Recap: Harriers 5-1 Hereford

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HARRIERS turned in an electric performance to thump Hereford 5-1 in the final home game of the National League North Season.

Barring a spell before the interval after Hereford had pulled a goal back to make it 2-1, Harriers dominated throughout at Aggborough to comfortably win the Worcestershire-Herefordshire derby just as they did at Edgar Street on Boxing Day.

The tone was set for the afternoon on just two minutes when the home side took the lead. Maz Kouhyar dropped in a cross that Dave Worrall had too much time and space to control before bending the ball past Theo Richardson for his first goal in red.

With just 18 minutes on the clock it was 2-0 as Harriers had the Bulls defence at sixes and sevens once again. Amari Morgan-Smith beat the offside trap to latch on to an Ashley Hemmings header before being pulled to the ground by Lawson D’Ath – somehow still having enough time to get back up and take the ball from Hemmings once again before angling beyond Richardson for his 17th goal of the campaign.

Christian Dibble was called into action to keep out a half-volley effort from Remaye Campbell, momentum Hereford built on when they reduced the arrears through Omari Sterling-James when he fired an unbelievable free kick effort into the net from the better part of 30 yards, just as he did so many times wearing Harriers red in previous years.

That undoubtedly promoted the Bulls’ best spell of the game, but they failed to gain anything from it and, within a few minutes of the second half, the two-goal lead was restored. In the space of 12 seconds, the ball went from the edge of the Harriers area and into the Hereford net – a throw-in cleared, Hemmings and Brown combining passes before Maz Kouhyar joined in the fun. Passing to Hemmings and getting on his bike, the former Hereford man ran half the length of the pitch to pick up a return pass and slot home on the edge of the area.

If that stung Hereford fans, Kouhyar deepened the wound with his second and Harriers’ fourth on 59 minutes. Worrall did superbly to nudge the ball past two Hereford players, hitting a half-volley cross to the far post where the winger was on hand to apply the final touch.

An already pulsating derby clash then got an extra ingredient as sunny weather gave way to torrential rain that left players sliding across the pitch within minutes; another ex Harrier in Jaiden White driving forward in the downpour, striking across goal and narrowly wide.

Harriers had the last word, though, and fittingly it was the ever-present, phenomenon of Morgan-Smith to benefit. So often without reward for his industry, he expertly steered the ball beyond Richardson from six yards from Caleb Richards’ cross to make it five.

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