Mills double keeps Bulls rolling

FIFTH-PLACED Hereford notched their fourth straight home league win as they warmed up for Thursday’s FA Cup second round replay with Fleetwood in emphatic style.

John Mills scored twice to add to strikes from Jack Deaman and Keyon Reffell after Dan Bayliss had given Town, who have failed to win away since August 28, the lead.

Hereford, who have fallen off the pace in the league in recent weeks due to their success in the FA Cup and FA Trophy, took the chance to blood new arrival Elliott Richards.

Bulls boss Pete Beadle also handed a first league start to Billy Murphy, a recent acquisition from Bath City.

But it was Beadle’s opposite number Terry Brown, a frequent visitor to Edgar Street with his Aldershot Town side a decade or more ago, who had first cause to celebrate. Basingstoke broke quickly from a Hereford corner to force two corner kicks of their own and it was from the second of these that Bayliss cracked the ball into the net.

That was after just four minutes and Town continued to threaten as Hereford found their feet.

But, with Richards becoming increasingly influential, Hereford levelled on 15 minutes when the former Merthyr Town midfielder’s corner was headed into the net by former Basingstoke man Deaman.

A quarter of an hour further on and the Bulls were in front with a nicely worked move involving Mills and Jimmy Oates finished off by Reffell.

Four minutes before the interval, Mills demonstrated his scoring ability with a neat finish for his 26th goal of the season.

Hereford continued to have much the better of things after the interval and it was no surprise when Mills doubled his tally on 73 minutes.