Just seven seasons ago Hereford United were playing in Division One. And one of the other teams in that league at the time was Leicester City who currently top the Premier League.
Here's a look back to December 28th 2008.
Whilst
the end of 2007 ended with a win at arguably League Two's biggest team
Bradford City, today's trip to Leicester City resulted in a 2-1 defeat
for Hereford United. A bumper crowd of 22,920 were present at the
Walkers Stadium as Steve Howard knocked the home side into an early
lead. The lead was doubled in the second period by Andy King before Karl
Broadhurst pulled one back late on.
Two
changes were made following the Boxing Day draw with Tranmere Rovers;
Broadhurst replaced Dean Beckwith to partner former Bournemouth
team-mate Joshua Gowling at the heart of the defence and Andy Williams
made way for Nick Chadwick up top. Leicester included a wealth of talent
and experience in their line-up; David Martin and Jack Hobbs are on
loan from Liverpool, whilst joint League One top goalscorer Matty
Fryatt, subject of much interest from higher graded sides, partnered
former Derby County striker Howard up front.
United
had the first shot of the day with Matty Done firing into the body of
Martin from the left-hand side before the hosts started to stamp their
authority on the game. King sliced over from long-range whilst soon
after Kris Taylor made a pivotal block to stop a goalbound Matt Oakley
effort following strong wing-play from Lloyd Dyer. The opening goal came
just 10 minutes into the game after a pass found Fryatt, and his
attempted pass took a lucky deflection into the path of Howard who
steered the ball into the net past Craig Samson. A strong forward run
from the unchallenged Mark Davies saw the Wolves loanee drag a shot wide
before some excellent flowing football should have resulted in a second
goal for Leicester. Howard switched play to Fryatt, who had drifted out
to the wing and he picked out the forward run of Oakley who shot
first-time forcing a decent reflex save from Samson to push the ball
away fror a corner.
Former
MK Dons winger Dyer shot past the post after Hereford failed to clear a
cross fully before they managed some opportunities themselves. Taylor
sent a 60 yard cross field pass to Lionel Ainsworth, who delightfully
controlled before testing Martin with a snapshot half-volley. Chadwick
rose well to meet an Ainsworth corner from the right but saw his effort
drop wide whilst Steve Guinan also won an attacking header in the box,
this time from a deep Richard Rose free-kick but Martin held on with
ease. Late on in the half, Joe Mattock replaced Bruno Berner, perhaps as
the young Englishman was better equipped to deal with the threat of
Ainsworth. Moments before the half-time whistle, Samson made a fine save
to deny Fryatt in behind the defence by rushing out to block an effort
from the striker after a flick-on by Howard had caused problems.
Nigel
Pearson opted to replace Fryatt at half-time, with the experienced Paul
Dickov replacing him. The former Man City striker tried his luck with a
lob after collecting another Howard flick but his effort failed to
trouble Samson. Graham Turner introduced Williams up top to give the
City defence something different to think about with Chadwick making
way. A strong forward run from Dyer caused problems for Rose, but the
winger sliced his shot harmlessly wide. A trip to Gowling allowed
Leicester a chance with a free-kick; King stepped up and forced Samson
to make a diving save to divert the ball around the post. Oakley then
tried to place a shot from 25 yards but failed to hit the target. A
superbly weighted through ball from Ainsworth presented a good
opportunity for Guinan but he didn't quite have the pace to escape the
pressure of the tracking defenders and his left-foot shot was straight
at Martin.
King
shot over from long-range after Howard had set him up whilst at the
other end, Williams' cross from the left eventually made its way to Rose
but the full-back struck tamely past the near post. The second goal of
the game all started with yet another Howard flick causing havoc in the
Bulls' defence; the ball was eventually cleared out as far as King who
shot into the far corner past Samson to the delight of the home crowd.
Yet, eight minutes later Hereford sprang a surprise by netting their
fifth away goal of the league season. Ainsworth sent a free-kick from
the right towards the back-post and Broadhurst was on hand to send a
bullet header past Martin. It made for a nervy finish for the league
leaders although Oakley and Howard both send half-chances wide. In the
final moments of normal time, a push on Williams presented Taylor with a
chance but the versatile player's left-footed curling free-kick dropped
agonisingly past the post. Stoppage time saw City sub Nicky Adams, who
had replaced Dyer, booked for a dive when looking for a penalty whilst a
late Ainsworth corner came to nothing.
Leicester
are the best that League One has to offer, and Hereford today were by
no means disgraced. The hosts passed the ball around well whilst having
some real threats up top, but United at times showed they can mix it
with the big boys playing some neat football themselves. With January
looming, The Bulls need to bring in a couple of new faces; a striker is
still a must if they are to give themselves a chance of surviving the
drop. Next up is the visit of Leeds United in six days time.
Hereford: Samson, Rose, Broadhurst, Gowling, Taylor, Ainsworth, Smith, Diagouraga, Done, Chadwick, Guinan.
Subs: Veiga, Beckwith, Gwynne, Johnson, Williams.
Leicester: Martin, Gilbert, Morrison, Hobbs, Berner, Oakley, Davies, King, Dyer, Howard, Fryatt.
Subs: Cisak, Edworthy, Mattock, Adams, Dickov.