TALKING POINTS

Steve Harris

@steveharris84

ASH AND JARVIS

Brad Ash made it two goals as many games as he followed up his equaliser against Plymouth Argyle with the Gulls’ second in their 4-1 win over Exeter City.

Ash curled home from 20 yards in the 16th minute to make it 2-0 to United – after he was teed up by strike partner Aaron Jarvis. This move helped to provide further that the duo are combining well as a strike partnership.

When the Gulls have won promotions in the past they have often done so with a strike partnership who have scored 30 or more goals between. It’s a list that includes Dean Edwards and Tommy Tynan in 1990-91 (38), David Graham and Jo Kuffour in 2003-04 (34) and Jamie Reid and Saikou Janneh in 2018-19 (51). If Ash and Jarvis can add their name to that list then the Gulls would surely have done very well indeed in National League South.

STOBBS AND COLLINS

If a 30-plus goal a season partnership is arguably worth its weight in gold then a midfield who can chip in with their share of goals can be almost as equally valuable.

When the Gulls won the National League South title in the 2018-19 campaign, in addition to Jamie Reid and Saikou Janneh scoring over 50 goals between them, Jake Andrews and Kalvin Kalala found the back of the net 12 and 10 times respectively from midfield. There are signs that Lewis Collins and Jack Stobbs could replicate those goal-scoring returns after finding the target against the Grecians.

Collins gave the Gulls in the third minute with a half volleyed effort from the edge of the penalty area, after the City defence failed to clear a free-kick from United.

Stobbs then struck a well taken lob four minutes into the second half, which made it 3-0 to the Gulls.

If they can continue in this vein of form when the season gets up and running on August 5, then they will both be a real asset to the Gulls

THE RED CARD

Pierce Sweeney joined a list of players who have seen red in Devon derbies that includes Chris Curran (Grecians), Gary Brabin (Gulls), Kwame Ampadu (Grecians), David Graham (Gulls) and Danny Seaborne (Grecians), but they all occurred in competitive fixtures.

The Irishman reacted angrily to a tackle by United midfielder Tom Lapslie on the Grecians Ryan Trevitt and shoved Lapslie to the ground in an off-the-ball challenge which earned him a straight red card.

Nevertheless, it is worth noting that incidents like this are nothing new in Devon derbies in pre-season. I once read that Steve Cooper, the whole-hearted Gulls’ centre forward of the late 1970s and early 1980s, once left the field in a clash between United and Plymouth Argyle in 1983 with nine stitches to his head.

However, time and the game have moved on since then and whether Sweeney will receive a ban once the season gets underway remains to be seen, but nobody could say that the match wasn’t a full blooded contest.

MORE STRENGTH IN DEPTH

With Dan Martin re-signing, the permanent addition of Finley Craske following a successful trial spell and the loan acquisition of midfielder Will Davies-Jenkins from Plymouth Argyle, Gulls boss Gary Johnson now has a lot more strength in depth to his squad.

Their additions now means that Johnson has 20 players available to him, which includes the experienced duo of Dean Moxey and Kevin Dawson who are yet to feature in pre-season so far.

And, of course, there is still time for Johnson to dip into the loan market should he choose to do so.

ONE YEAR ON

Just as United improved on their pre-season performance and result against Plymouth Argyle from a year ago, they also did the same in comparison to their display against Exeter City.

Last season, the Gulls secured a 1-0 win over the Grecians that saw Brett McGavin volley home the only goal of the game on 81 minute and goalkeeper Mark Halstead produced a string of saves to keep the visitors at bay. However, this time round United performed in a more dominant and clinical manner, which will be just the tonic as they head into their final friendly against Southampton B next week.