Welcome to the latest chapter of the Gloucester Groundhopper blog.
For this chapter, the first of the 2023/24 season, we headed back to Hereford for a friendly match between Hereford Pegasus of the Hellenic League Premier Division and Hereford FC of the National League North. Old School Lane played host for the game.
It All In The Name
Ted Woodriffe named the squad Hereford Pegasus after the seniors amateur side of the era Pegasus, which included a selection of Oxford and Cambridge Undergraduates.
Some More Notable People From Hereford:
Will Adamsdale- Actor
Stephen Cole- Broadcaster
Stringer Lawrence-Soldier
Geoffrey Grasett- Cricketer
James Honeyman-Scott- Founding Member Of The Pretenders
Some Notable Former Players
Roy Jordan
Ian Rodgerson
Dudley Tyler
A History Lesson From The Gloucester Groundhopper
Pegasus Juniors was founded in 1955 by a group of players from the Herefordshire County Boys team who wanted to continue playing together. The renowned amateur team Pegasus inspired their name.
Hereford Pegasus has had a number of vice presidents, including Norman Wisdom, Frankie Vaughan, Petula Clark, Dave King, and Alma Cogan, who all cared deeply about the club's success.
Pegasus has played and won many huge games in their history, however one historic game that Pegasus lost was against Aston Villa owing to an on-form Ron Atkinson who scored six goals that day.
The club began in the local Herefordshire League, where they won numerous league titles and cups before moving up to the Hellenic League in 1982. They won Division One in 1985 and were promoted to the Premier Division.
They were demoted eight years later, but they came back on the first try. They were relegated again in 1995 due to their ground failing new guidelines, but they returned to the Premier Division in 1999, where they remained until relegated in 2011, when they chose to join the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division rather than drop into the Hellenic League Division One West to reduce travel. A season of rebuilding preceded a significantly improved seventh-place result in 2012-13. A change in management prior to the 2013-14 season resulted in a second-place finish.
In the 2009-10 season, they reached the second qualifying round of the FA Cup after defeating higher graded Willenhall Town and Hednesford Town along the way, but they were unable to progress any further, losing 4-1 in front of a crowd of 1,136. Off the pitch, £180k in funds enabled upgrades to the clubhouse and ground.
The club's name was changed to Hereford Pegasus in 2019.
After defeating Worcester Raiders 3-0 in the play-off final, Pegasus was promoted to the Hellenic League Premier Division for the 2021-22 season. The following season, the club finished eighth in the Premier Division.
Honours
🏆 Hellenic Football League Division One (Champions: 1984–85, 1998–99) (Runners-up: 1993–94)
🏆 West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division (Runners-up: 2013–14)
Matchday: Hereford Pegasus 1-4 Hereford FC
We drove to Hereford on a warm summer day in order to start off our 2023/24 season in style. We arrived in Hereford and parked in the Market car park before taking a quick tour of the city centre and introducing our buddy AFC Finners to the city's famed bull statue. We then proceeded to the stadium.
The stadium was just a mile from the city centre, so it wasn't a long trip to get there. The stadium provided free parking, which was very appreciated. We approached a man and asked if the club offered a student discount for the game, to which he answered, 'haha nah not here.' Fortunately, another man intervened and said that they did have a student (concession rate) and would let me in for that.
We went straight to the club bar after paying the £4 admittance fee. The pub served a wide variety of food and drinks at reasonable prices. A Pepsi Max at £1.30 is superb value at a football match. We didn't sample the food in the bar before the game, which included sausage roll and pies, although Finners did enjoy a cheese and onion roll at halftime.
The stadium is typical of the Hellenic League Premier Division. It's a 4G pitch, which I'm sure brings in a lot of money for the club when they rent it out during the summer and on non-match days. There is one stand that can accommodate around 150 people, as well as a few other temporary stands. Given that they were 'donated by Asda,' I believe the makeshift stands were once trolley sheds. I enjoyed the oddness of it, and I believe it brought some much-needed character to the ground.
The game drew a record crowd of 843 people, which is impressive considering it was a preseason friendly at the beginning of July. The audience performed admirably, and we spoke with some Hereford FC fans who were hopeful about the club's chances in the next season, following a much-needed renovation that took place during the summer.
One area that may be addressed is the availability of certain products. We inquired for some pin badges, which groundhoppers like to collect, but they didn't have any. As previously indicated, there were 843 people present, so even if half of them wanted pin badges, the club would have made a hefty profit were they available.
Teamsheet
Hereford Pegasus
Manager: Mark Hibbard
TEAMSHEET NOT PROVIDED
Hereford
Manager: Paul Caddis
Trialist A
Aaron Skinner
Nathan Cameron
Oliver Southern
Jordan Cranston
Stanley Anaebonam
Alex Babos
Lassana Mendes
Aurio Teixeira
Jason Cowley
Andy Williams
Substitutes
Adam Livingstone
Mark Derricott
Koby Arthur (Trialist B)
Aneurin Livermore (Trialist C)
Trialist D
Kyle Howkins (Trialist E)
George Burroughs (Trialist F)
Leon Machisa (Trialist G)
Trialist H
Trialist I
The game began in Hereford FC's favour, as their National League status was displayed in front of a large audience. A pull back found Andy Williams, who finished superbly into the bottom corner, breaking the tie. Hereford Pegasus equalised when Cawley Cox picked up the ball, drove forward, and knocked the ball in through a breach in the Bulls' defence.
Soon later, Hereford regained the lead. Jason Cowley had control of the ball inside the box and was knocked down but remained on his feet. A penalty was given after a second minor knock. Cowley then stood up to see Matthew Gwyne save his penalty. Andy Williams, on the other hand, headed the ball back across goal and into the net to give Hereford the lead.
Before the halftime break, the score was 3-1. Andy Williams fed Jason Cowley in the channel, who then pulled the ball across the box for Stanley Anaebonam to net neatly into the bottom corner.
The second half was a bit of a non-event, with both teams fielding a large number of trialists who contributed little to the game. Adam Livingstone curled a free-kick over the wall and into the lower corner of the net to round out the scoring.
Scores On The Doors
Atmosphere: 6/10
Food and Drink: 6/10
Stadium: 3.5/10
Welcome: 7/10
Overall Experience: 6/10
GG
A full album is available at the Gloucester Groundhopper Facebook Page, available here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078510199252
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