TALKING POINTS

Dom Roman – @Dom Roman

Dom discusses the game at Plainmoor

NERVY GULLS

What struck me at the start of the game (apart from the crowd looking a little sparser than previously) is how nervy the Torquay players looked, and that continued for much of the 1st half. The team were eager, but lacked calmness and composure in so many aspects of their play, and the result of this was poor distribution and control. At the opposite end Maidstone weren’t markedly better, but it felt like their attacks had some precision and the game was going as they’d hoped. There was one chance for Finn Tonks well saved by the keeper, but the Gulls showed little and then were caught by a terrific free kick that gave Stones the lead. All in all frustrating stuff that mirrored much of what happened against Tonbridge, and whilst there was slight improvement in the second half and a goal to salvage a point, United struggled to get down the wings and through the middle. Plenty to work on.

KEY MOMENT – TONKS 1ST HALF CHANCE YOUTUBE CLIP

In a rare period of interplay the ball is squared nicely between the midfielders and eventually finds Finn Tonks loitering in space at the back post. Tonks does everything right but their goalkeeper is up to the task (unlike later!).

PRESSING MATTERS

What do Torquay United do well at the moment? Well, the defensive side to our game is solid enough, we’ve foundations to build on and teams rarely break us down easily (though more clean sheets would be handy), but moving the ball forward and creating chances is a real issue. It also doesn’t feel like we’re pressing high enough and Maidstone found it too easy to exchange passes and then get down the channels. Our best performance of the season versus Chippenham saw us aggressive from the off and winning possession in their half, meaning attacks did not have to start from too far back. Overall we’re just not seeing enough of that, and this perhaps reflects a pragmatic style of play that Paul Wotton brings over from managing Truro City, where the White Tigers would often go into games as underdogs. I think we can afford to be braver, pushing further up the pitch to create more uncertainty and chaos for the opposition, and whilst there is more risk defensively, it could be worth it to turn these draws into wins.

KEY MOMENT – SEAMAN GOAL YOUTUBE CLIP

Charlie Seaman’s free kick from 25 yards out beats a United wall and then beats James Hamon, a conclusive finish in a dull half of football. One notable thing here is that the wall fails to jump. Perhaps that wouldn’t have made a difference, but I’d like to have found out.

CREDIT TO HAMON

I mentioned last week about James Hamon proving his worth to the Gulls and that’s 3 solid performances in a row for the ex-Truro man. I’ve seen some debate about whether he should have done better for Charlie Seaman’s free kick, but that seems harsh to me as it was perfectly placed. In the second half the keeper made a couple of close range saves at crucial times for the Gulls, spreading himself well and making sure the Stones didn’t grab a second goal. Keep it going James!

KEY MOMENT – HAMON SAVE YOUTUBE CLIP

Whilst United did dictate the game more in the second half, Maidstone had their chances and James Hamon saves well here with his feet to deny the close range prod. An important moment where the Stones could have finished us off.

WHO’S PULLING THE STRINGS?

The Gulls team feels like an orchestra without a conductor at the moment. When the ball is in our possession, it feels like nobody is orchestrating the attacks and this was a big reason for our stuttering display. Jenkins Davies, Hasani, Mussa and Hayfield are all capable players, but none of them are proper central midfielders who can make United tick, and that’s been telling in recent weeks. Oscar Threlked was earmarked to be that man, but he has struggled for form and fitness, and by all accounts he’s better at right back anyway! Maybe we’ll see an addition soon who can make a difference in this area, someone who can direct operations and feed quick and accurate balls into his team mates. I doubt there’s many about of that ilk but getting the midfield functioning on a higher level must be a priority for Paul Wotton.

KEY MOMENT – FOULSTON GOAL YOUTUBE CLIP

Alexis Andre Jnr won’t want to watch this back! The free kick by Omar Mussa is well placed and Jay Foulstone does well to flick it towards goal, and whilst it’s a dangerous effort, the attempt to save it can best be described as flappy! It gave United a draw they maybe deserved…just about.

HONEYMOON PERIOD OVER FOR PW

I think we all talked sensibly in the summer about the upcoming season – ‘a new manager and a new squad, it will take time to gel, patience is required, let’s see where we are by Christmas’ – those thoughts all made perfect sense, but as United struggle to locate form you can sense the patience is wearing thin and much of the focus has been on Paul Wotton. It’s understandable, because we care deeply about this club and looking around the National League South table this does look like a bloody good chance to achieve promotion, and let’s be honest Torquay United are currently looking far too mediocre on the football pitch. I would love to see more progression and tactical imagination from the manager, he’s made us harder to beat but in this league we should be able to do more, and some of the problems are similar to what we experienced under Gary Johnson (did anyway say hoofball!). Honeymoon period over, the task is very much on to turn United from limited grinders to proper contenders, and I’m sure he’ll relish the challenge.