TALKING POINTS

Dom Roman – @DomRoman

Dom looks ahead to the game at Priory Lane

BACK TO WORK

The last month or so have been very light on games for the Torquay United lads and the Yellow Army, but with 10 games between now and the end of November on the horizon, now is very much the time to get back to work and time for us to show that we are true promotion contenders. November/December is often a period when the table starts to tidy up and true front runners emerge from the pack and prove their worth, so whilst our league position looks good, Saturday/Tuesday double headers can change things dramatically. At Hampton the Gulls went back into action after a two week break and provided a solid performance to take the 3 points – Paul Wotton will demand similar at Eastbourne, which on paper (and on a plastic pitch!) looks a sterner test.

THE OPPOSITION

Eastbourne currently sit in 3rd place in the National League South, with 21 points from 11 games a strong return. Much like Torquay, Adam Murray’s team haven’t scored many, and haven’t conceded many either, so this is unlikely to be a goal-fest! Their defence is marshalled by a familiar foe in Moussa Diarra, an imposing centre back who many will remember from his time at Woking. Diarra’s tussle with Cody Cooke will be an important match-up in this game. Upfront for the Sports is George Alexander, an ex-Millwall youngster who is highlighted in our Opposition Q&A, and Alfie Pavey, a player with strong pedigree at NLS level, so defensively we’ll need to be steady.

TEAM SELECTION

The good news for the Gulls is that Jordan Dyer may well come back into the starting line-up, meaning a return to the Dyer/Dreyer/Foulston central defensive axis that Paul Wotton started the season with. Apart from that the squad looks a little bit lacking in numbers, with Collins and Crosbie both departing with no replacements arriving just yet, whilst Mussa and Palmer are both still out injured. Wotton has to decide whether to bring Lirak Hasani or Brad Ash back into the starting XI, but Dyer could well be his only change from the game at the Beveree. Here’s my predicted line-up – Hamon, Dyer, Dreyer, Foulston, Carson, Threlkeld, Jenkins Davies, Hayfield, Tonks, Seymour, Cooke.

PERFORMING ON PLASTIC

Torquay United have often struggled on artificial pitches over the years, and there’s no denying that this is a concern heading into this away trip. It’s something that we will have to deal with on a number of occasions this season, so the importance of banishing these blues cannot be under-stated, and what better way to start than a victory in East Sussex! I think overall the jury is still out on Paul Wotton and his team, results have been positive, but performances (especially in attacking areas) don’t yet hint of a team ready to head back to the National League. We’ll know a lot more in the coming weeks – no more weekends without football coming up – thank goodness for that! Safe travels to the Yellow Army.