TT BLOG

Steve Harris

@steveharris84

Steve looks back 13 years to a disappointing day at Old Trafford

LEAGUE 2 PLAY-OFF FINAL – 28/05/1997

The 2010-11 campaign proved to an eventful one for Torquay United in more ways than one.

After a strong finish to the 2009-10 season, which saw the Gulls set a club record for the number of clean sheets kept, many of the Plainmoor faithful were looking forward to 2010-11 with much anticipation.

However, during the close season the club was shaken by the sudden death of Vice-Chairman Paul Bristow. Lottery winner Bristow had been a major figure behind United’s resurgence since the consortium took over the club in the summer of 2007, and a minute silence was held in his memory before the opening game of the season against Northampton Town. His widow Thea would later join the board

There were also a number of changes going on behind the scenes as Colin Lee departed as Chief Executive and Geoff Harrop was appointed as the club’s Head of Youth.

On the playing side, popular striker Martin Gritton returned to Plainmoor on loan from Chesterfield just over five and a half years after he left to go to Grimsby Town. Guy Branston and Lloyd Macklin also joined the Gulls on a permanent basis following loan spells in 2009-10, with the ‘Pickler’ a very popular signing!

Once the season got underway, the Gulls hit the ground running as they won their opening four league games of the season as they beat Northampton Town (3-0), Lincoln City (2-0), Bradford City (2-0) and Port Vale (2-1) – which earned Paul Buckle the League Two manager of the month award for August 2010.

The Gulls then had a brief slump in their league form which saw them drop into mid-table before they returned to winning ways with a 3-1 win over Morecambe on October 31, 2010.

Away from the league, United enjoyed a fine run in the FA Cup as they beat Mansfield Town 1-0 in the first round before defeating Walsall and Carlisle United, who were then both in League One, by the same score line in the second and third rounds respectively. Their reward was a home tie with Crawley Town, who were then still a non-league club, which the Gulls lost 1-0 – and to rub salt in the wounds Crawley were drawn away to Manchester United in the fifth round.

Nevertheless, United’s cup run played a major role in assisting the emergence of former Everton midfielder Eunan O’Kane, who signed a two-year deal in the summer of 2010 after returning to English football with the Gulls from Coleraine in his native Northern Ireland. O’Kane made 55 appearances for United in all competitions in 2010-11, with arguably his finest moment of the campaign coming in United’s third round tie with Carlisle when he scored what proved to be the winner.

In the second half of the season, O’Kane took over as the Gulls’ main creative force after Nicky Wroe moved to Shrewsbury Town in the January 2011 transfer window and striker Jake Robinson made the opposite journey on loan, which would prove to be memorable for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, he made his debut in a 3-1 defeat against Hereford United which he wasn’t eligible to play in as he hadn’t been registered in time. He found the back of the net in the fixture, which would later see the Gulls docked one point for his selection.

Secondly – he was allowed to appear in games against his parent club; this was to be a decision that would briefly come back to haunt Shrewsbury manager Graham Turner, as Robinson helped the Gulls to tame the Shrews in spectacular fashion – as he netted a brace as United won 5-0 on March 12, 2011.

TT BLOG – The 2010 Clean Sheet Kings by Dom Roman

United eventually finished the season in 7th place – thus qualifying for the play-offs where they faced Shrewsbury again in the semi-finals. The Gulls won the first leg at Plainmoor 2-0 with goals from Chris Zebroski and O’Kane before drawing 0-0 in the return leg at the Greenhous Meadow to set up a final showdown with Stevenage.

Whereas all roads had led to Wembley for the Gulls in their three previous Play-off final appearances in 1991, 1998 and 2009, this time they were heading north to Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United.

The Football League had decided to switch the game, along with the League One final between Huddersfield Town and Peterborough United, to the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ as Wembley was playing host to the UEFA Champions League final which – ironically – was being contested by the Red Devils and Barcelona. Just 20 years earlier, the Gulls’ Division Four Play-off final victory over Blackpool had coincided with Manchester United’s European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph over Barcelona.

Could lightning strike for a second time two decades on?

Whilst a victory for United would mean a second promotion in the space of three years, for the Boro a win would see them achieve their second successive promotion after winning the Conference title a year earlier.

There was history between the two sides, as 15 years earlier Torquay had avoided dropping out of the league due to Stevenage’s Broadhall Road ground not being up to league standards.

An accident on the M6 saw kick-off delayed by 15 minutes and it was Stevenage who started the more promisingly of the two sides as Craig Reid had a shot blocked on four minutes by a diving combination of Guy Branston and Damon Lathrope.

The alarm bells continued to sound for the Gulls when John Mousinho connected with a pass from Reid to force a save from United keeper Scott Bevan.

In the 28th minute, Darius Charles fired over after Bevan failed to fully clear away a cross from Lawrie Wilson.

Six minutes later, Torquay finally forced their first corner of the match, which was taken by Kevin Nicholson, and it was only half cleared into the path of Billy Kee who attempted an ambitious shot from 30-yards.

It was United’s first chance of note.

Two minutes later, Gavin Tomlin latched onto a through ball from Eunan O’Kane, only to be denied by a last ditch tackle from Boro skipper Mark Roberts.

Moments later, Charles headed over the bar before the breakthrough finally came on 41 minutes.

Charles controlled a pass from Ronnie Henry on United’s left and then picked out Mousinho, who shrugged off a challenge from Damon Lathrope before firing a 22-yard effort that flew past Bevan’s right hand and into the back of the net.

After a first half to forget, Torquay came out in the second half with a renewed sense of purpose and a tactical switch that saw Kee move up front and Zebroski move to the right wing.

Six minutes after the restart, O’Kane sent Kee clear on goal but his left-footed shot was turned behind for a corner by Boro keeper Chris Day.

Kee went close again later on, and left winger Jake Robinson had an effort pushed behind by Day.

Arguably the pick of the Gulls chances came in the 77th minute, when Kee forced Stevenage defender Michael Bostwick into a weak pass following a pass from O’Kane.

The ball then fell to Robinson who attempted a shot from 25-yards, which had the beating of Boro keeper Day, but it bounced off the top of the bar and over.

Branston then had a shot blocked before firing over from the rebound. This proved to be the last real goal scoring opportunity for the Gulls as they slipped to a single-goal defeat which saw their opponents clinch back-to-back promotions.

After the game to compound matters, it was announced that manager Paul Buckle would be leaving Plainmoor to take over as manager of Bristol Rovers, who had recently been relegated to League Two.

It brought the curtain down on four memorable years during which time Buckle had transformed United from a club which had been relegated to the Conference, with only four players under contract, to one that was just one game away from winning promotion to League One.

TORQUAY LINE-UP: Bevan, Mansell, Robertson, Branston, Nicholson [Rowe-Turner 83], Lathrope [Oastler 79], O’Kane, Kee [Stevens 83], Tomlin, Zebroski, Robinson