Hereford United

It is 15 years since Oxford United and Hereford United last played each other, meaning that for many supporters Edgar Street will be a new experience; and, of course, the Bulls have never played at the Kas. The fixtures have contrived to give Us fans a trip to Hereford on 11 September, with the return game on 26 February.

Hereford United came into existence when St Martins and RAOC merged in June 1924, the new club joining the Birmingham Combination league. Four seasons later they joined the Birmingham League and in 1939 they stepped up to the Southern League, although the outbreak of the Second World War meant they had a six-year hiatus before they could get involved, finishing runners-up in their first full season in 1945-46, only losing out on the title to Chelmsford City because of points awarded to Chelmsford for unplayed fixtures. They were runners-up again in 1951 and won the Southern League Cup the following season, beating Guildford City in the two-legged final. In 1953-54 Hereford visited Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup, Wigan winning 4-1 in front of a crowd of 24,526 which was a record for a game between two non-league sides.

In 1957 Hereford beat Tonbridge to win the Southern League Cup for a second time and two seasons later they won the North Western Section of the newly regionalised (for just that season) Southern League, losing the play-off against Bedford Town, who won the South Eastern Section. They also won the Southern League Cup for the third time, beating Bath City, and went the full season unbeaten at home, a feat repeated two years later. Hereford were relegated for the first time in 1964, but they bounced straight back, winning the Southern League First Division with a record number of both points and goals.

In 1972 Hereford secured their famous win over Newcastle United in the FA Cup third round, the winning goal being scored by former Oxford player Ricky George. They finished the season as Southern League runners-up to Chelmsford City, but nevertheless they were elected to take the place of Barrow in the Football League. Their first season as a League club saw them finish in second place in the Fourth Division to earn promotion, and in 1976 they were Division Three champions to go up yet another level. They only lasted one season in the Second Division before being relegated, and they went straight back to the basement the season after, and in 1983 they finished bottom of the League, but were re-elected. In 1996 Hereford reached the Fourth Division play-offs, but lost 4-2 on aggregate to Darlington in the semi-final. They failed to maintain their form the following season, when a 1-1 draw with Brighton on the final day saw them relegated to the Conference.

Hereford finished second in the Conference in 2004, one point behind Chester City, but they lost in the play-off semi-final to Aldershot 4-2 on penalties after both legs had ended drawn. Hereford finished second again the following season, behind Barnet, this time losing to Stevenage Borough in the play-off semi-final. In 2005-06 the Bulls finished runners-up for a third successive season, this time behind Accrington Stanley, but this time they managed to win the play-offs, beating Chris Wilder's Halifax Town 3-2 at Leicester City's Walkers Stadium to win promotion back to the Football League in the season that Oxford went the other way. In 2008 Hereford finished third in Division Four, but the following season they ended bottom of the Third to earn an immediate return to the basement. Last season they finished in 16th place.

Edgar Street has a capacity of 5,300 of which 2,761 is seated. Away fans are housed at one end of the Edgar Street Stand, which has seating in the upper tier and terracing below. Terrace prices are