MATCH VERDICT

Ben Wade

Ben reports back from the draw at Plainmoor

TORQUAY UNITED 1-1 AVELEY FC – 31.08.24

SUMMARY

4 wins from 5 was a pretty impressive start to the Paul Wotton era going into the match-up with Aveley FC. We knew that it would be a very winnable fixture considering The Millers’ tough opening to their NLS campaign.

The game kicked off and the anticipation from the 3263 TUFC supporters was obvious from the go. Craske couldn’t reach a cross-field pass early on, but we began brightly. The midfield were failing to get into the game and the crowd were agitated by the lack of quality in the passing and the promising scenarios that we were getting into but were deciding to play the easy pass.

TUFC had bags of possession and were moving the ball around nicely, more fluidly, but then Aveley went on a couple of attacks through long distance passes. The number 7, who looked promising, fired comfortably over the bar and into the Family Stand but it was a reminder of the level of focus that we need to have

The half was well contested and we had to fight hard to break down their solid stature. Just as the two minutes of stoppage time were fading away, Carson came bursting into the penalty area, full of energy. He was going to have to do something and chipped it over the keeper and into the side-netting of the far corner. I couldn’t see if there was a deflection involved which there might have been, but that bit of drive was often seen during the game.

Craske wasn’t quite deliver with his crosses, so Wotton decided to bring on the well named Finn Tonks as replacement at the break. The second half started oddly. As Aveley took the kick off, Matt Carson appeared to be elbowed in the face in an obstruction attempt from the number nine. The referee was unmoved but had to stop play for a head injury. Carson seemed to have a fat, bleeding lip and had to leave the pitch momentarily.

Approaching the hour mark, we gave the ball away and The Millers won a free kick around 25 yards out. The number ten stepped up and whipped the ball over the wall with plenty of dip into the bottom corner. Hamon was beaten easily and could not shuffle his feet quickly enough to get there. It would have been hard for him to dive down so low and stop that rocket.

On 61 minutes Paul Wotton made two changes to try and improve what had become a frustrating and scrappy half for United, Hasani came off for Mussa and Seymour replaced Cooke.

The Yellow Army pushed their team on and the team pushed on towards the end but we just couldn’t find that cutting edge. Mussa blazed over and various fizzed crosses and shots were put in, in the hope of sealing a late winner. Overall, the physicality of our opponents played a role and we couldn’t find enough fluency to win the 3 points.

PLAYER RATINGS

1 – James Hamon – 6 – Had nothing to do all game. The one shot that they had, they scored.

2 – Finley Craske – 5 – His crosses weren’t always good but the pace and efficiency can be used for further games.

16 – Ed Palmer – 6 – His experience can be key but the right wing back was too far up not giving him options down the line.

5 – Sam Dreyer – 7 – He gave the ball away too much but won a lot of his duels against physical opposition.

3 – Jay Foulston – 7 – Jay is a player of good quality, but it never fully clicked today.

14 – Matt Carson – 8 MOTM – He played exceptionally. Glad that he’s signed a contract extension. He drives at the defence and is always positive.

18 – Oscar Threlkeld – 7 – He is a quite a good fighter and I can see why he is captain. Seems to have a role in every move.

20 – Dan Hayfield – 7 – His size makes him a good tackler and he is capable moving with the ball.

7 – Lirak Hasani – 6 – His passing and movement is helpful, but he struggles to break down defences as the most attacking player in the midfield trio.

19 – Cody Cooke – 5 – Couldn’t really impact the match. He found it hard to win headers and failed to get on the end of crosses.

11 – Brad Ash – 7 – I think that his movement and partnership with Cody is a good one. He is always trying to find space and making runs.

Subs

17 – Finn Tonks – 6 – In the second half he burst forward plenty and made overlaps.

10 – Omar Mussa – 6 – The usual flashes of flair but frustrating on occasions.

9 – Ben Seymour – 5 – His wait for a goal continues. When he came on, we moved to a more passing game with two small forwards.

TUFC PLAYER RATINGS VOTE – Aveley (h)

MAN OF THE MATCH – MATT CARSON

My player of the match award goes to Matt Carson. The wing back is a brilliant player to have on your team. His defending attributes are decent and when he attacks the defence with pace and skill, he is tough to stop. I was very happy when I heard that he had signed a deal till the end of next season. That will be because he has showcased his ability and TUFC think that he has promise in the longer term.

TACTICS

The usual Paul Wotton 3-5-2. The wing backs were arguably a bit too high as they often weren’t an option for the wide centre-backs and, consequently, forced us back regularly. I think that the Ash and Cooke combo works at times, but Cody struggled to win headers consistently against their tall defenders. The midfield three was not always capable of breaking the strong backline that The Millers had and did not get forward enough in support of the strikers.

OFFICIALS

The referee was mostly okay but made a few blatant mistakes that let him down. The constant time-wasting from Aveley wasn’t dealt with. Meanwhile, the linesmen were fine. One of Ash’s offsides was tight but nothing outrageous decision-wise.

OPPOSITION

Aveley were by no means brilliant and hardly tried to get the ball down because they weren’t capable of doing so. You could argue that they came for that point and that it was clear from the off. The time-wasting was very frustrating and the six second rule needed to be used. They were a very physical team and there were quite a few shirt pulls and their players tugging the shirts. But also credit to them for battling hard and scoring a very good goal. After a difficult start to the season, they will feel better after that performance.

CONCLUSION

Not an ideal end to a week involving three games but a point nonetheless. Finishing fourth at the end of August before a ball was kicked would have been taken without a doubt. We need to keep scrapping and playing our football and we will get there in the end.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Having TT involved in hospitality today was fantastic, thanks to @Lovell_Joe @TUFC1899 @goddywestie 💛 pic.twitter.com/TJJ27PyOfv
— DOMINIC ROMAN (@DomRoman) August 31, 2024