MATCH VERDICT

Tom Beddows – @BeddowsTom

Tom reports back on the loss at Farnborough

FARNBOROUGH FC 1-0 TORQUAY UNITED – 17.08.24

SUMMARY

A very warm and sunny afternoon in Hampshire saw the Gulls fall to their first defeat of the season after conceding a penalty in the 37th minute, scored by Ricky Holmes.

The first half saw Farnborough mainly keep a hold of the ball, with United unable to break the Hampshire side down. The Gulls didn’t offer a great deal this half with a single shot on target from Mussa taken comfortably by the Farnborough No.1.

The second half saw United up the pressure with chances created by both Hasani and Cooke, with Cooke heading narrowly wide.

Richard Chin made sure Hamon was still a part of the game with a decent save to stop the home side from stretching their lead.

The last 15/20 minutes was mostly in The Gulls’ favour with Cooke and Hayfield both making attempts on goal. Cooke’s effort only stopped by the outstretched foot of the Farnborough keeper.

A frustrating afternoon, knowing that we can and probably should’ve played better and taken a point back to Devon. This is game two of forty-six and I’m sure there will be improvement before we welcome the Hampshire side to Plainmoor in November.

PLAYER RATINGS

1 – James Hamon – 7

17 – Finn Tonks – 5

4 – Jordan Dyer – 6

5 – Sam Dreyer – 6

3 – Jay Foulston – 6

14 – Matt Carson – 5.5

18 – Oscar Threlkeld – 5.5

20 – Dan Hayfield – 6

10 – Omar Mussa – 6

11 – Brad Ash – 6

19 – Cody Cooke – 7

Subs

7 – Lirak Hasani – 6

9 – Ben Seymour – 5.5

8 – Roddy Collins – 6

15 – Jadyn Crosbie – 5.5

16 – Ed Palmer – N/A

TUFC PLAYER RATINGS VOTE – Farnborough FC (a)

MAN OF THE MATCH – JAMES HAMON

Kept us in the game. Vocal and commanding of the back line. A contrast to our keepers of recent seasons.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Cody Cooke – A good game for Cody, never stopped looking for the ball and made the most of what he was given. Will be enjoyable to watch him develop within the team.

TACTICS

3-5-2 To 4-3-3

Unchanged from Enfield last weekend. The substitutions saw us change to a different formation but still unable to find the back of the net.

Mussa and Threlkeld subbed at half time for Collins and Hasani, with Carson going off for Seymour and Ash for Crosbie with ten minutes to go and finally Dyer for Palmer in the dying minutes.

5 substitutes in one game will take some getting used to!

OFFICIALS

Gave the Gulls very little all afternoon, some questionable decisions but that’s what we expect within the National League South. The penalty was the right decision though and a poor challenge from Finn Tonks.

A conversation with a Farnborough fan after the match informed me that this is the third time the ref had been in charge at the Cherrywood ground and Farnborough have 3 wins out of 3!

OPPOSITION

A very tough side to play, managed themselves well in the heat and a team I expect to see in the play-offs this season. They’ve regained many of last seasons squad and made some useful additions including Chin, the standout player for the home side.

CONCLUSION

A hard fought game with United unable to find their way onto the score-sheet.

6 months after our last visit to Cherrywood Road the attitude, vision and ambition of the club has changed completely. We didn’t leave with the result we wanted today, but we can leave knowing that the players, management team and owners will be working their hardest to get the results we need and that’s all we can ask for.