MATCH VERDICT
Clive Hayward – @Byehorse
Clive reports back from Plainmoor
TORQUAY UNITED 3-0 CHIPPENHAM TOWN – 03.09.24
SUMMARY
Torquay were over the hills and far away before they had finished doing the washing up in The Cove tonight.
A blistering start swept the Wiltshire visitors aside. There was some old-fashioned long ball mayhem as James Hamon repeatedly found Cody Cooke with long passes and Ben Seymour chased the flick-ons. He made the Chippenham left-back’s life a misery and it was by far the diminutive striker’s best performance of the season so far. He was desperately unlucky not to open his account with a snapshot that cannoned back off the inside of the post.
Cooke had left something on his marker after 2 minutes, and Chippenham were soon looking shell-shocked. Lirak Hasani arrived in the box to head home a right wing cross on 6 minutes, and before the away side could clear their heads Ed Palmer doubled the lead with another header at the far post from a corner.
More goals were inevitable, and Dan Hayfield popped up in the box to end the game as a contest before the half hour.
Chippenham came to Plainmoor with a record of W2, D2, L2 but they were outclassed and posed no threat at all. There was an angry water break for them shortly after the third goal went in. Centre Back Aaron Amadi-Holloway told his teammates exactly what he thought of their performance so far, and wandered up front, where he spent the rest of the evening trying and largely failing to bring his physical presence to bear.
Half time must have come as a relief. After the worst crossbar challenge in living memory (imagine George Edwards v Mel Hayman in high heels), the second half was a fairly humdrum affair.
Hayfield smashed a great chance high, wide and horrible. Brad Ash replaced Seymour and chased everything. Lirak Hasani snapped into tackles and always carried a threat in a performance of great energy and vivacity. Our other midfielder Oscar Threlkeld broke up play with ease and looked every inch the former League One enforcer.
Torquay never caught fire again and the referee became increasingly card-happy as the clock ran down.
Before the game, Michael Westcott had told me the players were fed-up at dropping points on Saturday and determined to put things right tonight. How right he was.
PLAYER RATINGS
James Hamon- 6.5: A late ricket almost gifted Chippenham an undeserved consolation goal, but his long passes were a key part of Torquay’s early domination.
Fin Tonks – 7.5: He’s great going forward. There was very little defending needed, and he attacked down the right flank with relish. Good pace and decent decision-making. An easy game for him, but certainly his best so far.
Jay Foulston – 6: A frustrating night for the young Welshman who picked up an injury and couldn’t continue.
Sam Dreyer – 7: Very little to report tonight. Ed Palmer had to work harder. Sam won all his headers and was untroubled throughout.
Ed Palmer – 7: Picked up a first half booking. Reports vary as to whether it was for “handbags” or dissent. Dealt adequately with their big number five and again showed his threat at set pieces.
Matty Carson – 7: Slightly upstaged by Tonks, but nothing bad to say about our Norn Irn starlet.
Oscar Threlkeld – 8: An excellent display. “They shall not pass” and used the ball well.
Dan Hayfield – 7.5: A threat, whether when carrying the ball or arriving in the box. Should have had a second but hoofed his chance horribly.
Lirak Hasani – 8.5: MOM (see below).
Cody Cooke – 7.5: Faded a little, but achieved the sort of air superiority the Luftwaffe can only have dreamed about early on.
Ben Seymour – 7.5: I thought Ben was terrific tonight. He looked really lively, running at defenders and overlapping at will. Deserved a goal. Although hooked quite early you could tell that Paul Wotton was really pleased with his display.
Subs:
Dean Moxey – 7: Forty-nine calm and unruffled minutes from Deano. A slightly heavy touch meant he had to make a block tackle. The poor lad on the receiving end of hit will still be wobbly on Friday morning
Brad Ash – 7: Chased lost causes. Wound up defenders. Very watchable, although it didn’t really happen for him tonight.
Jaydn Crosbie – 6: Won a fair share of flick-ons but, at 19, still very much a back-up striker. His day will come.
Roddy Collins – 6: No real chance to influence the game.
Omar Mussa – 6: Another sub who made little impact, having been introduced mainly to give his colleague a rest.
MAN OF THE MATCH – LIRAK HASANI
Threlkeld has a strong claim and the sponsors gave it to Tonks. I wouldn’t quarrel with either decision, but for me Hasani was the star tonight. He combined good technique and a decent passing game with a burning desire to drive his team to victory. He’s still young and clearly has a point to prove. If he doesn’t finish up back in the Football League I will eat my bucket hat.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Threlkeld and Tonks, obviously. Cooke and Hayfield too. The “Yellow Army” are in the running, scraping the midweek attendance over 3000 with the away support again in pitiful double figures.
But Paul Wotton showed us what he was about tonight. He hugged every player when he brought them off but showed his steel too. It was after about 70 minutes. Chippenham got some rare possession, Torquay were slightly off the pace and allowed a shot from well outside the box.
The manager’s reaction was hilarious, but telling. In what could be described as an expletive laden tirade he berated his team (three nil up, second in the league) for not pushing up properly. I counted 4 F’s in 10 seconds. Bristow’s gave him a round of applause!
TACTICS
Fight hard. Launch it early. Win the second ball and don’t give the part-timers a sniff. Job Done.
OFFICIALS
The referee never looked in control. He should probably have booked a couple early but over-compensated later with a flurry of yellow cards for unremarkable fouls. He gave the home side nothing.
OPPOSITION
Chippenham will have easier nights. Their manager was also a keen user of the Anglo Saxon and was clearly unimpressed. They probably froze a bit, and must be slightly better than they showed. But Torquay did rip into them and were in no mood to allow a comeback.
KEY MOMENT
Possibly Cody Cooke’s early challenge on the centre half. They both went for a 55-45 ball. Cooke won it and took a chunk of the number 6’s shin too. It was a statement of intent, and Chippenham never recovered from the early onslaught.
CONCLUSION
Anything less than three points would have been a let-down after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Aveley. As it turned out, there was mild disappointment that the home team couldn’t add to their early strikes.
It was great to see some real passion tonight. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and sometimes it is better to be feared than loved.
We will need more of the same at Welling on Saturday. DA15 is not an easy place to go and I would have no problem with annoying the locals. The clean sheet is clearly the manager’s first priority and winning ugly would do me just fine, thanks.
SOCIAL MEDIA
COYY – Clive
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