Tims 92

Hereford United

Edgar Street

Ground No. 76

Visited - Saturday 3rd December 2005
Result - Hereford United 0-2 Stockport County
Competition - FA Cup, Second Round
Attendance - 3620

For quite a while I’d been looking to visit Edgar Street, so what better time to go there than for a game in a competition which Hereford are most well known for, the FA Cup. When the draw for the second round had been made, I’d been looking out for any ties that would catch the imagination and when Hereford were paired with Stockport, it seemed one of the more interesting games of the round, so with that it was decided!

As usual, I was travelling by train, and the journey down to Hereford went well, with a quick change in Birmingham, before carrying on down through Worcester, and the scenic Malvern Hills, arriving into Hereford itself a few minutes early.

After leaving the station, it was a quick walk down to the ground, which was nearby, and then around it to take some pictures of the outside. From the outside, it really is showing it’s age, and sadly looks quite uncared for, but to a football ground enthusiast such as myself, it was a refreshing change from the identical stadiums that are popping up around the country. From the red brick wall running behind the Blackfriars End, to the grey moodiness of the back of the Len Weston Stand, not to mention the bank running up to the back of the Meadow End, with some unique looking steps taking you up to the turnstiles, all in all it oozed character. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get inside, so with time on my hands, I set off for the nearby allpay-park, home of Westfields, before carrying on into the City Centre, which was no more than a 5 minute walk from the ground, which having visited quite a few out of town grounds recently, was another nice aspect to Edgar Street.

The City Centre was quite a nice place, with the River Wye running through it, and the famous cathedral dominating the skyline. After having visited the cathedral to see the Mappa Mundi, time was catching up on me, so I started the short walk back to the ground, only on the way to pass the entire Stockport County team coming out of their hotel and onto the team bus for the trip to the ground (the five minute walk must have been too much of a strain on their fitness levels!). The club shop was now open, so I took the time to go in there and buy a programme and a badge as usual, before heading round to the home end of the ground, and going in through the turnstiles onto the Merton Meadow Terrace.

The Merton Meadow End is an unusual stand, being semi-circular in design, with a large area in between it and the touchline where fans could congregate throughout the game. The terracing itself was quite old, although in good condition, but sadly restricted by a number of pillars, which supported the roof. Facilities were particularly poor with the toilets neither having cubicles, sinks, or a roof! Despite all of this, it was a good stand, and like with the outside, a refreshing change from the mundane modern stands. To our left was the Merton Meadow Family Stand, which was equally as interesting. Raised from the ground, it had a single tier of red seating, and built into the wall beneath the seating, a number of windows that again helped add character to the ground. Opposite us was the Blackfriars End, which mirrored the Merton Meadow End, other than in the middle, where a section of terracing had been removed to segregate the stand for home and away fans. Sadly, the stand wasn’t in use, so it was to remain empty for the rest of the afternoon, other than a number of Stockport County flags. Completing the Edgar Street picture was to our right, the Len Weston Stand. This was a two-tiered stand, that had terracing below, and a tier of seating overhanging it. Both tiers were split in half with the visitors occupying the end furthest from us, and the home part nearest. You could actually walk between the home part and the Merton Meadow End, and quite a few times throughout the afternoon, I found myself wondering which section to stand in! Finally, you can’t talk about Edgar Street without mentioning the floodlights. They are the old style, four corner pylons, except they looked quite odd, with the towers being quite wide and short, giving a stubby feel, and the square parts missing a number of lights, which somewhat let them down unfortunately. Despite not quite looking brilliant, they did fit in well with the ground, and overall despite a generally run down feel to it, Edgar Street was certainly one of the more interesting stadiums that I’ve been to.

After having decided to stay behind the goal, I found a spot to stand in, and the game got started. The home team looked up for it from the off, but it was the visitors who took an early lead, when with just three minutes gone, after foiling a home attack, Stockport broke away, and got the ball to Jermaine Easter, who ran from about 40 yards out, before smashing the ball in off the crossbar, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance. Having taken the lead, Stockport seemed happy to sit back and soak up the pressure, as Hereford pressed to get an equaliser. Unfortunately, despite having most of the possession, the hosts couldn’t really make anything of it, never really troubling in the last third of the pitch. When they did get it in the box, sadly opportunities were wasted, and so the half finished with Stockport looking comfortable at 1-0.

In the second half, after having decided to switch to the Len Weston Stand, before coming back behind the goal, Stockport soon doubled their lead on 57 minutes when Mickael Wolski sneaked a 30 yard effort low through a crowd of players, and just the right (or from a Hereford point of view, the wrong) side of the post. A number of people didn’t even think it had gone in, with the ball having rolled along the back of the net, but with the referee pointing to the centre circle, the league side had made sure of their progress to Round Three. The game panned out much as the first half had done, with Hereford having most of the possession, but creating few chances, so when Stockport surged forwards and won a penalty, the mood in the home end wasn’t the greatest as the tie seemed to be beyond the non-league side. Jermaine Easter stepped up to take the kick, only for Hereford goalkeeper Craig Mawson to guess the right way, and keep the scores at 2-0. Despite this boost, Hereford still couldn’t make anything of the game, and when the referee blew the final whistle, the result had never really been in doubt.

From the start of the match, the Hereford fans kept up a good atmosphere, although sadly as the game wore on, it understandably dissipated, but despite this, they seemed a friendly bunch, which left me with a good impression of them overall.

After leaving the ground, it wasn’t too long a walk back to the station, before finally catching a train home, with the journey going pretty well. Overall it had been a good day out, Edgar Street, despite having seen better days, is a real classic old ground, and is a must see for anyone interested in stadia. Hopefully it won’t be too long before the team can end their exile from the league, and the ‘92’ can welcome back one of the countries more interesting grounds.