Pre-Season Friendly - Tuesday 11th July 2023, 3:00 p.m. kick-off

Bromsgrove Sporting 1 (1) Hereford 0 (0) at The Victoria Ground

Bromsgrove Sporting played their first pre-season friendly at home last Saturday and overcame Hereford FC from the National League North (a level higher) with a deserved 1 - 0 win.

Player/manager Mike McGrath fielded what looked like a strong starting eleven against a useful looking Bulls' team that included Sporting legend Jason Cowley who had recently signed from Stourbridge.

Both teams managed to get a few balls into the penalty area in the opening spell but all came to nothing with shots either off target and cleared before they could do any damage.

However that changed on the 14th minute when Conor Tee received a short pass from Jack Newell on the right. He then went on a wide run off to the left arcing well into the Hereford half before unleashing a superb strike from just outside the box that flew into the top left hand corner of the net well wide of Curtis Pond's outstretched left arm giving Bromsgrove the lead.

That goal seemed to give the home side more confidence as they attempted to increase their lead. Kieron Berry playing up front with Tee continued to look impressive as did Callum King-Harmes making breaks down the right flank.

At the other end Aaron Roberts was busy marking Cowley who was left reasonably quiet though he did go down in the Bromsgrove box just before half-time but referee Mr Hetherington dismissed his claim instantly.

Hereford came out for the second half clearly more fired up forcing a couple of corners early on but as with previous attempts, finishing left a bit to be desired or the well-organised Sporting back-line dealt comfortably with any threats.

Once the initial Hereford surge subsided, Sporting themselves had a reasonable couple of chances from set-pieces but as at the other end, there was no change to the scoreline.

Towards, the end of the half, the home side gave a few minutes play to the substitutes but unlike previous freindlies, this match was much more about getting a good result so the balance of the team remained pretty much unchanged.

With full-time looming the Bulls had a free-kick in a decent position but it was fired over the top. Moments later the final whistle blew.

Bromsgrove fans were clearly delighted with both a good result and performance though bearing in mind it was a friendly but the build up to the season is clearly going well.

Sporting: Ollie Taylor, Callum King-Harmes, Mike McGrath, Jack Newell, Aaron Roberts, Tom Taylor, Luke Rowe 73 mins) ,Keanu Cooper, Kieron Berry, Conor Tee, Billy Shaw

Hereford: Curtis Pond, Aaron Skinner, Kyle Howkins, Mark Derricott, Jordan Cranston, Stanley Anaeronam, Aneurin Livermore, Jamie Taylor, Bogdan Mari, Adam Rooney, Jason Cowley

Crowd: ~ 600