Lincoln City V Hereford United
Tuesday, 14th December – 19:45 (GMT)
The draw for the Third Round wasn’t so kind on League Two duo Lincoln City and Hereford United who know the winner of their contest on Tuesday night will only be rewarded with another meeting with a fellow League Two compatriot in that of a trip to Wycombe Wanderers
It has been a tough year for Lincoln, who fended off the threat of relegation last season by the skin of their teeth and have continued in very much the same vein this season. Level on points with second from bottom Barnet, Lincoln find themselves hovering directly above the relegation zone and have only Barnet’s inferior goal difference to save them from an unpleasant spell inside the bottom two. At the their weekend their best run of league form for the entire season came crashing to an as back-to-wins over Morecambe and, somewhat ironically, Hereford, lift Lincoln fans into the clouds before a whopping 5-0 home defeat to Bury brought them straight back down to earth again with a bang.
However, that stonking great loss came over two weeks ago, with each of their following fixtures, whether that be league or in the cup, being postponed since so they should be fresher for it even though mentally they haven’t yet had the opportunity to make amends.
It’s difficult to imagine a team in more woe than Lincoln, who earlier in the season seen former manager Chris Sutton walk out on them because of the team’s worrying form under his tenure in 2010, but there is a team: Hereford United. The Bulls, who are five points worse off in the league than their Second Round rivals and currently find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table, have stretched their legs with some competitive action of late, unlike Lincoln, but will have wished they hadn’t bothered. Saturday’s 1-0 loss away to Bradford was their third on the spin in the league and now leaves the club five points adrift of safety with many above them holding games in hand as well.
On the plus side, Hereford have at least enjoyed more scoring fortune on their travels this season although that is mainly down to two flash in the pan results away to fellow struggler’s Northampton Town and Stockport Country, whom they beat 4-3 and 5-0 respectively. If you were to ignore those two results then Hereford have only conjured three away goals in eight outings as well as failing to score in half of their away league fixtures altogether (5/10).
In order to make it this far in the competition, Lincoln needed to ensure they didn’t slip on a potential banana skin in the form of Nuneaton Town, a tie in which they won 1-0, while Hereford leathered small-timers Hythe Town 5-1 at Edgar Street.
Betting Assessment: I think it would be far to say that punters won’t exactly he head-over-heels about the prospect of betting on this match, with neither side boasting strong credentials for the win and the pair seriously struggling near the foot of the football league. However, Lincoln have the mental edge heading into Tuesday’s encounter having beaten The Bulls 3-1 earlier in the season at Sincil Bank 3-1, while they should have won the this Second Round clash outright over in Hereford had it not been for Mathieu Manset’s late equaliser, with the match ending in a 2-2 draw. However Lincoln have now scored five against Hereford and considering The Bulls have been dire in front of goal on the road this season, it would seem all the arrows are pointing in Lincoln’s direction.
Matt’s Selection(s):
Lincoln City to WIN – 2.10 Bet365
Disclaimer: With our FA Cup Second Round selections, we’re honest enough to say that we don’t have the world of confidence in our final picks. Because of this, we have tried to provide you with all the raw information needed in order for you to make your own honest assessment, with the Match Odds provided as well at the very bottom of the article. We wish you ll the best should you decide to have a bet on the matches in question; considering it’s the FA Cup, you may well need some.
Match Odds
Lincoln City – 2.10 Bet365
Draw – 3.40 Boylesports
Hereford United – 3.75 StanJames
