Danny Cowley paid tribute to Hereford and the late Ronnie Radford after Portsmouth reached the second round of the FA Cup on a poignant night for their non-league opponents.

There was a minute’s silence before the game after the death this week of Radford, scorer of one of the cup’s great goals while playing for the Bulls, and it was fitting that their scorer on the night, Miles Storey, also wore the number 11 shirt.

Cowley took the opportunity to remember the Hereford hero and his wonder goal that helped see off Newcastle 50 years ago.

He said: “I was so sad to hear the news about Ronnie Radford.

“He was such an iconic figure and had that iconic moment. For a lot of people my age, it will be one of the first memories of the FA Cup.

“It was great to celebrate his life this evening and the final word should go to Hereford FC because they’ve had it really tough and nearly lost their club and have come fighting back.

“We knew it would be our toughest game of the season and the first half just proved that. It was a proper football game, two proper football clubs both saved by their supporters. Lots of respect to them.

“I thought their players were outstanding, gave us real problems first half. It was a great atmosphere and a really good night for English football.

“Our young players will have learnt a lot from tonight. A couple of them found it really difficult first half and will be better for that experience.”

Storey’s 26th-minute opener was no more than the National League North side deserved, slotting the ball between the legs of keeper Josh Griffiths.

But the lead was short-lived with Pompey back on level terms just seven minutes later when a Hereford mistake allowed Reeco Hackett to thump home the equaliser from close range.

There had been little between the sides in the first half but Portsmouth dominated the second and it was no surprise when Colby Bishop glanced home skipper Clark Robertson’s corner on 61 minutes.

Any slim hopes of a fightback ended 10 minutes from the end when Bishop turned another Robertson corner goalwards for substitute Joe Pigott to stab home.

Bulls boss Josh Gowling said: “I’m really disappointed because I thought we should have got something out of the game, but goals change games and the quality of the delivery they have changes games.

“I thought in the first half we were excellent but we’ve made one mistake and it has cost us a goal and that’s the difference in levels.

“It’s a shame because we were in the ascendancy and they looked nervous. I thought we were on top and looked like we could go on and win the game but we’ve given them a leg up and a little lift and you could see their performance was raised after that.”