Just seven months after Hereford crushed Salisbury FC’s Wembley dreams, emotions will be high as the teams reunite in this weekend’s Buildbase FA Trophy clash, but Whites boss Steve Claridge insists revenge is not top priority.
Mike Symons and Joe Tumelty were the Hereford heroes back in March as the Bulls booked their spot in The FA Vase Final with a 3-1 aggregate victory over Claridge’s men, in the first meeting between the two sides under their new guises.
Turn the clock forward to the current day however, and both are battling it out in the Southern League Division One South & West, with Hereford perched comfortably atop the table, having only dropped two points from their first nine fixtures.
Salisbury v Hereford
The Buildbase FA Trophy
Preliminary Round
3pm, Saturday 8 October 2016
Raymond McEnhill Stadium
Winners receive £2500 from prize fund
Click here for fixtures
By Katie Falkingham
But that has not swayed mid-table Salisbury’s confidence, and with their Emirates FA Cup journey having ended with a 2-1 defeat to Gloucester City last month, all eyes are on a successful Trophy run to right the wrongs of the previous campaign.
"It’s a big game for us because of what happened last season, and it’s a big trophy as well," said Claridge, who took over the Whites’ reins in April 2015.
“Both teams are enjoying keeping their seasons going with the cup run so with both of us now being out of The FA Cup, this weekend takes on even more importance.
"This is our FA Cup now, this is our big one, and it would be lovely to try and do well in it.
"Hereford are top of our table and we want to be the first team in the league to beat them.
"We’re not seeking revenge for what happened last time because they were very gracious in victory, and hopefully we were gracious in defeat, we respect them as a football club.
"They were better than us on the day, but hopefully that won’t be the case this time round. I’m not 100 per cent certain Hereford are as strong as they were last year, and I think we are a little bit better, so hopefully we can give them a good game."
Salisbury have struggled for consistency so far this term, and currently sit ninth in the league having picked up 16 points from their first ten fixtures – although they did record a thumping 10-0 Cup victory on Tuesday evening against Dorchester Town.
And Claridge is confident their fortunes are on the up as they prepare for the arrival of Peter Beadle’s men on Saturday.
"Our league form has been a bit up and down, but I know one thing and that is that we haven’t had one ounce of luck this season,” he said.
"I’m not someone who talks about things like that but nothing has gone our way this season, so hopefully that will start to change soon.
"Our injured players are gradually starting to come back so we will get better, we will get stronger, and we’re going to give it another go."
Buildbase FA Trophy history
This season marks Salisbury’s debut in The FA Trophy under their new guise, having reached the last eight of the competition as Salisbury City in 2005-06 and 2006-07. In 2009-10, they went one better and reached the semi-finals, but lost to Barrow in both legs before going out in the quarter-finals the following year with a 2-1 defeat to Darlington. Saturday’s fixture also sees Hereford make their bow in The FA Trophy since forming in 2014, but the club has reached the semi-final of the competition as Hereford United on two occasions, firstly in 1970-71, and then 30 years later in 2000-01.
Did you know?
Salisbury boss Steve Claridge played for 21 clubs during his career, never spending more than three years with a club at any one time.
One to watch
Salisbury’s Thomas Wright has enjoyed a bumper start to the season, having netted nine goals since the start of the new campaign. Hereford striker John Mills is also in fine form with ten goals to his name, having hit the back of the net on 52 occasions last season.
The prize
The winners of the clash will be one of 64 teams progressing to first round qualifiers, with £2,500 up for grabs.
