Hereford United 0 Exeter City 3.

Tuesday 5 October 2010.

On the road with Kirstie Bowden.

One week, two away games.

Best get started! Our second round fixture in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy saw us return to an old Conference favourite, Hereford.

The years that have passed have not been kind to Hereford, plummeting from the dizzy heights of League One to the foot of League Two with their ground in desperate need of a makeover. The disillusioned Hereford fans outside were resigned to defeat. "We're rubbish" they told us, before stroking Grecian the Lion in the hope that some ECFC magic would rub off on themIt didn't. We comprehensively beat them despite fielding a much changed side and with the game officiated by the dream team of Roger East and (the artist formerly known as) Amy Rayner! As per usual the 158 travelling Grecians were housed in either the away terrace or the turreted seated stand (complete with sheer drop) above itwith both offering resplendent views of the pitchWell, parts of it the bits that weren't obscured by pillars and railings! One thing you couldn't miss however was the booming voice of Artur whose instructions to his team mates could probably be heard in GloucesterA first half penalty from Nardiello and a second half strike from O'Flynn meant that we were able to laugh off the impression of Flackys epic miss from the 2003 Boxing Day fixture that followed from NardielloIt was at the same end as well! Our passage to the next round was confirmed deep into injury time thanks to a simply brilliant Duffy goal outrageously good for a defender that had us all on our feet and clinging on for dear life up in the seated section. We left the ground to the sounds of Tina Turners 'Simpl the Best' which was dedicated to Stanno by the tannoy announcer.

Retrospective Report 

A much-rotated City XI made easy work of the manager-less Bulls in round twoThe die-hard fans that had made the mid-week trip to Herefordshire enjoyed a relatively relaxing evening once Daniel Nardiello picked himself up after being tripped in the box and fired home the spot kick. Old heads Marcus and Rob were introduced either side of an O'Flynn finish before the moment of the night in the dying minutes. Richard Duffy just kept going when making a late burst from his own box and when a pinged pass found him he lifted a sensational chip into the back of the net.

BBC match summary and information 

Exeter sailed into the area quarter-finals of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy with a comfortable win at Hereford. Daniel Nardiello opened the scoring from the penalty spot after he was brought down by Michael Townsend. James McQuilken almost equalised when his lashed free-kick skimmed the post, but that was as close as the Bulls got. John O'Flynn turned James Dunne's cross home from six yards before Richard Duffy's powerful drive completed the procession deep into injury time.

Hereford caretaker-manager Jamie Pitman told BBC Hereford and Worcester:

"The first goal kills you at little, but we all make mistakes and thought we played very well. "We worked hard, and I don't think the score reflected the performance. "They have listened to what we have tried to do, and we have only been trying to implement something in one day."

Referee Roger East

Attendance 1286 with 158 City fans.