Hereford United recovered from conceding their first goal of the season and came back to preserve their unbeaten Nationwide Conference record with a draw at Edgar Street on Saturday.

Bulls skipper Ian Wright was the home hero when he glanced a header past former United loan keeper Mark Gayle with 20 minutes remaining, to cancel out a 50th minute strike from the Pitmen's striker Neil Davis.

Hereford put the visitors on the rack from the kick off and they could have taken the lead after just eight minutes when Michael McIndoe sped to the bye-line and swept in a cross towards the centre of the Town penalty area.

Bulls player-coach Phil Robinson arrived at pace and slid in to fire a bullet of an effort goalwards from 12 yards, only to be thwarted by a fine flick over the bar from Gayle.

However, with the visitors on the back foot and the ascendancy firmly with United, a combination of some pernickety refereeing from Wiltshire official Steve Habgood and several injury stoppages combined to break the Hereford momentum.

Hednesford defender Mark Haran headed a corner from Mark Cooper well wide on 37 minutes in the only other incident of note within the first 45 minutes and the half fizzled out to leave it goalless at half-time.

The combination of Paul Bagshaw and Davis almost caught the Bulls out with a swift counter-attack two minutes after the break, but Hereford ignored the warning and were punished almost immediately afterwards.

United lost the ball as they pushed forward with an early second half foray into Pitmen territory and were caught fatally short at the back when Bagshaw looped the ball over Chris Lane to the unmarked Davis.

The former Wycombe Wanderers forward, who was Town's top marksman last season, wasted no time in picking his spot past ex-Hednesford stopper Scott Cooksey and he netted the first Conference goal conceded by United in 618 minutes.

For a few worrying moments it appeared as if the visitors would run away with the game, as ginger-haired midfielder Stuart Lake headed a free-kick from Bagshaw just over from two yards.

But the Bulls rode the storm and on 56 minutes, in a premonition to the home equaliser, Wright nodded a corner from McIndoe wide.

With Hereford's unbeaten run on the rocks, the duo combined to put their side back on level terms following a foul on Matt Clarke wide on the left by Town defender Ian Robinson.

McIndoe's free-kick was glanced into the far corner of Gayle's net by the United captain from 15 yards for his first goal of the season, minutes before he left the field with double vision - the product of a first half head injury.

Hereford: Cooksey, Lane, Clarke, Robinson, Wright (Gardiner 81), James, Rodgerson (Parry 55), Snape, Giddings (Elmes 55), Williams, McIndoe. Subs not used: Baker, Hanson.

Hednesford: Gayle, Robinson, Pointon, Lake, Haran, Bradley, Bagshaw, Cooper, Davis, Norbury, Goodwin. Subs not used: Airdrie, Sedgemore, Shakespeare, Owen, Carney.

Attendance: 2,557.

Referee: Mr S Habgood (Wiltshire).