TALKING POINTS

Dom Roman – @DomRoman

Dom discusses the away day win

AWAY DAY BLUEPRINT?

Is Saturday’s game a suitable blueprint for how Torquay United can win away games now and in the future? Yes perhaps! Attacking wise there were spurts of promising play, but overall the win was based on an organised defensive unit that kept it’s shape, and enough threat at the other end from our key players Matty Carton and Cody Cooke to break the deadlock. We’d all love oodles of attacking sparkle and fluid interplay that has the Yellow Army purring, but getting the basics right, eliminating mistakes, working hard and earning clean sheets on our travels can make United a team to be reckoned with this season. After all, winning games is what matters most, whatever way you achieve it.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CODY

We’ve seen United without Cody Cooke this season and the frontline have offered very little. At Hampton his usual endeavour was on show, winning possession and headers, holding up the ball, typical Cooke exploits that look fairly simple, but can’t be replicated by our other strikers. And of course there was also the small matter of the winning goal! Directed smartly into the bottom corner, it was a strong finish from someone who has very quickly become a talismanic figure for United. Much like Danny Wright a few years ago, we need to keep him fit.

FINDING COHESION

This is a terrific result for Paul Wotton to take into this two week break, and he was clearly proud of how United controlled a home team who on paper looked like dangerous opposition. What he would love to see I’m sure is more quality in that final third. United’s play was mainly bitty, some nice passing but too often lacking the authority to make a chance and it lead to very few shots on goal (though that disallowed effort looked very debatable!), which has been an issue for most of the season up to this point. This is the test of Paul Wotton’s managerial/coaching skills – to elevate his team from workmanlike to dangerous and cohesive, to get the best out of the strike duos and give the opposition goalkeepers much more to think about – that training pitch will be a busy one I’m sure.

THE YELLOW ARMY

Wherever you looked at the Beveree the Yellow Army were there! With so few games in recent weeks (and in future weeks), this was a chance for us to stretch our legs and enjoy some drinks with friends in the Hampton sunshine. Right in amongst them was the Bryn Consortium, desperate for their team to bring back 3 points, and speaking to Michael Westcott and Joe Lovell you can quickly tell just how much it means for them to bring success to Torquay United. Although the game was largely drab and uneventful, the good humour and banter all round the ground more than made up for it – with the likes of Matty Hayward and Dan Elliott in sparkling form and more people ticked off my ‘Yellow Army to meet’ list – add in 3 points (and a suitable amount of pints) and you’ve got a thoroughly enjoyable Gulls away day filled with fantastic people. A pleasure to be a part of it.