TRURO CITY (A) PREVIEW by Steve Harris

TT PREVIEW

Steve Harris – @steveharris84

Steve previews the friendly

TRURO CITY vs TORQUAY UNITED

Venue: Bolitho Park, Plymouth

Date: Saturday 30th July 2022

Kick-off: 3pm

EXETER CITY FACTFILE

Year founded: 1889

Nickname: The White Tigers

Notable honours:

FA Vase winners: 2006-07

Southern League Premier Champions: 2010-11

Southern League Division South and West Champions: 2008-09

MANAGER: PAUL WOTTON

After making his debut for his hometown Plymouth Argyle as a teenager in the 1994-95 campaign, Paul Wotton went on to captain the Pilgrims to their Third Division championship under Paul Sturrock in the 2001-02 season. Two years later, he also captained Argyle to the Second Division title in the 2003-04 campaign and remained a regular at Home Park until his release at the end of the season.

Spells with Southampton and Yeovil Town followed before Wotton returned to Home Park midway through the 2011-12 season. When he returned to Home Park, the Pilgrims had just exited Administration and were fighting to avoid being relegated from the Football League. He played a key role in helping the Pilgrims retain their place in League Two under Carl Fletcher. Wotton then remained at Home Park for the remainder of his playing career before joining the Argyle coaching staff in 2014. Wotton worked as first team coach under both John Sheridan and Derek Adams. He rose to the position of assistant manager, which he held until him and Adams were dismissed from their respective roles towards the end of the 2018-19 season, before becoming Truro manager in the summer of 2019.

PLAYER TO WATCH: TYLER HARVEY

Former Plymouth Argyle starlet Tyler Harvey is currently in his second spell with the White Tigers after re-joining the club from Bath City in 2019. Harvey broke into the Argyle side as a 17-year-old and scored his first goal for the Pilgrims against the Gulls in a 1-1 draw on Boxing Day 2012.

Harvey left Home Park in 2016 to sign for Wrexham– but would return to the South West midway through the 2016-17 season when he was loaned to Bath City. His next move would see him sign for Truro City, where he stayed until 2019 when he signed for Bath on a permanent basis. He soon re-joined the White Tigers and has been the club’s top scorer over the past three seasons.

OLD BOYS

Truro: James Hamon

Torquay: None

PREVIOUS HEAD TO HEAD

TORQUAY UNITED 3 – 0 TRURO CITY

27th July 2021

Torquay United enjoyed a 3-0 win against Truro City at Plainmoor with Danny Wright, Louie Slough and Klaidi Lolos getting the goals in the pre-season friendly.

Wright headed the Gulls into an early lead when he connected with neat cross by Connor Lemonheigh-Evans.

The Gulls suffered a worrying injury blow midway through the first half when new signing Tom Lapslie left the field with what looked like a thigh injury. He was replaced by Klaidi Lolos.

Home keeper Marcin Brzozowski made two excellent first half saves to deny Truro’s impressive Ryan Brett.

Substitute Slough doubled Torquay’s lead with a looping header from an Armani Little cross and Klaidi Lolos made it 3-0 near the end with a close-range finish after Olaf Koszela’s effort had been saved.