Hereford 11pts

Aston Old Edwardians 29

HEREFORD failed to build on an excellent start as the Birmingham side took full advantage of their openings to push the city club further into the relegation mire at the foot of Midlands 2 West.

And to make matters worse, Hereford lost skipper Andy Johnson who was the victim of a controversial second-half sending-off decision.

The Wyesiders opened the scoring with only 30 seconds on the clock when a series of drives took them deep into Aston territory.

Charlie Langford then charged down a kick and Richard Mayson drove over to score. Colin Osborne failed with the conversion attempt.

Old Edwardians then hit back with two tries but Hereford were still well in touch at the interval, thanks to two penalties from Osborne.

Ten minutes into the second period, however, Hereford's hopes slumped when the referee considered Johnson to be guilty of punching and issued an immediate red card.

"It was a decision which left spectators and all of the players completely bemused," said Mayson.

Hereford tried to put the setback behind them and mounted a sustained spell of pressure only to be left disappointed when the OEs' full-back and wing staged a breakaway from near their own line to score a further try.

Another late try after a good move then sealed Hereford's fate.

It was tough on Hereford whose back row of Mike Griffiths, Ben Collier and Jamie Bullock had battled away strongly to support fly-half Gary Preece, who stood out in the Hereford backs.