MATCH VERDICT
Tom Diamond
@GullsSoc
WEYMOUTH FC 1-1 TORQUAY UNITED – MATCH SUMMARY
Whilst the looming threat of administration leaves the club’s future clouded with uncertainty, there was a clear sense of excitement and anticipation for the Gulls first away day since the departure of Clarke and Gary last Thursday. These high spirits were somewhat dampened when I drew back my curtains on Saturday morning to find I had been snowed in. This coincided with cancelled train services and left me slightly in the lurch as to how to make my way down to the South Coast.
Some in-depth logistical planning followed, otherwise known as ringing my Dad and convincing him to drive an hour in the wrong direction to come and pick me up. Not all heroes wear capes as they say. The car journey that followed included discussions on the whereabouts of Ali Omar, football matches being abandoned because of high tide, and some far less interesting and exciting topics.
Arriving at the ground an hour or so before kick off, there was an air of optimism amongst the more punctual travelling supporters that today could see the Gulls first win in nine against a struggling Weymouth who are desperately trying to distance themselves from the dreaded drop zone. It has to be said that the support Weymouth have shown us during these difficult times for our club has been outstanding, if any ‘Terras’ fans are reading this, thank you.
As the vocal Gulls away end began to ramp up the atmosphere, the players completed their pre-match warm ups and we soon got underway at the Bob Lucas Stadium. The opening exchanges provided a couple of half chances at either end, with Brad Ash having the first glimpse of the Weymouth goal following some good play by United’s returning midfielder Kevin Dawson.
As the half hour mark approached, I edged closer to the gents to run for a mid game wee, trying to time it so I would miss none of the action. I thought I had picked my moment well, however, shortly after entering the facilities I heard the away end erupt with noise and we had indeed taken the lead. In my 20 or so years of watching Torquay, I don’t remember ever having missed a goal at a game before, but nevertheless I apologise for the lack of details I can offer on our opening goal. It was scored by the impressive Arkell Jude-Boyd after a quick counter attack from the Gulls, but apart from that I have little else to say about it I’m afraid.
The Gulls looked set to see out the rest of the half without too much trouble, but on the stroke of half time a deep free-kick saw Weymouth’s number 14 unmarked and able to head home to level the scoring. Frustrating to concede such a poor goal from a set piece in what was otherwise a fairly comfortable half for Aaron Downes’ side. It looked as if Weymouth’s goal-scorer was coming over to goad the travelling support which infuriated many, however, the shithousery was short lived as it turns out he was simply returning to retrieve his shin pad.
I spent half-time chatting with honorary GullsSoc members Matty and Clive Hayward and heard Matty’s exceptional portfolio of Duane Ofori-Acheampong songs. Unfortunately, Duane’s limited minutes did not give these the air time they deserved. The second half was both frustrating and encouraging as United spent large periods on the front foot but were unable to find a match winning second goal. The best chances of the half both fell early on to just the man you would want them to in Aaron Jarvis but a smart save by the Weymouth GK followed by some heroics on the goal line kept the score at 1-1. Weymouth then took every opportunity to slow the game down and saw the game out for what may prove to be a valuable point in their bid for survival, and leaves the Gulls winless in nine.
PLAYER RATINGS
1. GK: Mark Halstead – 6
Did not have a particularly busy game. Hard to tell if he could have done any more about the goal but it seemed much more the responsibility of the outfield players to clear than for Halstead to come and claim.
23. CB: Ollie Tomlinson – 6
Good to see Ollie back fit. Looked comfortable on the ball but could still be more of a presence in defence.
6. CB: Ross Marshall – 6
No glaring mistakes. Will have more challenging games in this league as a defender.
21. CB: Dean Moxey – 6
In a fairly inexperienced back line Moxey is a must have; looked much more comfortable at CB rather than LWB.
27. RWB: Jack Stobbs – 6
Great to have Stobbs fit again. Did not create as much as we would like but his quality is evident and as Downes said, ‘he is the best winger in the league’.
2. LWB: Arkell Jude-Boyd – 7
Moved to an unfamiliar left wing back position, but still solid defensively and looked dangerous going forward. Impressive performance from Jude.
28. MF: Kevin Dawson – 7
A real boost having him in midfield again. Energetic and helped create some good chances.
14. MF: Brett McGavin – 6
Worked hard and did what was asked of him. Had the chance to send the away end into raptures with a free kick near the end which was in his shooting range. What could have been (and it was quite far out!).
18. MF: Will Jenkins Davies – 5.5
Struggled to get into the game and did not have as much of an impact as the likes of Dawson.
11. ST: Brad Ash – 5.5
A couple of decent half chances which he failed to test the keeper with, but an otherwise quiet afternoon for Brad.
9. ST: Aaron Jarvis – 6
Had two great chances in the second half which were both very well defended. Held the ball up well and looked to bring others into the game.
Subs
19. ST: Duane Ofori-Acheampong – N/A
Came on in stoppage time. Given the more direct approach we employed in the second half I would have brought him on earlier.
10. RWB: Lewis Collins – 5
Had very little impact in the 20 minutes he was on the pitch. I still firmly believe there is a good player there and hopefully he can find some form for the rest of the season.
30. CM: Ethon Archer – 6
A couple of nice moments on the ball but did not have enough time to make any real difference.
MAN OF THE MATCH – ARKELL JUDE-BOYD
Another strong performance from Jude-Boyd and a deserved Man of the Match. Great energy down the left hand side all afternoon and defended well when called upon. Pleased to see him get on the score sheet and hopefully more goals to come.
TACTICS
Perhaps it’s my bad eyesight, but I thought originally we’d reverted to four at the back. Matty Hayward assures me, however, it was indeed the customary 3-5-2 so it’s on him if I’m wrong. One noticeable change is Tomlinson getting the ball from goal kicks rather than Halstead booming it as close to Jarvis as possible. This seems to provide us with more of an opportunity to keep the ball and build passages of play. Second half we went more direct and as aforementioned, I would’ve introduced big Duane earlier who seemed a handful for his few minutes on the pitch.
OPPOSITION
First half both teams were going for the three points and early chances at both ends gave the promise of an exciting, end to end game, with Weymouth’s strikers always full of running. Following their equaliser, Weymouth came out of half time trying to push United back and had a number of set pieces, before eventually retreating as Torquay regained control in a game with few chances. By the end the home team seemed more than happy with a draw and will see that as a point gained, which Downesy’s men perhaps will not.
THE OFFICIALS
The big talking point will be whether United should have been awarded a penalty when Weymouth’s goalkeeper threw Marshall to the floor following an altercation between the two of them. I did not see who started it, but let’s all be honest, it was probably Marshall. Whether or not it was a penalty, Weymouth’s goalkeeper will count himself lucky to escape without a card given the clear view the referee had of the incident.
CONCLUSION
‘Torquay till I die’ was still being passionately sung as the travelling support departed the Bob Lucas Stadium at 5pm on Saturday afternoon. Whilst there is understandable worry about the future of our football club, the prospect of much needed change is also bringing an air of excitement which has united a fan base who were quickly running out of patience. On the pitch, our performances in the last two games have definitely been a step in the right direction, but if we want to win games we need to stop conceding avoidable goals and simply get more shots on target. Let’s pack out Plainmoor next Saturday and get a much needed three points on the board.
COYY – TOM
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