Mark Beesley rues poor first half in Hereford loss

Warrington Town Mark Beesley was left frustrated after watching his side succumb to their fifth successive National League North defeat at Cantiver Park.

In their penultimate game of the campaign, the Yellows were unable to turn their home fortunes around as Hereford won 2-1, doing the damage in the first half to keep their unlikely play-off chances alive until the final week of the season.

Lewis Hudson and Andy Williams put the visitors in a commanding position, and although captain Josh Amis’ first goal since New Year’s day threatened a comeback, Matt Grivosti’s red card all but put paid to the Yellows’ hopes of earning a point.

Speaking post-match, Beesley said: “It’s really disappointing, especially the first half.

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“We came out and showed a little bit more in the second half, scored a good goal but then obviously went down to 10 men, but we stayed in the game.

“After that, we didn’t really get far enough up the pitch to get any real momentum.

“It’s something we can’t let happen again. We’ve had very patchy form at home – there was a period when we won four or five on the bounce then we lost a few.

“The Gloucester game was a big loss. We performed really well and should never have lost.

“Perhaps the games have caught up on us a little bit – I’m not sure – but we’ll have to sit down, find out the reasons why and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

After the final whistle, the players did a lap of honour around the pitch to thank the supporters.

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A crowd just short of 1,500 against Hereford meant Town’s average home gate across the season surpassed 1,200 – an increase of over 50% compared to the 2022/23 campaign.

On their home support, Beesley added: “To lose and not perform as we’d have liked in the last few home games is frustrating, not just for myself and the players but for the supporters.

“As we’ve gone round to thank them for their support, the amount of good wishes we got was outstanding, and I’d just like to thank them again publicly because they’ve been excellent home and away.

“The club is growing all the time. To have a 1,200 average gate this season is unbelievable, and the place is unrecognisable to when I walked in.”

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