TALKING POINTS

Dom Roman

@DomRoman

Dom discusses the win at Priory Lane

INCONSISTENCY REIGNS

I predicted a win for the Gulls before this game, because that’s just the way 2023/24 seems to go…and we were playing 20th place Eastbourne Borough. When the Yellows perform badly and Gary Johnson is under more criticism from supporters this season, him and his team tend to pull something out of the bag. Are we more than capable when the opposition offer little threat and hand us space to work with? Yes indeed. Are we NLS flat track bullies, who cower when the opposition throw some proper punches? Definitely. But a win is a win, and with 4 splendid goals and plenty of sharp passing/movement there was much to enjoy and after the Dartford debacle, this was a deserved reward for the hardy Yellow Army, who turned up yet again when they would have been forgiven for staying at home.

MIDFIELD TRUMPS

In the past year it’s often been our midfield that hasn’t offered enough, especially going forward, and a midfielder scoring goals from outside the box was less frequent than a Clarke Osborne statement. But no more! In Callum Dolan and Brett McGavin we have two guys who simply love having a pop from 20-25 yards out, and they scored corkers against Eastbourne. Dolan enjoys nothing more than striding onto the ball and doing his best Stevie G impersonation. His first touch took him wide last night and a shot didn’t appear to be on, but the accuracy and quality of the hit was perfect. Meanwhile Brett McGavin would not be outdone a little while later, with a trick and a treat as the ball was placed into the bottom right hand corner. The Gulls were on their way to 3 points, and what could have been a dreary Tuesday night at Priory Lane suddenly had welcome joy and excitement.

BRETT MCGAVIN

The fortunes of Brett McGavin can switch dramatically depending on what type of game Torquay are having. If the other team have aggression and get tight then he struggles to adapt and so do the Gulls, but when the 90 minutes opens up the midfielder can call the tune. Against Eastbourne his passing was precise and sharp, he covered good ground throughout and also scored two goals deserving of a man of the match performance. After predicting him to score 10 this season (it felt overly optimistic but I enjoyed the bravado), Brett’s exploits are adding some welcome spice to my season supporting United. The next test for ‘Shooter’ and this infuriating team is controlling games regularly and avoiding more Dartford (a)-type roastings, until then the jury remains out.

COLLINS STRUGGLES

Lewis Collins was given a chance to be the closest team mate to Bradley Ash on Tuesday night, and much like the rest of the season so far, he didn’t do enough to win over the doubters. With Eastbourne down to 10 and space to be had, this was a perfect opportunity for him to step up and make things happen, maybe even score a goal to boost his confidence, but again it wasn’t to be. Theo Williams eventually arrived as substitute and struggled to impress as well, but he did look like scoring, something which rarely applies to the struggling Collins. In this game it didn’t matter, but the Welshman really has to do better.

BETTER WITH LAPSLIE

Fetch me bubble wrap for Lapslie! We are normally a better team when Tom Lapslie is in the Torquay United midfield and that was shown again on Tuesday night. The midfielder buzzed around from the start, pressing Eastbourne, making tackles and dragging other Gulls players with him. In possession he was a little wasteful and inevitably he didn’t last the 90 minutes, but Tom’s influence into an improved and winning Torquay performance was easy to see. Unfortunately we know the score with both Asa Hall and Tom Lapslie, injuries generally hinder their seasons and mean they will miss games. Maybe they will be involved in some kind of job share operation, but whilst Asa is someone who is transitioning into a squad player at his age, Lapslie is very much a first team player and a key one at that. Welcome back Tom.