By Mark Gelder
Hereford United have only ever played Oxford United away in the football league once before, that being in February 1978 when Mick Brown's team won 3-0.  Both teams were in division 3, and Abba were at number one in the charts with Take A Chance On Me.  (Going back even further in time, the Bulls haven't won at Oxford since January 1957 in the Southern League.)  Apart from the League Cup, the Yellows were not to face the Bulls again until this season, where United won 2-0 in the away fixture at Edgar Street, with goals from James Constable and Tom Craddock. 

United will be looking forward to this game with an eye on the play-off places, having crept up into 8th, although most other clubs have a game or two in hand.  The club should be pleased that it managed to get games on  despite snow and ice earlier in the season, Burton for instance are faced with two games per week for the rest of the season.  After a decent three nil win away at Morecambe, United will have enjoyed the midweek rest, with manager Chris Wilder watching Hereford's Tuesday night draw against Northampton, and Andy Meville taking in a game at Wycombe.  We know of no injury worries, and Wilder will probably name an unchanged squad, Damien Batt having had a successful return to the first team, despite giving away a penalty which was parried away magnificently by Ryan Clarke in his second save in recent weeks. 

Back in September, the Bulls were second bottom of the league with only 4 points from 6 games.  Manager Simon Davey was sacked in October, and physio Jamie Pitman has replaced him until the end of the season.  Their vice-chairman Tim Russon famously used to present on Central TV and can be heard on many old Oxford video clips.  In December he announced that Hereford had managed to buy back the lease of Edgar Street, and that long term debts had been settled.  This all seems to have been a positive influence, and the Bulls had a good run in the FA Cup with wins over Lincoln and Wycombe in the middle of a 5 match unbeaten run in January. 

Back to the league, the Bulls have won two, drawn three, and lost one of their last six games, in most recent order, drawing with Northampton (15th) and Burton (22nd), beating Cheltenham (12th), drawing at Macclesfield (18th), losing to Lincoln (16th), and winning away at Torquay (10th).  United start the day in 8th place on 47 points, with Hereford 13 points behind in 19th, level on games played. 

24 year-old striker Stuart Fleetwood has 13 goals this season and is back at Hereford after three years away, having moved to Forest Green, and from there to Charlton, Cheltenham, Brighton and Exeter.  6'1″ Mathieu Manset also has 13 goals and is nicknamed “The Beast” by the Hereford fans.  We think that Hereford's recent games have not been against challenging opposition, and the United pitch will probably favour the Us current style of play and fitness levels.  Another 3-0 win and another clean sheet is the prediction. 
[@opponent]Hereford United[/@opponent]
[@connection]Hereford United[/@connection]