MATCH VERDICT
Clive Hayward
@Byehorse
TORQUAY UNITED 0-3 TAUNTON TOWN – MATCH SUMMARY
We could have done without that couldn’t we?
Taunton Town made the most of an awful Torquay performance to run out comfortable winners at Plainmoor tonight.
They were able to play out the last 30 minutes in complete comfort after a Ross Stearn screamer put them deservedly 3-0 up. More of him later.
I don’t pay as much attention to other results in this division as I should. As I took my seat tonight my neighbour told me that Taunton had a good win at Worthing on Saturday. Shouldn’t have mattered though, should it? Torquay had also got their mojo back and I expected them to make it 2 wins in 4 days.
But whereas we got away with a sloppy first half against Dartford on Saturday, the Peacocks took full toll of defensive frailties tonight.
You can see what Aaron Downes is trying to do. We’ve got (so the theory goes) better players and we should be able to take teams apart with sharp passing. Ollie Tomlinson is good on the ball and can be trusted to bring it out from the back.
Ah…the best-laid plans!
On 22 minutes the latest in a series of passing errors by Tomlinson saw Taunton in on goal for an easy lead. The visitors doubled their lead four minutes later when Evans outjumped his marker at the near post to head up and over a helpless Halstead from a long throw.
To their credit, Torquay tried to keep playing football but there was little end product. A couple of Jude-Boyd efforts from range and a turn and shot from Ash to force a save are all I noted before half time.
I felt that an early strike in the second half might turn the game, but when it came the third goal of the night was an emphatic illustration of the balance of power and the depths to which we have sunk. Poor Ollie Tomlinson lost an aerial duel against himself and the ball dropped to Taunton sub Ross Stearn who smashed a 30 yarder past Halstead.
Stearn celebrated like a World Cup winner. He’s a rotund, bald little character who clearly believes that he can compensate for the heat loss by wearing gloves and screaming his head off. He scored the goal of his life tonight. I pity his friends and family, because they will still be hearing about it in 40 years time when he’s propping up a scrumpy bar in Crewkerne and bemoaning the loss of his gardening business.
Am I bitter? You bet I am.
The last 30 minutes were notable only for persistent drizzle and Duane Afori-Acheampong very nearly “doing a Hereford” again. His first action coming off the bench was to manage to miss a sitter and injure himself and the Taunton goalie in one graceful lunge.
PLAYER RATINGS
1. GK: Mark Halstead – 6
The second goal wasn’t pretty and the third whistled past him but I don’t think I would blame him for either. Not his fault we were so poor.
21. CB: Dean Moxey – 5
Perhaps slightly harsh, because he was significantly better then the other two of our back three, but was skinned more than once and couldn’t inspire his colleagues tonight.
23. CB: Ollie Tomlinson – 4
Awful, I’m afraid, No redeeming features at all. His errors soon shot his confidence to pieces and that’s really bad news because the Interim Manager clearly wants him to play a big role. One or both the centre halves need to be dropped for Tonbridge.
5. CB: Austen Booth – 4.5
The 90 Taunton fans revelled in the chance to abuse a former player tonight. He crumpled. He looked all at sea after a better performance at the weekend. He and Tomlinson were a great combined advert for the sort of grizzled centre half we can no longer afford.
2. LWB: Arkell Jude-Boyd – 6.5
Not scared. Hopefully not scarred either. My man of the match- see below.
14. MF: Brett McGavin – 5
Brett is blessed with some ability as we know. But when he has a poor game it can be a real howler, and he summed up Torquay’s evening with a needless and petulant booking for dissent late on.
28. MF: Kevin Dawson – 5
Never managed to impose himself. He did organise people again, notably showing Moxey and Jude-Boyd exactly where to stand on the halfway line when- rarely- we got a corner.
27. RWB: Jack Stobbs – 5.5
One deadly cross in the second half went begging and he tries to create as best he can, but it was a forgettable evening for Jack.
10. MF: Lewis Collins – 5
A confidence player. Reasonably bright for 15 minutes but soon deteriorated as his teammates raised the white flag. He’ll have a good game when you’re three nil up but don’t expect him to dig you out of the mire.
11. ST: Brad Ash – 5
I would have given him a seven if the game had lasted 20 minutes, Good, willing runs in behind defenders, but he faded as the game went on, and like so many others his duvet tonight will be full of regrets.
9. ST: Aaron Jarvis – 5.5
Led the line but nothing much came off.
Subs
4. CM: Tom Lapslie – 5.5
I remember him reaching over the advertising boards to retrieve a ball. Not much else.
18. CM: Will Jenkins Davies – 5.5
Nothing to report.
19. ST: Duane Ofori-Acheampong – 5
Should have scored from close range but ended up only injuring himself.
MAN OF THE MATCH – ARKELL JUDE-BOYD
I don’t want to name one, but it’s the convention to try to find a home player who wasn’t abysmal. Arkell Jude Boyd is a young player with, I believe, a good chance of making a career for himself. He’s got a great attitude and a decent “engine”. He tries to be proactive in all that he does and he was comfortably our best player tonight.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Hilly! He stood in the rain at half time and told us we were going to win 3-2. Much of his record breaking Torquay career was a similar triumph of hope over experience and he’s clearly never going to change. Thanks for making us smile Kevin.
TACTICS
3-5-2. If anything, Kevin Dawson often at right wing back with Arkell Jude-Boyd looking more threatening on the other flank. But our three centre halves lost us the game. The road to the Southern League is paved with good intentions.
OPPOSITION
Taunton played really well. They passed it better than us, won more 50-50s than we did and they will be delighted to have avenged last season’s FA Trophy defeat. Dillon De Silva ripped them to shreds that night. Their management team spent the night berating the linesman for nothing at all and their supporters enjoyed pouring salt into our open wounds. I dare say we might have done the same if the roles were reversed, and we just have to suck it up and hope that better days may lie ahead.
THE OFFICIALS
Tonight’s referee was Lisa Benn from Sussex. I thought she did fine. Not card happy, which meant she could appropriately punish a Taunton player for scything through Aaron Jarvis. She also pinged the Taunton keeper for time-wasting (I don’t know why he felt the need to do that) and I’d be happy to give her 7/10.
CONCLUSION
I don’t know what I am most worried about tonight. (Actually, of course I do: it’s the possible extinction of a football club I have supported since I was 8 years old).
But here are a couple more points to ponder.
1. I feel Ross Marshall would have improved us tonight- even though he would have been a red card waiting to happen. This is not good.
2. Neither, in my opinion, is George Edwards’ continued presence at the club. I don’t understand how it can help us find a better custodian given his apparent talent for alienating people.
COYY – CLIVE
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