FA Cup Preview: Wycombe v Hereford

Wycombe Wanderers entertain Hereford United on Tuesday in the third round of the FA Cup.


Wycombe are 3rd in League Two with 40 points from 23 games.

Hereford are 24th in League Two with 19 points from 22 games.


Wycombe's Home Record (All competitions).....Won 7 - Drawn 3 - Lost 5

Hereford's Away Record (All competitions).......Won 5 - Drawn 1 - Lost 7


A trip to Hillsborough is the prize for winning this delayed tie between the Blues and a Hereford side who currently prop-up the entire Football League.

All is not what it seems though and Hereford are not as bad as their lowly position would suggest. When Wycombe beat the Bulls 2-1 at Adams Park on Boxing Day, they were fortunate to take all three points with the visitors deserving at least a draw in the eyes of many.

In Mathieu Manset and Stuart Fleetwood they have an in-form strike force who can cause anyone problems on their day. The deadly duo have scored eight goals between them in the Bulls' last four games including two apiece in yesterday's 4-3 second-round victory at Lincoln.

Another factor to consider is Hereford's away form. On their home turf at Edgar Street they couldn't beat a carpet, but they've won five times on their travels this season, including victories at Crewe, Northampton, Stockport and Aldershot, all places where Wycombe have failed to win.

So why are they bottom of the table? Well, apart from not winning a single home game in the league so far this season, the Bulls have only kept one clean sheet in their last 24 games and that was back in October.

Only Stockport and Barnet have conceded more than the 41 league goals Hereford have shipped and they made first round exits in both the Carling Cup and Johnstone's Paint Trophy, conceding six goals in the process and scoring none.

To add to their defensive problems, Bulls' right-back Ryan Green was sent-off in stoppage time at Lincoln yesterday and will miss the trip to Adams Park on Tuesday.

Wycombe were thumped at Crewe on Saturday to bring to an end an impressive run of five consecutive wins. The occasional defeat is only to be expected, the question is, will the Blues immediately embark on another successful run or will they struggle for a while before getting back to winning ways. The answer is likely to tell us whether we're capable of maintaining a top-three spot or whether the play-offs look more likely.

For now though it's the FA Cup, and playing at Sheffield Wednesday's historic 40,000 seater stadium should be incentive enough for the players to put Saturday's flat performance behind them and battle for a place in the fourth round.

The Blues were undone by Crewe's pace as much as anything else, and Hereford's Manset, Fleetwood and Colbeck are all capable of putting on a spurt, so it will be no walk in the park on Tuesday evening.

Hopefully, Matt Bloomfield will be fit to retake his place alongside Stuart Lewis in midfield, while it would be no surprise if manager Gary Waddock chose to utilise Marvin McCoy's pace at right back.



Wycombe's FA Cup journey so far

1st Round Proper - Hayes & Yeading (A)........Won 2-1

2nd Round Proper - Chelmsford City (H)........Won 3-1



Hereford's FA Cup journey so far

1st Round Proper - Hythe Town (H)...............Won 5-1

2nd Round Proper - Lincoln City (H).............Drew 2-2

2nd Round Replay - Lincoln City (A)..............Won 4-3



Hereford's last five games (All Competitions)

LG2: Bradford (A)...........Lost 0-1

LG2: Wycombe (A)..........Lost 1-2

LG2: Torquay (H)..........Drew 2-2

LG2: Aldershot (A)..........Won 2-1

FAC: Lincoln (A).............Won 4-3



Wycombe's last five games (All Competitions)

LG2: Bury (H).................Won 1-0

LG2: Hereford (H)............Won 2-1

LG2: Cheltenham (A).......Won 2-1

LG2: Gillingham (H).........Won 1-0

LG2: Crewe (A)................Lost 0-3



Hereford Goal Stats (27 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total)..........Lg: 24...Cups: 11...Total: 35

Goals Conceded (Total)......Lg: 41...Cups: 12...Total: 53

Goals Scored (Away).........Lg: 15...Cups: 4.....Total: 19

Goals Conceded (Away).....Lg: 24...Cups: 3.....Total: 27

Clean Sheets.....................Lg: 3....Cups: 0.....Total: 3



Wycombe Goal Stats (28 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total)...........Lg: 33...Cups: 11...Total: 44

Goals Conceded (Total).......Lg: 26...Cups: 10...Total: 36

Goals Scored (Home)..........Lg: 18...Cups: 7.....Total: 25

Goals Conceded (Home)......Lg: 14...Cups: 9.....Total: 23

Clean Sheets......................Lg: 9.....Cups: 1.....Total: 10



Hereford's Top Goal Scorers - (All Competitions)

Mathieu Manset.......11 (inc 1 pen)

Stuart Fleetwood.......9

Robert Purdie...........4

Four other player have each scored two goals.

Two other players have each scored one goal.



Wycombe's Top Goal Scorers - (All Competitions)

Scott Rendell............9 (inc 4 pens)

Kevin Betsy..............6

Gareth Ainsworth......5

Stuart Beavon..........5

Andy Sandell............5

Ben Strevens...........4

Matt Bloomfield........3

Three other players have each scored two goals.

One other player has scored one goal



Hereford Shooting (Top-3) - All Competitions

Mathieu Manset......27 on-target...30 off-target...0 against woodwork

Stuart Fleetwood....21 on-target...18 off-target...3 against woodwork

Joe Colbeck...........21 on-target...16 off-target...0 against woodwork



Wycombe Shooting (Top-3) - All Competitions

Kevin Betsy............15 on-target...30 off-target...1 against woodwork

Gareth Ainsworth....12 on-target...20 off-target...2 against woodwork

Stuart Beavon.........14 on-target...13 off-target...1 against woodwork



Most Assists

Wycombe - Kevin Betsy: 5

Hereford - McQuilkin & Manset: 4 each



Previous Meetings

In 7 previous meetings there have been 4 wins for Wycombe, 1 for Hereford and 2 draws.

At Adams Park there have been 2 wins for Wycombe and 2 draws.

1993/94 Lg2: Wycombe 3 Hereford 2

2006/07 Lg2: Wycombe 0 Hereford 0

2007/08 Lg2: Wycombe 2 Hereford 2

2010/11 Lg2: Wycomne 2 Hereford 1



The Man In The Middle

Tuesday's referee is Danny McDermid from London who was promoted to the National List of Referees in 2006. Last season he took charge of Wycombe's 2-2 draw at home to Oldham in which John Akinde was sent off and six players were booked. During the current campaign he's issued 3 red and 50 yellow cards in 15 games.



Prediction

Wycombe Wanderers 1 Hereford United 1

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