TALKING POINTS

Danny Burnell

@dannyburnell_92

Danny discusses the win at Maidenhead.

MOMENTUM

A few weeks ago, United were on 31 points, 9 adrift of safety and looking nailed on for relegation to the NLS. Fast forward to 5pm on Easter Monday, the Gulls’ have acquired 12 points from the last 12 available, and find themselves within reach of the looming pack. Whether the promotion-hitting form has come a little to late remains to be seen, and with Chesterfield & Wrexham on the horizon, Torquay’s mettle will be tested to the max. The Gulls’ have given themselves a fighting chance, something very few of us would have said after the home defeat to Dagenham. York come to town next weekend in what is shaping up to be a huge clash at the bottom, and with the way Torquay are playing at the moment, they will fancy themselves against anyone in this league. Only Gateshead & Wrexham boast better form in this league. There are some sides that teams will want to face come these last few games of the season, Torquay United are not one of them. Underestimate us at your peril!

RELYING ON OTHER RESULTS

Even with 4 wins on the spin, we still find ourselves in the position of having to rely on other results to go our way. Such was the disaster of the first 38 games, 12 points from 12 means we remain below the dotted line, at the expense of our nearest counterparts, Aldershot, Dorking & York. The game Saturday will at least mean it is within ‘our’ hands to ensure York remain pointless over the weekend, but with Shots’ facing the hopeless Scunthorpe, you’d fancy them to bag a positive result. We must remain in tandem with this lot, and that pretty much means winning all our remaining games, and hoping others do us a massive favour, (yeah, cheers Eastleigh…..).

SUPER FRANK

If you are an advocate of social media, you would have seen the meltdown unfolding at Huish Park, as manager and owner go head-2-head. If reports are to be believed, Nouble could have been lining up for the Glovers’, but on the 11th hour, the deal supposedly fell through with the Gulls’ swooping for the former West Ham & Wolves striker. Yeovil’s loss is very much our gain as Frank showed his class and prowess yesterday with a delightful double. His all round game was superb, constantly linking up with the midfield & Jarvis to create some golden opportunities. But he’s not just a power-house in the mould of Bayo, he’s agile, he’s nimble, and he’s a constant menace for any defenders. Casing point for the first goal where he out-sprinted his man, rounded the keeper, and from the acutest of angles, managed to find the net. His second was more straightforward, and the keeper probably should have done better, but taking nothing away from the former Colchester man, he was in fine form. The Jarvis-Nouble partnership looks bright, and boy do we need it to be over the next few weeks.

GAME MANAGEMENT

Not that we needed to do much of it, but once again Torquay saw the game out with a minimum of fuss. But for a sloppy pass in the midfield, it would have been an even more handsome scoreline, in what was a fairly one-sided contest. Even when the Magpies’ did strike, Halstead was rarely troubled, and the Gulls’ managed to maintain possession in the right areas. Lapslie and Dawson were an abundance of energy in the centre, Hall was a picture of calm. Down the flanks, Collins’ showed excellent work rate in his tracking back, and Stobbs, before his injury, showed moments of real quality. Half time replacement Wyatt put in a solid shift with a series of jinking runs. The back three, although largely untroubled, remained a solid unit and the strikers were a constant handful for the Maidenhead back-line. The game was seen out in expert fashion, similar to that at Boreham Wood, Scunthorpe & Eastleigh, and it was relatively plain-sailing for the rampant Yellows’.

THE NATIONAL LEAGUE

One thing is for sure, IF we go down, the National League will be much poorer for it. Our fanbase for a club in the isolated South West of England is superb. Although no official figures have been mentioned, there must have been close to 600-700 of the Yellow Army that descended on York Road. 3rd bottom and a season as doom and gloom as you can remember, the Torquay fans continue to turn up in their droves to support this magnificent football club. This isn’t a ‘billy-big bo****cks’ statement, but only a handful of sides in this division can boast of such a strong following. No dis-respect to the Boreham Wood’s of this division, but I can confidently predict a side like Maidenhead will want an away following of Torquay’s ilk playing at their ground season after season, not least for the ££££ it adds to the coffers. We’ll no doubt take a similar, if not larger, contingent to Altrincham in a couple of weeks, to further enhance the claim of being one of the best supported sides in this league!