TALKING POINTS
Dom Roman
@DomRoman
Dom discusses the loss in Somerset
A SOLID START
The game started in fiery fashion, and it was actually good to see United getting in the faces of Yeovil and riling them up a bit. This lead to a few altercations, and with the referee struggling to make the right decisions, the Gulls dug themselves into the game and looked fairly comfortable, even briefly threatening the Glovers goal. The players kept a decent shape, pressed when possible, but couldn’t find anything clinical in the final third to test the imposing Joe Day. And without any cutting edge, the first goal looked more important than ever…
THE 1ST GOAL
Although Torquay had generally taken the sting out of the Yeovil attack, you could sense that something could happen, because A) United struggle to keep things tight, especially away from home, and B) Yeovil are the best team in the league and have the players to do what we can’t. The goal, when it arrived, was avoidable. Stobbs losing out meekly in midfield, United couldn’t close down space and a deflection fell kindly for Clarke to tuck in. Any nerves from the home fans disappeared, the game changed at that point, and despite there being around an hour to play you could sense there was only one winner. In 21 games where United have conceded first this season they have lost 16! If any stat reflects a lack of resilience amongst a group of players, it’s that one.
THE NOUBLE EFFECT
Frank Nouble was rarely far from the action during the 90 minutes, and in the 2nd half he came into his own. The big man is like a magnet for the ball, moving around the midfield, striking and wide areas, giving team mates options and pushing away challenges from United opposition. Ex-Gulls often come back to haunt us, and this was no different, even if he didn’t manage to score. I’d like to think his signing could have made a big difference last summer, but under Gary Johnson we’d have probably overplayed the lad and knackered him out within the first couple of months anyway!
PRESSURE ON ASH
I think many expected to see Acheampong from the start at Huish Park, but Aaron Downes stuck with Brad Ash leading the line upfront again on his lonesome, a tough task that was simply beyond his capabilities. The striker did have a couple of half chances, but couldn’t convert either of them on a frustrating day as he rushed around the pitch looking to get involved. At the moment you do wonder who is going to get the goals for United, so the pressure is on Brad to find the target in the coming games, starting with a fixture against one of his former clubs on Monday.
SQUAD STRENGTH AND MONDAY
In the end Yeovil just flexed their muscles at Huish Park. Their stronger squad took charge of the match after half time, pushed us back and we had no answer. That’s not a great surprise because of the investment they’ve made, and sub striker Olly Thomas showed how good their options are by coming on and causing our defence all sorts of problems. Would any of our team get in theirs? I doubt it. So best take this defeat on the chin and move on quickly. Our away form has been so bad, mentally I think players are feeling like they are going to lose before kick off…so with 4 away games coming up, a win on Bank Holiday Monday feels important. 3 points would calm some nerves about the threat of relegation that’s for sure, I never expected to be saying that at the start of the season…
COYY – DOM
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