National League North
Wed 8 April
Marine Travel Arena
Marine
Hereford
19:45
Words: Will Morris
The Bulls are in action for the second time in three days on Wednesday, as they go in search of back-to-back victories against Marine AFC on Merseyside.
STATE OF PLAY
After seven consecutive losses, Hereford finally got back to winning ways by dispatching play-off-chasing Merthyr Town 3-0 at the MandM Edgar Street Stadium on Easter Monday.
Lewis Hudson, Mikey Lane and Matt Preston all struck in the first half to take control of a well-controlled contest. Clear-cut chances proved few and far between after the break, as Aaron Downes’ side protected their advantage.
The success means that Hereford now sit seven points adrift of 20th-placed Curzon Ashton, with three games in hand on the Greater Manchester outfit, after both Bedford Town and Oxford City also picked up valuable wins on Monday.
“I feel today was a lot of payback for what we’ve kind of deserved,” said a delighted and relieved Downes afterwards. “What we can’t do now is go, ‘OK, that’s great. We’ve won against Merthyr and that’s our season done’. No, and I’ve challenged the players again to say, ‘Well done. Enjoy it. It’s a relief. We’ve stopped the rot’. But it’s important that we go again, and then again. That gives us a great chance. Some teams have only got three games left in the season – we’ve got six. We’ve got to make that count.”
THE OPPOSITION
Marine find themselves in a healthy 12th position entering Wednesday night’s affair. Holding games in hand on teams above, the Merseysiders can still clinch a play-off spot as they lie nine points behind seventh-placed Merthyr with six games remaining.
After suffering consecutive defeats to AFC Fylde and Southport, the Mariners bounced back on Monday by beating Chorley 2-1. Finlay Sinclair-Smith and Charlie Jolley’s first-half efforts were enough to secure all three points.
Marine’s results have been a mixed bag of late, recording 10 points from the last 18 to place them ninth in the form table. However, they have been solid on home soil, picking up 34 of their 58 points at Rossett Park and losing just six of 20 home encounters.
This will be the sides’ first meeting of the campaign, due to Hereford’s pitch problems and Marine’s progress in the FA Trophy, with the reverse fixture set for April 21st.
ONE TO WATCH: CHARLIE JOLLEY
The former Wigan Athletic striker has bagged 11 goals over the course of the campaign, with seven coming since early February and four in the last five games in which he has featured. After scoring on only two occasions during a spell at Fylde up until November, joining the Mariners has turned out to be a wise decision.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Marine and Hereford have faced off twice before. November 2024 witnessed a convincing 4-0 home win for the Bulls, courtesy of goals from Ryan Bartley, Jason Cowley, Andy Williams and Mark Derricott.
In March 2025 a 2-2 draw was played out at Rossett Park, with Remaye Campbell and Alex Babos’ first-half goals being cancelled out by Chris Doyle and Finlay Sinclair-Smith.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
March 2025
MARINE 2-2 HEREFORD (R. Campbell, Babos)
November 2024
HEREFORD 4-0 MARINE (Bartley, Cowley, Williams, Derricott)
TICKETS
Click here to grab your ticket. Tickets should be bought in advance, as fans can benefit from a saving when purchasing their ticket online beforehand.
TRAVEL & PARKING
Address: Marine Travel Arena, College Road, Liverpool, L23 3AS
Parking: Very limited. On-street parking is available, but be mindful of parking restrictions and be respectful of local residents.
Train: The nearest station is Blundellsands & Crosby on the Northern Line (Hunts Cross to Southport) of Merseyrail. Trains run at 15-minute intervals from Liverpool City Centre and Southport. The station is a 10-minute walk from the ground.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Stay across all the action on our social media channels (X, Instagram, Facebook), listen to the game live on Radio Hereford FC and chat with fellow Bulls fans.
