midfielder Ben Smith and trialist Danny Williams will have encouraged the Hereford fans in a crowd of 867.

Parry looked United's most impressive player in the first-half, firing a left-foot shot over the bar as the Bulls controlled the opening exchanges without finding a finishing touch.

Left-back Michael Rose, trialist David McNivan and Smith also fired over for Hereford but Rod Giggs, brother of Manchester United star Ryan, missed United's best chance in the 79th minute.