TALKING POINTS

Craig Hughes – @craigwwfc35

GOOD PERFORMANCE FROM THE GULLS

So 10 days after our last friendly away at Tavistock which we comfortably won 4-0, Saturday’s game against Plymouth was always going to provide a much tougher test with their Championship quality.

For much of the first half both sides struggled to create many chances but maybe Plymouth just shaded it by testing James Hamon on a few occasions, and a few sporadic attacks from United from time to time that come to nothing. On what was a stop/start first half with a couple of medical emergencies in the popside, it disrupted the rhythm of the game but the most important thing of course was making sure these people who needed assistance were ok..and the good news is that the club announced they have all made a swift recovery which is fantastic to hear.

The 2nd half started and Torquay made a couple of changes with Austen Booth and Cody Cooke coming on for Roddy Collins and Ben Seymour who had worked hard during the first half. Plymouth started the half quickly and won themselves a penalty when a ‘strikers tackle’ from Brad Ash brought down former gulls loanee Will Jenkins-Davies, which Ryan Hardie duly dispatched. Torquay did then have a few bright spells of possession and it was good to see the ball being kept on the ground trying to play football rather than hoof ball which we have been accustomed to for a few seasons! But Plymouth doubled their lead just after the hour mark when Bali Mumba pounced from a tight angle to slot in from a parry from Hamon.

Torquay made some more changes with the likes of Ed Palmer, Omar Mussa and Lirak Hasani coming on to get more valuable minutes in the tank. In the end it wasn’t to be Torquay’s day but there was definitely spells where the team started to click and of course friendlies are mainly to build up fitness and match sharpness. A good performance on the whole and as Wotton mentioned he was pleased with a lot of aspects from the game.

PLAINMOOR

The first game back at Plainmoor since the Bryn Consortium and Neil Warnock were involved and it added up to a fantastic atmosphere. A great speech from Michael Westcott and Mark Bowes-Cavanagh in the centre circle before kick off to a mass of applause from all 4 sides of the ground including those fantastic Plymouth fans who have helped us massively during the times of uncertainty. It was also nice to see a lick of paint around the place and to see that the family stand seats are in fact a yellow colour rather than the dirty brown colour they had gone with the neglect under the previous regime!

TORQUAY STAND-OUTS

Sam Dreyer – solid all game. Knows when to step up and reads the game really well, rightly named Man of the Match!

Finn Tonks – a good first start in a Torquay shirt, can tell he’s going to be an attacking full back, took a knock towards the end though which Wotton mentioned in the post-match interview.

Dan Hayfield – Dan is already winning so many fans already, a strong combative midfielder who will attack and defend when needed, a great addition.

Jordan Dyer – solid and composed at the back along with all of the defence in all honesty, Foulston, Carson etc, seems as we have defenders now who can actually play football and don’t panic when on the ball.

Ben Seymour – runs the channels really well, especially at NLS level he’s going to cause all sorts of problems for defenders creating space for attacks and shots.

NEXT UP

Tuesday night against Exeter at Plainmoor will be another good test for the squad and a chance to get more minutes in the tank and ready for that all important home fixture to start the season against Enfield Town on August 10th. A fixture all of us fans are looking forward to.