BULLS BOYS SUCCEED IN GIVING FANS SOME CHEER
JOSH GOWLING is proud his Hereford heroes can at least give Bulls fans a huge game to look forward to. The National League North side’s league season has been declared null and void following club voting over funding fears. But Gowling’s men at least have the Buildbase FA Trophy semi-final against Woking on March 27 to keep their season going. Hereford beat Woking’s rivals Aldershot on penalties last weekend and the boss believes the benefits are endless. “The longer we can keep playing, the better it is next season,” Gowling said. “The gap and the lay-off is then not as big going into next season. We suffered from that this season. We had five or six muscle injuries when we came back and that took a toll on pre-season. So from that perspective it’s fantastic. “But also for the fans and mental health. Having something to look forward to on a Saturday is such a big thing. I’ve spoken to a lot of fans during lockdown and it’s been tough – it’s tough for everyone. “Giving them something to cheer and celebrate is invaluable, you can’t put a price on that. We’re lucky we can give them that. “For fans, football clubs are their family! It’s everything to them. Their football club is their identity. They work in the week but on a Saturday they are a football fan. That’s their release and it’s being missed. “At least now they get streams and can shout at the TV. They want to be with people and that camaraderie but at least they’ve got something. It’s great we can still give them that for another month and we will see where it goes from there.” At this stage it’s hard not to think about Wembley – where Hereford played in the 2017 FA Vase final – but Gowling says his players aren’t getting starry-eyed. And he believes their mental strength to bounce back and win a shootout, minutes after conceding a stoppage-time equaliser at Aldershot, shows they won’t be getting ahead of themselves. “I know it’s a cliche but it’s one game at a time,” Gowling said. “We’ve tried not to focus on the end goal and the prize because you can get side-tracked a little bit. “During a game you might be 1-0 thinking, ‘Oh, we can get to Wembley, we’ve got to hang on’. All of a sudden the gameplan goes out of the window. “So we’re focusing on it as a league game. Three points. We go in on the 27th and we treat it that way. Obviously if we win we’ll be jumping around, singing songs and smashing lights, but until then we’ve got to be calm, focused and suppress the end goal because then it becomes a lot of pressure. “Right now, with the fact it could be our last game of the season, there is already pressure there. So if you put that on top of the opportunity to get to Wembley, that’s a lot for lads to have on their shoulders. “So, for us, it’s re-framing it as just another game.”