LOANEE goalkeeper William Henry hopes to make his stay with Hereford a ‘long-term’ stay after impressing on his debut.

Despite Hereford losing 2-0 at Gateshead the 21-year-old, who arrived before the match from Swindon Town, impressed making several second half saves.

“It was a tough one to take,” said Henry following the defeat.

“We came up here with a game-plan and expected to at least get something away from the game. I thought in the first half we started really well and really got a foothold in the game.

“The goal we conceded was poor on our point of view and kind of went flat after that. In the second half we have come out and done well again and then I think we looked tired towards the end and that’s when they scored their second.

“No goalkeeper likes conceding and I’m heavily critical of myself so I’ll have a look at the goals later to see if there was anything I could have done.

“It was a good start personally and I thought I played well, I thought all aspects of my game were good and something to build on moving forward.

When asked if he would like to compete for the number one shirt when Brandon Hall returns?

Henry said: “Yes absolutely that’s the nature of the game.

“Obviously I’m here to get games at the minute, I want to impress the manager and make it a long-term thing.

“I think it will be week by week as things stand and I’m not sure if they know when Brandon (Hall) is going to be back, so it depends on that and how I perform as well.

 Henry who is on a ‘short-term’ loan has had previous spells with Gloucester City, Chippenham Town and Swindon Supermarine.

“It didn’t really phase me to be fair and I’m used to jumping into sides straight away without having been at training with them or anything like that,” added Henry.

“For me it was fine and normal preparation for a game for me. Obviously traveling and staying in a hotel last night helped to get to know the lads a lot better and I’ve fit in straight away with the team.

“I think I can bring experience at this level and I’ve played the south version of this league a few times. So I’ve played many games at this level so I think my experience will benefit the team and I hopefully that will show in my performances.

Henry says he is looking forward to Saturday’s visit of relegation favourites Bradford (Park Avenue)

“It will be my first time at Edgar Street so I look forward to that,” added Henry.

“I’ve heard great things about the stadium and the fans so I’m looking forward to it.”