United fell to a 2-0 defeat in their Conference encounter with Kingstonian on Monday at Edgar Street, much against the run of play.

Poor refereeing marred the match, with nine bookings and a red card for K's midfielder Gary Patterson in a game that hardly saw a malicious challenge.

United made a bright start and Leroy May fired just wide from a deflected Paul Parry shot.

The Bulls' best chance came after 35 minutes. May took the ball off Gavin Williams' shaven head and nodded wide when the 19-year-old had looked odds on to score.

And it was only seven minutes before the K's punished United's misses when Colin Luckett's corner caused havoc and captain Mark Harris took full advantage to poke the ball home.

In the second half Bulls skipper Ian Wright hit the top of the bar but the only other goalmouth incident of note was Kingstonian's controversial second goal with just nine minutes remaining.

Joe O'Connor seemed to use his arm to block an attempted clearance by United substitute Matt Clarke, but Geoff Pitcher collected the rebound and chose his spot past Cooksey.

Hereford: Cooksey, Lane (Clarke 65 min), James, Taylor, Wright, White, Rodgerson, Snape, May (Elmes 54), Parry 7 (Piearce 77), Williams. Subs not used: Sturgess, Quy.

Referee: T Kettle (Shrewsbury).

Attendance: 1,527.