# 2012–13 Hereford United F.C. season

The 2012–13 season was the 92nd competitive season of Hereford United Football Club and 10th overall in the Conference Premier, following their relegation from League Two in the previous season. The club also competed in both the FA Cup and the FA Trophy.

## Season summary

Following Hereford's relegation, Richard O'Kelly resigned as manager and was replaced by Martin Foyle. Vice-chairman Tim Russon also resigned from the board on 23 May 2012.
Hereford kicked off their season with a Friday night fixture at Edgar Street against Macclesfield Town, also relegated from League Two, beating the Cheshire side 2–1.
Hereford reached the second round of the FA Cup, knocking out arch rivals Shrewsbury Town, then in League One, along the way. Drawing League Two club Cheltenham Town in the second round, Hereford took their higher graded opponents to a replay at Edgar Street before losing 2–1 via an extra time goal.
In the FA Trophy, Hereford defeated fellow Conference Premier club Ebbsfleet United in the first round, before hosting Chelmsford City of the Conference South, one league below, in the second round. Their opponents produced an upset, comfortably winning the tie 3–0 and knocking Hereford out.
The club's financial difficulties grew bigger during the season and in October, David Keyte suggested that unless Hereford found fresh investment, the club could enter administration. Their situation was slightly eased in November with an outstanding tax bill paid off using £70,000 received from their televised FA Cup fixture against Cheltenham.
Hereford ended the season strongly, winning five of their last eight fixtures, losing only once. They finished one place outside the play-offs in sixth but were still ten points off Wrexham immediately above them.
Hereford's financial woes continued after the playing season had ended as the club announced that players' wages would not be paid for April.

## First-team squad

    As of 20 April 2013
| No. | Name | Date of Birth | Notes |
| Goalkeepers |||||
| 1 | James Bittner | (1982-02-02)2 February 1982 (aged 31) | |
| 12 | Dan Hanford | (1991-03-06)6 March 1991 (aged 22) | |
| Defenders |||||
| 2 | Andy Gallinagh | (1985-03-16)16 March 1985 (aged 28) | |
| 3 | Joe Heath | (1988-10-04)4 October 1988 (aged 24) | |
| 4 | Joe Connor | (1986-02-01)1 February 1986 (aged 27) | On loan from Stockport County |
| 5 | Michael Townsend | (1986-05-17)17 May 1986 (aged 26) | |
| 6 | Luke Graham | (1986-04-27)27 April 1986 (aged 26) | |
| 8 | Chris Carruthers | (1983-08-19)19 August 1983 (aged 29) | |
| 14 | Stefan Stam | (1979-09-14)14 September 1979 (aged 33) | |
| 26 | Rod McDonald | (1992-04-11)11 April 1992 (aged 21) | |
| 27 | Chris Bush | (1992-06-12)12 June 1992 (aged 20) | On loan from Gateshead |
| Midfielders |||||
| 7 | Marley Watkins | (1990-10-17)17 October 1990 (aged 22) | |
| 11 | Simon Clist | (1981-06-13)13 June 1981 (aged 31) | |
| 15 | Kingsley James | (1992-02-17)17 February 1992 (aged 21) | On loan from Port Vale |
| 17 | Will Evans | (1991-10-09)9 October 1991 (aged 21) | On loan at Newport County |
| 18 | Sam Clucas | (1990-09-25)25 September 1990 (aged 22) | |
| 20 | Craig Jones | (1989-12-12)12 December 1989 (aged 23) | |
| 21 | Josh O'Keefe | (1988-12-22)22 December 1988 (aged 24) | |
| 22 | Brian Smikle | (1985-11-03)3 November 1985 (aged 27) | |
| Forwards |||||
| 9 | Marlon Jackson | (1990-12-06)6 December 1990 (aged 22) | |
| 10 | Chris Sharp | (1986-06-19)19 June 1986 (aged 26) | |
| 19 | Ryan Bowman | (1991-11-30)30 November 1991 (aged 21) | |
Source: Hereford United (Archived)

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 20 June 2012 | GK | James Bittner | Forest Green Rovers | Free transfer |
| 20 June 2012 | DF | Luke Graham | Forest Green Rovers | Free transfer |
| 20 July 2012 | DF | Chris Carruthers | Gateshead | Free transfer |
| 20 July 2012 | DF | Andy Gallinagh | Bath City | Free transfer |
| 20 July 2012 | FW | Marlon Jackson | Bristol City | Free transfer |
| 25 July 2012 | FW | Ryan Bowman | Darlington | Free transfer |
| 27 July 2012 | MF | Marley Watkins | Bath City | Tribunal |
| 10 August 2012 | MF | Ashley Sammons | Birmingham City | Free transfer |
| 25 August 2012 | MF | Brian Smikle | Kidderminster Harriers | Free transfer |
| 31 August 2012 | MF | Tristan Plummer | Portimonense | Free transfer |
| 13 September 2012 | DF | Byron Anthony | Bristol Rovers | Free transfer |
| 25 September 2012 | MF | Josh O'Keefe | Southport | Free transfer |
| 7 December 2012 | MF | Simon Hackney | FC Halifax Town | Free transfer |
| 1 January 2013 | FW | Chris Sharp | AFC Telford United | £3,000 |
| 28 January 2013 | DF | Rod McDonald | Nantwich Town | Free transfer |
| 21 March 2013 | MF | Craig Jones | Westfields | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 8 June 2012 | GK | Adam Bartlett | Gateshead | Free transfer |
| 3 July 2012 | MF | Rob Purdie | Shrewsbury Town | Free transfer |
| 11 July 2012 | FW | Yoann Arquin | Notts County | Free transfer |
| 4 September 2012 | DF | Benoît Dalibard | Released | Released |
| 17 September 2012 | MF | Tristan Plummer | Released | Released |
| 26 September 2012 | DF | Byron Anthony | Released | Released |
| 8 October 2012 | MF | Ashley Sammons | Released | Released |
| 1 January 2013 | FW | Sean Canham | Released | Released |
| 9 January 2013 | MF | Simon Hackney | Released | Released |
| 28 January 2013 | MF | Harry Pell | AFC Wimbledon | Undisclosed |
| 22 March 2013 | MF | James McQuilkin | Released | Released |

### Loans in

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Until |
| 10 August 2012 | MF | Tom Nichols | Exeter City | 17 September 2012 |
| 5 October 2012 | FW | Phil Marsh | Forest Green Rovers | 5 January 2013 |
| 8 October 2012 | DF | Chris Todd | Forest Green Rovers | 11 November 2012 |
| 13 October 2012 | FW | Kyle Perry | Nuneaton Town | – |
| 1 January 2013 | DF | Andrew Corbett | Burton Albion | – |
| 4 January 2013 | DF | James Musa | Fulham | – |
| 28 January 2013 | MF | Kingsley James | Port Vale | End of season |
| 1 March 2013 | DF | Joe Connor | Stockport County | – |
| 28 March 2013 | DF | Chris Bush | Gateshead | End of season |

### Loans out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Ref. |
| 5 October 2012 | FW | Sean Canham | Bath City | |
| 31 January 2013 | MF | Will Evans | Newport County | |

## Pre-season

Win  Draw  Loss

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Conference Premier | 10 August 2012 | 20 April 2013 | Matchday 1 | 6th | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 73 | 63 | +10 | 041.30 |
| FA Cup | 20 October 2012 | 11 December 2012 | Fourth qualifying round | Second round (replay) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 050.00 |
| FA Trophy | 24 November 2012 | 15 December 2012 | First round | Second round | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 050.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 52 | 22 | 14 | 16 | 81 | 70 | +11 | 042.31 |
Source: FCHD

### Conference Premier
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 4 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 70 | 38 | +32 | 83 | Qualification for Conference Premier play-offs |
| 5 | Wrexham | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 74 | 45 | +29 | 80 | Qualification for Conference Premier play-offs |
| 6 | Hereford United | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 73 | 63 | +10 | 70 | |
| 7 | Luton Town | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 70 | 62 | +8 | 67 | |
| 8 | Dartford | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 67 | 63 | +4 | 66 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 20 April 2013. Source: Football Web Pages

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A |
| Result | W | D | W | W | L | L | W | L | L | W | L | D | L | D | D | D | W | W | L | W | L | W | D | D | D | D | W | L | W | L | W | W | D | L | D | W | L | L | W | D | W | W | W | D | L | W |
| Position | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Points | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 39 | 39 | 42 | 42 | 45 | 48 | 49 | 49 | 50 | 53 | 53 | 53 | 56 | 57 | 60 | 63 | 66 | 67 | 67 | 70 |

#### Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 2 July 2012, with the season starting on 10 August.
Win  Draw  Loss
Source: Football Web Pages

### FA Cup

Hereford entered the competition in the fourth qualifying round.
Win  Draw  Loss
Source: Football Web Pages

### FA Trophy

Hereford entered the competition in the first round.
Win  Draw  Loss
Source: FCHD

## Attendances

| Date | Time | Opponent | Result | Competition | Attendance |
| 10 August 2012 | 19:30 | Macclesfield Town | 2–1 | Conference Premier | 2,139 |
| 25 August 2012 | 15:00 | Ebbsfleet United | 4–2 | Conference Premier | 1,906 |
| 1 September 2012 | 15:00 | Grimsby Town | 0–2 | Conference Premier | 2,059 |
| 4 September 2012 | 19:45 | Woking | 2–1 | Conference Premier | 1,481 |
| 22 September 2012 | 15:00 | Cambridge United | 4–2 | Conference Premier | 1,677 |
| 25 September 2012 | 19:45 | Forest Green Rovers | 1–2 | Conference Premier | 1,656 |
| 6 October 2012 | 15:00 | Stockport County | 1–2 | Conference Premier | 1,889 |
| 13 October 2012 | 15:00 | Braintree Town | 0–0 | Conference Premier | 1,537 |
| 3 November 2012 | 13:00 | Shrewsbury Town | 3–1 | FA Cup | 3,251 |
| 6 November 2012 | 19:45 | Luton Town | 1–0 | Conference Premier | 2,108 |
| 11 December 2012 | 19:45 | Cheltenham Town | 1–2 | FA Cup | 5,026 |
| 15 December 2012 | 15:00 | Chelmsford City | 0–3 | FA Trophy | 1,124 |
| 26 December 2012 | 15:00 | Kidderminster Harriers | 0–1 | Conference Premier | 2,902 |
| 8 January 2013 | 19:45 | AFC Telford United | 1–1 | Conference Premier | 1,490 |
| 12 January 2013 | 15:00 | Alfreton Town | 3–3 | Conference Premier | 1,565 |
| 2 February 2013 | 15:00 | Southport | 2–2 | Conference Premier | 1,513 |
| 12 February 2013 | 19:45 | Wrexham | 0–1 | Conference Premier | 1,781 |
| 16 February 2013 | 15:00 | Lincoln City | 3–2 | Conference Premier | 1,914 |
| 2 March 2013 | 15:00 | Nuneaton Town | 0–0 | Conference Premier | 1,908 |
| 5 March 2013 | 19:45 | Newport County | 2–3 | Conference Premier | 2,519 |
| 16 March 2013 | 15:00 | Barrow | 2–1 | Conference Premier | 1,273 |
| 23 March 2013 | 15:00 | Hyde | 1–2 | Conference Premier | 1,152 |
| 26 March 2013 | 19:45 | Dartford | 1–0 | Conference Premier | 662 |
| 1 April 2013 | 15:00 | Tamworth | 5–2 | Conference Premier | 1,424 |
| 13 April 2013 | 15:00 | Gateshead | 1–1 | Conference Premier | 1,599 |
| 16 April 2013 | 19:45 | Mansfield Town | 1–2 | Conference Premier | 2,141 |
Source: Football Web Pages

## Squad statistics

    As of match played 20 April 2013

### Appearance and goals

* The plus (+) symbol denotes an appearance as a substitute, hence 2+1 indicates two appearances in the starting XI and one appearance as a substitute.
* Italics indicate player is/was a loan player
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Conference Premier | Conference Premier | FA Cup | FA Cup | FA Trophy | FA Trophy |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ENG | James Bittner | 39 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Andy Gallinagh | 32 | 0 | 26+1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Joe Heath | 25 | 0 | 12+8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Joe Connor | 13 | 0 | 11+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Michael Townsend | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Luke Graham | 48 | 2 | 42+1 | 2 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | WAL | Marley Watkins | 36 | 5 | 34 | 5 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 8 | DF | ENG | Chris Carruthers | 21 | 1 | 18+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Marlon Jackson | 25 | 7 | 12+13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | SCO | Chris Sharp | 25 | 4 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Simon Clist | 19 | 0 | 12+4 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | WAL | Dan Hanford | 13 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | NED | Stefan Stam | 43 | 3 | 35+2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Kingsley James | 21 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Sam Clucas | 47 | 9 | 41 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Ryan Bowman | 43 | 19 | 30+9 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Craig Jones | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | IRL | Josh O'Keefe | 38 | 14 | 30+3 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Brian Smikle | 30 | 1 | 6+18 | 1 | 2+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Rod McDonald | 11 | 2 | 5+6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Chris Bush | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Youth team players ||||||||||||
| 39 | MF | WAL | Lewis Feeley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players out on loan ||||||||||||
| 17 | MF | ENG | Will Evans | 21 | 2 | 10+6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Players who left during the season but made an appearance ||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | ENG | Harry Pell | 29 | 1 | 22+1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Sean Canham | 10 | 3 | 8+2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | FRA | Benoît Dalibard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | WAL | Byron Anthony | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Phil Marsh | 12 | 1 | 4+3 | 1 | 1+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | NIR | James McQuilkin | 13 | 1 | 4+5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Ashley Sammons | 9 | 1 | 5+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Simon Hackney | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Tom Nichols | 9 | 1 | 4+5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | WAL | Chris Todd | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Tristan Plummer | 3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | ENG | Kyle Perry | 12 | 0 | 2+6 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | NZL | James Musa | 15 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Andrew Corbett | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Soccerbase
Players with zero appearances were unused substitutes named in at least one matchday squad.

### Goals

| Rank | No. | Pos. | Player | Conference Premier | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Total |
| 1 | 19 | FW | Ryan Bowman | 15 | 4 | 0 | 19 |
| 2 | 21 | MF | Josh O'Keefe | 12 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| 3 | 18 | MF | Sam Clucas | 8 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | 9 | FW | Marlon Jackson | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | 7 | MF | Marley Watkins | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | 10 | FW | Chris Sharp | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | 10 | FW | Sean Canham | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | 14 | DF | Stefan Stam | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | 6 | DF | Luke Graham | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | 17 | MF | Will Evans | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | 26 | DF | Rod McDonald | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | 4 | MF | Harry Pell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 8 | DF | Chris Carruthers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 15 | MF | Kingsley James | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 15 | FW | Phil Marsh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 16 | MF | James McQuilkin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 20 | MF | Ashley Sammons | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 21 | MF | Tom Nichols | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 22 | MF | Brian Smikle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 23 | DF | Chris Todd | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 73 | 7 | 1 | 81 |
* ↑ Canham left the club on 1 January 2013
* ↑ Evans left the club on loan on 31 January 2013
* ↑ Pell left the club on 28 January 2013
* ↑ Marsh returned to his parent club on 5 January 2013
* ↑ McQuilkin left the club on 22 March 2013
* ↑ Sammons left the club on 8 October 2012
* ↑ Nichols returned to his parent club on 17 September 2012
* ↑ Todd returned to his parent club on 11 November 2012