MATCH VERDICT

Clive Hayward

@Byehorse

TORQUAY UNITED 2-1 CHIPPENHAM TOWN – MATCH SUMMARY

Torquay managed a late win against visitors with a 100% record.

It’s not as exciting as it sounds.

Despite being able to recall the normally influential Tom Lapslie and a switch to a 4-4-2 system which enabled a better performance than on Saturday, Torquay produced nothing of note in the first 45 minutes.

Unlikely hero Ross Marshall started and finished a lovely move to put us in front after 50 minutes. He brought the ball out from the back, sprayed it wide & got on his bike. He met a decent cross (Stobbs) with a header that seemed to gain pace off the turf to beat the keeper. Fantastic.

Shaun Donnellan and Chippenham combined to suck the air out of the balloon only three minutes later. He got caught out on the break, and a decent cross and finish restored the equilibrium. Which is to say 2000 people wondering how on earth supporting Torquay United could get any worse.

We may yet find out about that, but after a Chippenham player saw a second yellow for a foul shortly before a ridiculous 11 minutes’ injury time a quality cross (Ash) and a poacher’s finish (Jarvis) got the home team over the line for a win which was probably deserved, but which had to worked for extremely hard.

PLAYER RATINGS

1. GK: Mark Halstead – 6.5

Mark got the captain’s armband when Hall went off, which tells us something about his stature in the squad nowadays. No chance with the goal and little to do otherwise. He also pointed out Marshall’s injury to the bench well before they took any action to stop it getting worse.

16. RB: Shaun Donnellan – 5

The howler is never far away. Chippenham’s equaliser was almost entirely his fault. He disappoints, mostly. I think he has peaked. We’re not talking K2. Haytor maybe?

3. LB: Dan Martin – 7

Oh, Dan. He’s got a bit of pace, likes to get forward and gave us welcome width. But will he ever put a run of games together? Cramping an hour in and had to be replaced by Dylan Crowe. Thus ensued the longest half an hour of my life.

23. CB: Ollie Tomlinson – 6.5

Little of note from the youngster. Probably therefore a tick for a centre back.

6. CB: Ross Marshall – 7

No memorable mistakes from the centre back, and oh my word what a goal that was. Hamstring let him down well before the end though. Why are full time players so lacking in conditioning? It’s basic isn’t it? Run them in pre-season, get them fit?

27. RW: Jack Stobbs – 5.5

Not his best game. I feel he should have been able to produce far more tonight. I think he probably still just about gets the start ahead of De Silva, but the word that springs to mind is “workmanlike”. I don’t want my wingers to be workmanlike.

8. MF: Asa Hall – 5.5

Injured in August, lion-hearted in April? We’ve seen this movie before. But all good things come to an end.

4. MF: Tom Lapslie – 5.5

I didn’t understand the Man of the Match adjudication in his favour. He did what he does: running, tackling, annoying the opposition. But he was second to too many balls for me, and although I was pleased to see him back after injury I think he was below par.

10. LW: Lewis Collins – 4

This may be harsh, but he’s a good player and he was way off it tonight down the left. He should terrorise this league. Extremely disappointing.

11. ST: Bradley Ash – 6.5

Is he going to be “mercurial”? Great feet to fashion himself a chance from nothing and hit the byline for the killer cross in injury time, but there were quite long periods of mediocrity.

9. ST: Aaron Jarvis – 6

Get in there, you beauty! Got on the end of Ash’s cross and won the game. For most of the second half, however, he cut a frustrated figure. There was a hint of a limp. Was he injured or just dejected at the dross all around him? Should he stay at Plainmoor? Probably not. Will he stay? Let’s hope so!

Subs

2. LB: Dylan Crowe – 4

Notionally, Dylan is a right back. He had to come on as a left back when Martin ran out of steam. Not absolutely ideal for him but it’s still a defensive position up the side of the pitch. Odd, then that this former England Under 15, England Under 16, England Under 17 and England Under 18 International should look so ill at ease? No. It’s not really. We’ve seen enough. We don’t know what has gone wrong in Dylan’s life and I feel very sorry for him that his career is not panning out as he would have expected. My sphincter twitches every time the ball goes near him. At one point, 20 yards in from the touchline, he managed to head a straight ball out of play. Free jump. Nobody near him. Not good enough.

17. RW: Dillon De Silva – 6

A Pop Side favourite. Changed the game against (ahem) Taunton last season. Did look bright at times against the tiring Wiltshiremen, In a poor squad, we invest much hope in him. Time will tell.

18. MF: Will Jenkins Davies – 6

My son has detected “a hint of the Matt Buses” about the TBGS alumnus. I watched him with interest tonight, because he’s a new midfielder who is neither McGavin nor Hanson; because he went to my old school and because I’d love a local lad to do well. He wasn’t dreadful. Neither did he look particularly creative. Good luck to him.

Rate the TUFC Players Here

MAN OF THE MATCH – ROSS MARSHALL

Ross Marshall’s goal is in my top three goals from Torquay centre backs. Wes Saunders’ carry from the halfway line against Hereford and a similar effort from Joe Lewis against Wealdstone a year or two back are now joined by Ross’ magnificent effort tonight. Combine that with a reasonably competent defensive performance before the body gave out and he can have the plastic shield.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Aaron Jarvis must be regretting not moving, and of course he may yet do that. He was fairly poor tonight, truth be told, but he knows where the goal is and when most hope had gone he found a pig, killed it, smoked it, sliced it & brought home the bacon.

THE OFFICIALS

The referee tonight has definitely received Howard Webb’s memo. Almost 2 hours of performative nonsense. He can have 6/10 for his general decision making but it was punctuated by ostentatious watch-tapping and he found 11 minutes’ injury time in the second half. There was a farcical episode where a Torquay player was retreating at reasonable speed from a free kick with back to taker. The Chippenham left back fired the ball into his back. Yellow card to Torquay. Said number three then took the kick from where the ball had landed. Whistle blown. You can have a yellow too.

Really? Get a life ref!

TACTICS

4-4-2

I am largely unreconstructed in my regard for this system. With the tools at our disposal I believe it makes sense, allowing Stobbs/De Silva and Collins to pay higher. Both goals tonight came from crosses and I believe it give us more of a chance.

THE OPPOSITION

I have seen descriptions tonight such as “terrible” and “poor” of Chippenham. Nonsense. They couldn’t live at any higher level, I don’t believe, but they had won their first two games and looked quite well organised. On this very limited evidence, I suspect the NLS is a better league than in 2018. The goal-scorer Fasanmade looked alright to me. In the first half they looked far from intimidated and kept the ball quite well. There was more pressure on them in the second half but I would imagine they will be top half.

CONCLUSION

In American sport, they will tell you it’s all about the “W”. Never mind the quality, feel the three points.

Sure, we can do that.

It feels better to have won a game, but we still support a club where inertia has become an art form. We remain shackled to a management team that inspires as much confidence as Boris Johnson’s birth control and I believe serious questions need to be asked about:

· The pre-season fitness programmes

· The clear lack of investment in the squad

· The “owner’s” indifference to significant and sadly now prolonged failure by Johnson & Downes

· The lack of any meaningful communication or engagement between the “owner” and the supporters

But you know & I know that’s not going to happen.

COYY – CLIVE

SOCIAL MEDIA

Beautiful night for a victory #TUFC#COYY pic.twitter.com/BfDIRK7tuW

— Tibs (@tibsashton) August 15, 2023

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