TT MATCH PREVIEW
Steve Harris – @steveharris84
Match details: Torquay United versus Dover Athletic
Venue: Plainmoor
Date: Saturday 17th October 2020
Kick-off: 3pm
Current Form:
Torquay: W – L – W – W
Dover: W – L – L – L
Leading Scorers:
Torquay: Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, Sam Sherring, Adam Randell, Danny Wright, Louis Britton, Asa Hall – 1 each
Dover: Sam Wood, Harry Ransom – 1 each
Head to Head:
Torquay: 4 Draw: 1 Dover: 4
Last time the two teams met:
Saturday 17th August 2019, Dover Athletic 1 Torquay United 2 – National League
Asa Hall scored and was then sent off as Torquay United secured a valuable victory over Dover Athletic.
Two goals in three minutes at the start of the second half from Hall and Jamie Reid set United on their way to a victory over a home side who were looking for their fourth win of the season.
Dover laid siege to the away goal and two minutes from time Hall was sent off for a handball in the area and Inih Effiong slammed the ball home from the spot.
There was little to get excited about in the first half, but the game burst in to life early in the second. Hall headed home a Jake Andrews corner in the 51st minute before another Andrews delivery set up Reid to nod in his third of the season. Dover applied plenty of pressure, but Torquay stood firm as they looked on course to keep a clean sheet for the first time this season.
However, there was late drama when Hall stopped an Alfie Pavey header, which appeared to be going in, with his hand and saw red. Effiong fired the resulting penalty into the top-left corner, but Dover could not find a leveller.
Manager: Andy Hessenthaler
A vastly experienced manager at National League level, Andy Hessenthaler is currently in his second spell as manager of Dover Athletic – having returned to the Crabble in October 2018 to succeed Chris Kinnear. During his first spell in charge of the Lillywhites he won the Isthmian League Division South and the Isthmian League Premier Division in successive seasons between 2007 and 2009, and combined the manager’s role with playing.
As a player, he was released by Charlton Athletic as a youngster before dropping into non-league football, but made a return to the pro game with Watford in 1991. Hessenthaler, a midfielder by trade, spent the bulk of his career with the Hornets and Gillingham, who he also managed three times (which included one spell as caretaker). Other clubs that he has managed include Leyton Orient.
One to watch: Ade Azeez
When he netted on his second debut for Torquay United against FC Halifax, which secured the Gulls a 1-0 win in their third fixture prior to the National League’s Covid-19 enforced suspension, Ade Azeez became one of only two players to have scored on both their debuts for United. He had also netted on his first debut for the Gulls in September 2013 against Newport County, when he originally joined as a teenage hopeful on loan from Charlton Athletic. A much travelled striker, Azeez has also had spells with AFC Wimbledon, Partick Thistle, Cambridge United and Newport, who were his parent club when he arrived at Plainmoor for his second loan spell.
