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After climbing up the divisions with three successive promotions in their first three seasons, Hereford are now a settled sixth-tier club, plying their trade in the National League North.
In their only previous appearance in the competition proper since then, Hereford’s name was in the hat for the potentially illustrious third round back in 2017.
That was thanks to a first round win over Telford before taking League One Fleetwood Town to a playoff in the next round.
Unfortunately, they fell to defeat here in that replay, but they will be dreaming of a different result against third-tier opposition again on Friday night.
None of the players who played in the FA Cup run are still at the club, so it is uncharted territory for this group of players.
They come into the tie in great form, as they have won seven of their last nine matches in all competitions, with their only defeat surprisingly coming against a struggling Bradford Park Avenue side.
Even still, it has been a fantastic response after being in the relegation zone after eight matches.
It will be a hugely poignant moment on Friday too, as the club will remember Ronnie Radford, the man who scored that famous goal against Newcastle United in the FA Cup in 1972 at this stadium, after he passed away this week.
It is fair to say that most people watching tonight’s Emirates FA Cup clash between Hereford and Pompey (7.55pm kick-off) will be rooting for the home side.
The romance of the competition means that Danny Cowley’s men visit Edgar Street to face a side from three tiers below in the first round.
It is a banana skin they will be determined not to slip on, as the Blues look to clear the first hurdle for a fifth successive season.
They have plenty of experience of meeting non-league opposition, with Macclesfield, Maidenhead, Harrogate, Altrincham, King’s Lynn and Harrow all accounted for in recent years.
Back in 2014, however, there was the disastrous meeting with Aldershot, who knocked Pompey out in a replay.
Their next hosts were formed in 2014 as a phoenix club following the sad demise of Hereford United.
The Blues had a few meetings with their predecessors over the years, most recently for a 2009 League Cup tie.
Frederic Piquionne, John Utaka, Niko Kranjcar and Richard Hughes all netted that night in a 4-1 success at Fratton Park.
Josh Gowling’s Bulls currently sit 14th in the National League North standings and beat Curzon Ashton 3-1 in their last outing.
Please note that in the event of a draw after 90 minutes, a replay will be held at Fratton Park on a date to be confirmed.
TEAM NEWS
Tom Lowery (hamstring) and Marlon Pack (hamstring) have both returned to training, although this evening’s game could come too soon.
There is a doubt over Michael Jacobs (hamstring), while Joe Rafferty (stomach), Jayden Reid (knee) and Louis Thompson (leg) are all on the long-term injury list.
Hereford’s squad includes forward Miles Storey, who netted three goals in 22 appearances during a loan spell at Pompey in 2014.
Portsmouth were in action as recently as Tuesday, where a penalty shoot-out win over AFC Wimbledon sealed their place in the last 32 of the EFL Trophy, a competition they won in 2019 and were finalists in a year later.
They also had fine pedigree in this competition too until their dramatic drop down the divisions, winning the cup itself in 2008 before being losing finalists in 2010.
Since falling out of the top two divisions in 2012, they have gone out in the first round in five of those 10 seasons, while disappointingly losing to Harrogate Town in round two last season.
Pompey are having a strong season though, sitting fifth in League One, within touching distance of many of the sides above them, who they have two games in hand on.
Hereford have utilised a five-at-the-back formation of late, with Jared Hodgkiss and Jack Evans playing as marauding wing-backs, but the duo may be restricted in their attacking duties here.
They do have a substantial amount of injuries to deal with though, as Thierry Latty-Fairweather and Zak Lilly are among the men out, but Kane Thompson-Sommers has recently returned to the side.
Danny Cowley also has a huge number of injuries to deal with among his Portsmouth squad, and there are doubts whether three of their loanees, Dane Scarlett, Josh Koroma and Owen Dale, will be granted permission by their parent clubs to play.
Those respective loan deals will end come the New Year, and their parent clubs are yet to decide whether they will allow them to play, given that they will then be cup-tied upon returning to the club.
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Two of their other loanees, Josh Griffiths and Joe Pigott, are eligible to play thanks to arrangements in their contracts, and that will be a welcome relief for Cowley.
Hereford United possible starting lineup:
Eve; Hodgkiss, Thompson, Thompson-Sommers, Pendley, Evans; Pinchard, Hanson; Storey, Amadi-Holloway, Barnett
Portsmouth possible starting lineup:
Griffiths; Swanson, Raggett, Robertson, Ogilvie; Dale, Tunnicliffe, Mingi, Koroma; Bishop, Pigott
Radford was the scorer of one of the most famous goals in FA Cup history – perhaps even the most famous – when he drilled in the sensational late 40-yard equaliser that inspired the Bulls to go on and win their third-round replay against top-flight side Newcastle United.
It is a goal that has been shown countless times since, most recently in February when the club celebrated the 50th anniversary of that day.
“We were in contact with him at the time,” Griffiths added. “But he sadly wasn’t well enough to come down from his home in Yorkshire to attend.
“So, although we did know that he had not been well, it was still a shock to hear of his passing – and we will do our best to help give him a fitting send-off.”
‘It’s just another game’
The meeting with Danny Cowley’s Pompey will be Hereford’s first appearance beyond the FA Cup qualifying stages since beating AFC Telford United, another side of great cup folklore, before bowing out in a second-round replay to Uwe Rosler’s Fleetwood in 2017.
It is a case of 14th in National League North, the sixth tier, against fifth in League One – a gap of 81 places in the English football pyramid.
But home boss Josh Gowling, Hereford’s manager for the last three seasons, insists “it’s just another game for us”.
“We’re not going to get too high and we’re not going to get too low. If we win, then we just look at the next tie,” added Gowling, who was part of the Kidderminster Harriers side that got to the fourth round in 2014.
“But we’ve already won in a sense, as it’s put the club back in the spotlight that it hasn’t been for a while. And financially it has been great for the club.”