Hereford earned a vital three points in their fight against the drop as they thrashed promotion-chasing Crawley.

A mix-up between keeper Michel Kuiper and defender Dean Howell gifted Joe Colbeck the opener for the Bulls.

They doubled their lead in the second half when Delroy Facey rounded Kuiper and supplied substitute Yoann Arquin, who walked the ball into an empty net.

And the forward grabbed his second when he drilled home into the bottom corner to secure Hereford an important win.

The Bulls now need to beat Torquay in their final game to stand a chance of staying up.

The Red Devils, meanwhile, remain in third place after Crewe's last-gasp equaliser against the Gulls.

VIEWS FROM THE DRESSING ROOM:

Crawley caretaker manager Craig Brewster told BBC Sussex:

"Extremely disappointing. The fans turned up in great numbers today expecting a good result and we let them down a bit.

"The real disappointment for me was the calamity we lost the first two goals. It was there for us to do but we didn't deliver. But we're still in it.

"I thought it would take two wins. One win will do it, and we know what we need to do next week."

Hereford manager Richard O'Kelly told BBC Hereford & Worcester:

"We defended well, kept organised, and the pleasing thing was we were constructive with the ball.

"We went forward with a bit of quality and that really pleased me.

"I'm a great believer that what you do on the training pitch will transmit into the game. They've got confidence with what they've achieved.

"We need a good crowd next week at Edgar Street to give us a boost and put the pressure on Torquay."

Lineup, Bookings (2) & Substitutions (6)

Crawley Town

  • 01 Kuipers Booked
  • 03 Howell (Neilson - 70' )
  • 05 McFadzean
  • 20 Wassmer
  • 28 Davis
  • 02 Davies (Akinde - 84' )
  • 07 Clarke (Watt - 78' )
  • 08 Torres
  • 11 Simpson
  • 15 Bulman
  • 09 Alexander

Substitutes

  • 25 Shearer
  • 04 Mills
  • 22 Neilson
  • 10 Watt
  • 17 Akinde

Hereford United

  • 01 Bartlett
  • 05 Townsend
  • 12 Purkiss
  • 19 Chambers
  • 22 Anthony
  • 04 Pell
  • 06 Purdie Booked
  • 08 Featherstone
  • 11 Lunt (McQuilkin - 87' )
  • 17 Colbeck (Arquin - 68' )
  • 10 Facey (Stam - 85' )

Substitutes

  • 24 Stam
  • 14 McQuilkin
  • 18 Clist
  • 27 Clucas
  • 09 Arquin
Ref: Russell
Att: 4,615

Match Stats

Shots

18 6

On target

10 5

Corners

12 3

Fouls

3 14

Live Text Commentary

90:00 +4:00 Full time

Full Time The referee ends the match.

90:00 +1:10

Foul by Sergio Torres on Yoann Arquin, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by James Chambers.

89:47

Corner taken right-footed by Scott Neilson, clearance made by James Chambers. Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Sanchez Watt from the right by-line, Yoann Arquin manages to make a clearance.

88:19

Header by John Akinde from deep inside the penalty area misses to the left of the goal.

87:22

Shot from long range by Yoann Arquin goes wide of the left-hand post.

86:13 Substitution

Substitution Kenny Lunt leaves the field to be replaced by James McQuilkin.

84:42

Foul by Sergio Torres on Robert Purdie, free kick awarded. Adam Bartlett takes the direct free kick.

83:55 Substitution

Substitution Stefan Stam replaces Delroy Facey.

83:55

Handball by Delroy Facey. Direct free kick taken by Charlie Wassmer.

83:07 Substitution

Substitution John Akinde replaces Scott Davies.

82:16 Goal scored

Goal - Yoann Arquin - Crawley 0 - 3 Hereford Yoann Arquin scores a goal from the edge of the penalty area to the bottom left corner of the goal. Crawley Town 0-3 Hereford.

81:41

Robert Purdie gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Charlie Wassmer. Free kick taken by Charlie Wassmer.

79:58

Dannie Bulman takes a shot. Save by Adam Bartlett.

78:32

Gary Alexander takes a shot. Blocked by Michael Townsend.

78:01

The official flags Yoann Arquin offside. Kyle McFadzean restarts play with the free kick.

77:19 Substitution

Substitution (Crawley Town) makes a substitution, with Sanchez Watt coming on for Billy Clarke.

76:22

Assist on the goal came from Delroy Facey.

76:22 Goal scored

Goal - Yoann Arquin - Crawley 0 - 2 Hereford Yoann Arquin gets on the score sheet with a goal from inside the six-yard box to the bottom right corner of the goal. Crawley Town 0-2 Hereford.

74:38

Scott Davies takes the inswinging corner, clearance made by James Chambers. Shot by Dannie Bulman from outside the area goes high over the crossbar.

73:56

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Kyle McFadzean by Yoann Arquin. Direct free kick taken by Michel Kuipers.

72:55

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Scott Davies by Yoann Arquin. Free kick crossed by Scott Davies, Adam Bartlett makes a comfortable save.

71:23

Scott Neilson takes a shot. Byron Anthony gets a block in. Inswinging corner taken by Scott Davies from the left by-line, Gary Alexander takes a shot. Byron Anthony manages to make a clearance.

69:17 Substitution

Substitution (Crawley Town) makes a substitution, with Scott Neilson coming on for Dean Howell.

67:34 Substitution

Substitution Joe Colbeck goes off and Yoann Arquin comes on.

67:34

Byron Anthony gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Billy Clarke. Billy Clarke takes the direct free kick.

66:15

Shot by Billy Clarke. Fantastic save by Adam Bartlett.

64:32

Scott Davies takes a shot. Adam Bartlett makes a fantastic save. Outswinging corner taken from the right by-line by Scott Davies.

60:53

Sergio Torres takes a shot.

60:02

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Kenny Lunt by Claude Davis. Free kick taken by Nicky Featherstone.

54:12

Assist on the goal came from Delroy Facey.

54:12 Goal scored

Goal - Joe Colbeck - Crawley 0 - 1 Hereford Joe Colbeck grabs a goal from deep inside the penalty box to the bottom right corner of the goal. Crawley Town 0-1 Hereford.

52:31

Scott Davies fouled by Harry Pell, the ref awards a free kick. Claude Davis takes the free kick.

50:34

Corner taken right-footed by Kenny Lunt from the right by-line, Michel Kuipers makes a fantastic save.

48:53

Effort from outside the penalty area by Kyle McFadzean goes wide left of the goal.

48:29

Kenny Lunt challenges Sergio Torres unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick taken by Dean Howell.

46:04

Corner taken right-footed by Scott Davies from the left by-line to the near post, Michael Townsend makes a clearance.

45:42

Foul by Delroy Facey on Josh Simpson, free kick awarded. Scott Davies takes the free kick.

45:01

The game restarts for the second half.

45:00 +1:06 Half time

Half Time The first half comes to an end.

44:51

Billy Clarke takes a shot. Blocked by James Chambers. Billy Clarke takes a inswinging corner from the right by-line to the near post, clearance made by Byron Anthony.

43:35

Kyle McFadzean produces a left-footed shot from just outside the penalty area that goes harmlessly over the target.

42:52

Scott Davies takes a outswinging corner to the near post, clearance by James Chambers.

42:05

Foul by Robert Purdie on Michel Kuipers, free kick awarded. Michel Kuipers takes the free kick.

42:05 Booking

Booking Robert Purdie receives a caution for unsporting behaviour.

37:54

Kenny Lunt produces a shot on goal direct from the free kick, save by Michel Kuipers.

37:54 Booking

Booking Michel Kuipers is given a yellow card.

37:49

Michel Kuipers is adjudged to have handled the ball.

36:40

Scott Davies takes the outswinging corner, Harry Pell manages to make a clearance.

36:10

Kenny Lunt is penalised for handball and concedes a free kick. Free kick taken by Charlie Wassmer.

33:59

Free kick awarded for a foul by Kenny Lunt on Kyle McFadzean. Free kick taken by Billy Clarke. Billy Clarke takes a shot. Blocked by Delroy Facey.

32:24

The referee blows for offside against Billy Clarke. Adam Bartlett restarts play with the free kick.

30:49

Nicky Featherstone takes a shot. Save by Michel Kuipers.

24:45

Inswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Scott Davies, Kyle McFadzean produces a left-footed shot from just outside the penalty box that misses to the left of the goal.

23:42

Kenny Lunt gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Sergio Torres. Direct free kick taken by Dean Howell.

22:45

Kenny Lunt decides to take a short corner.

21:05

Gary Alexander takes a shot. Save by Adam Bartlett.

20:42

Unfair challenge on Billy Clarke by Harry Pell results in a free kick. Scott Davies takes the free kick.

19:43

Corner taken right-footed by Kenny Lunt from the right by-line, Charlie Wassmer makes a clearance.

17:27

Billy Clarke delivers the ball in from the corner, clearance by Harry Pell. Corner from right by-line taken by Billy Clarke.

16:24

Nicky Featherstone concedes a free kick for a foul on Sergio Torres. Direct free kick taken by Billy Clarke.

15:34

Billy Clarke has an effort at goal from outside the penalty box which goes wide right of the target.

12:52

Scott Davies has an effort at goal from outside the box which goes wide left of the goal.

11:28

Kyle McFadzean takes a shot. Byron Anthony gets a block in. Handball by Byron Anthony. Free kick taken by Scott Davies.

10:56

Joe Colbeck concedes a free kick for a foul on Kyle McFadzean. Direct free kick taken by Scott Davies.

10:01

The referee gives a free kick against Robert Purdie for handball. Free kick taken by Charlie Wassmer.

6:47

The offside flag is raised against Gary Alexander. Adam Bartlett restarts play with the free kick.

4:05

Michael Townsend challenges Gary Alexander unfairly and gives away a free kick. Dean Howell restarts play with the free kick.

1:47

The assistant referee flags for offside against Billy Clarke. Adam Bartlett restarts play with the free kick.

0:00

The match gets underway.

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