Hereford 3 Morecambe 0

Last updated : 16 August 2003 By Footymad Previewer

Hereford continued their 100 per cent start to the season with a comprehensive win over highly-fancied Morecambe.

Two goals by Ben Smith and one by Steve Guinan ensured that the Bulls achieved their first win in five years over their Lancashire rivals.

"It was a magnificent team performance," said Hereford director of football Graham Turner. "Morecambe have a number of very useful players but in the second half when we expected them to come back at us our covering and tracking back were excellent." Hereford certainly did not have matters all their own way and Michael Stringfellow and Adriano Rigoglioso both tested Bulls goalkeeper Matt Baker before Hereford went in front on 17 minutes with an excellent move which spanned the length of the pitch.

Tony James passed to Ryan Green who advanced 40 yards before slipping a pass to Paul Parry who in turn fed Smith on the edge of the six-yard box. The former Yeovil man turned neatly to drive an unstoppable shot past Craig Mawson into the corner of the net.

Eleven minutes later a long ball out of defence by Jamie Pitman found Guinan who held off Jim Bentley as he moved into the penalty area before driving a shot past Mawson at his near post.

Guinan and Pitman both failed with good chances before the interval, but Gary Thompson should have pulled one back in first-half stoppage time when he dispossessed Michael Rose only to drive his shot across goal and wide.

Six minutes into the second half, Rob Purdie slipped a pass to Guinan whose shot was parried by Mawson only as far as Smith. The midfielder made no mistake to notch his fourth goal of the season.

Although Morecambe then enjoyed plenty of possession, the best opportunity to score in the remainder of the game fell to Bulls substitute Daniel Carey-Bertram who lobbed wide of a gaping goal.