Hereford United boss John Trewick has praised teenager Jonny Godsmark, whose second goal in four days for the Bulls was enough to secure a 1-1 draw with Cheltenham Town.
Speaking before last night’s home league clash with Bury, Trewick said he felt Godsmark would continue to terrorise League Two defences.
“I’m very pleased with him,” said Trewick. “He’s direct, pacy and he likes to run in behind defenders. He’s always a threat to the opposition goal and has been in positions to have caused other problems as well.”
Godsmark, who has joined Hereford on a six-month loan from Newcastle to get experience, followed up his match winning goal against Charlton Athletic in the Carling Cup by cancelling out Elvis Hammond’s earlier strike for the Robins.
The 19-year-old burst into the Cheltenham penalty area before lashing a penetrating pass from Kenny Lunt past the Robin’s goalkeeper Scott Brown.
But it took a spectacular save from Adam Barlett to stop David Bird snatching victory for the Robins in the dying minutes.
Bartlett turned Bird’s on-target header over the crossbar to secure a point against Cheltenham, who were the better team on the day.
The Robins took the lead in the 60th minute when Hammond swept past central defender Richard Rose before beating goalkeeper Bartlett from ten yards.
Hereford however rallied in the 76th minute when Godsmark rifled the ball past Brown for the equaliser.
Despite Godsmark’s ability in front of goal, Trewick remains steadfast in his search to bring another striker to Edgar Street.
“It’s well documented,” said Trewick. “There’s room for another striker.”
“We can’t go through the next four of five weeks let alone the next for or five months with the squad we have. We know we have to add another one or two players.”
Meanwhile, club chairman Graham Turner has spoken out about the latest off field developments concerning the club’s Edgar Street home ground.
The closure of the Blackfriars stand means the current capacity has been slashed to just over the 5,000 as required by the FA, meaning maintenance to other parts of the ground are now urgent.
“Our proposed new stand will increase capacity by 1,500 but we have to carry out some major work on the Meadow End before the end of January in order to maintain the lower capacity,” said Turner.
“It is a cost that we wanted to avoid because we expect a second new stand to be built there in the next four years.”
“Spectators’ safety is always the most important factor and if the work needs doing then it will have to be carried out and we will just have to bear the cost”.
Turner also said that the long-running dispute with West Mercia Police surrounding matchday “vicinity charges” is likely to continue.
“It will not go away,” he said. “We feel strongly, as do our solicitors, that legislation provides us and demands that we pay for any policing inside the ground or on the footprint of the stadium. Legislation does not require us to pay for extra policing anywhere else.”