Kamp 14/2:
Cheltenham v Hereford
Cheltenham - Hereford 2-3 (1-1)
C: Lloyd Owusu 45, 56
HU: Febian Brandy 13, Sam Hewson 67, 85
Manchester United loanees fire Hereford United to victory at CheltenhamHEREFORD boosted their chances of League 1 survival by completing a double over local rivals Cheltenham Town.
And the Manchester United connection proved crucial with loanees Febian Brandy and Sam Hewson scoring the goals.
With two weeks having elapsed since Hereford United’s previous match, boss Graham Turner made five changes for the League visit to Cheltenham Town.
There were debuts for on-loan youngsters, goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi from Liverpool and Manchester United striker Febian Brandy.
Dean Beckwith was recalled to replace Karl Broadhurst as Josh Gowling’s centre-back partner.
Sam Gwynne, who scored in the match between the sides at Edgar Street, was called up on the right of midfield with Jennison Myrie-Williams moving to the left to the exclusion of Matt Done.
And with Kris Taylor free of suspension, the former Walsall man came back in at left-back with Richard Roses switching back to the right, with Richard Jackson left out.
Cheltenham threatened in the early stages with Lloyd Owusu flicking a header wide from Alex Russell’s cross.
David Bird’s crisp 20-yarder was then held by the diving Gulacsi.
But Hereford took the lead in the 13th minute with a gift from the Cheltenham defence.
Keeper Scott Brown and Lee Ridley went for the same cross and Steve Guinan volleyed the ball goalwards for Brandy to touch in from a couple of feet.
Shortly afterwards, a neat pass from Taylor played in Guinan whose cross-shot flashed across goal and inches wide.
Damien Spencer flicked a shot wide from Nicholas Bignall’s cross as Cheltenham tried to hit back.
But matters took a downward spiral in the lead-up to half-time as they lost both centre-backs in short order.
Gowling was withdrawn with a leg injury to be replaced by Broadhurst and then Beckwith had to go off with a head injury.
In the re-shuffle, Rose moved to centre-back with Toumani Diagouraga slotting in at right-back to accommodate Smith in central midfields.
In between the substitutions, Owusu missed a great chance when he beat the offside trap to drag a shot across goal and wide.
But the strike made amends three minutes into injury time when he shot home from a yard out after Russell’s knockdown.
Hereford’s central defensive woes continued with Broadhurst having to be withdrawn at half-time.
Diagouraga moved to centre-back, Gwynne to right-back and Simon Johnson came on on the right of midfield.
And, with Cheltenham seeking to exploit the unfamiliar Hereford rearguard, it took a fine point-blank save from Gulacsi to prevent Ashley Vincent from giving the Robins the lead.
But the keeper was beaten 11 minutes into the period when Owusu rose unchallenged to head in Russell’s corner.
With the Robins dominating, Ian Westlake crashed a shot against an upright before the ball was cleared to safety.
Midway through the half, Hereford, who looked to be denied a penalty when Brandy was brought down, equalised in spectacular style.
Sam Hewson smashed a free-kick home from 20 yards, giving keeper Scott Brown no chance.
The keeper did well, however, just afterwards clawing away a close-range header by Guinan from Taylor’s cross.
But he was beaten nine minutes from time when another Hewson free-kick deflected past him into the corner of the net.
As the clock ran down, Vincent fired straight at Gulacsi and an Owusu header flew inches wide.
Cheltenham defender Lee Ridley was sent off for dissent in injury time as Hereford held on dramatic circumstances.
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