The season that followed, 1996–97, saw a complete reverse in the club's fortunes. With debts mounting and the club having made a loss of over £300,000, Turner was forced to sell key players such as White and Richard Wilkins. A terrible run of form when the club went three months without a win meant they were sucked into the relegation dogfight. Brighton & Hove Albion, with their own well documented troubles, had seemed destined for relegation for much of the season. But they climbed above Hereford on the penultimate day of the season, leaving the Bulls 24th and bottom of the entire Football League. Both teams were level on points, and Hereford had a better goal difference, but the goals scored rule was in effect and Brighton had scored more goals. On 3 May 1997 the two clubs met in a relegation decider at Edgar Street, which was the subject of considerable media interest as one club would relegate the other. Hereford needed a win to survive while Brighton only required a draw thanks to their having scored more goals. A capacity crowd saw Hereford take the lead in the first half through an own goal by Kerry Mayo from Tony Agana's cross. Brighton equalised in the second half against the run of play through Robbie Reinelt, who snapped up the rebound after a shot crashed against the post. In the last minute Hereford had a chance to save themselves but leading scorer Adrian Foster shot weakly at the goalkeeper when one-on-one. The final whistle blew and Hereford were relegated after 25 years in the Football League. Graham Turner subsequently resigned as manager but withdrew his resignation after strong support from the board and supporters. The general belief around the club at the time was that the club were merely 'on loan' to the Conference, but it would prove to be a long road back.