MATCH VERDICT

Clive Hayward – @Byehorse

Clive reports back from Plainmoor

TORQUAY UNITED 2-0 HORSHAM FC – 10.12.24

SUMMARY

It was not to be for the Isthmian Leaguers tonight. Horsham gave a good account of themselves in this re-arranged third round FA Trophy clash, but two second half goals meant the Sussex men returned to The Weald empty-handed. Paul Wotton’s team can now concentrate on some big festive league games with Wembley dreams still intact.

Saturday’s postponement due to Storm Darragh will have dented the Plainmoor coffers, and just 1172 paying customers were on hand on a chilly December evening.

Wotton made limited changes from the win at Enfield. Brad Ash came into the team in place of Cody Cooke. There was also a start for Ed Palmer, allowing Sam Dreyer to watch proceedings from the bench, whilst Oscar Threlkeld replaced the suspended Lirak Hasani.

Torquay didn’t set the game alight early on. Jordan Thomas – nominally at right back- spent much of the first 20 minutes on the shoulder of Horsham’s last man, but there was little in the way of quality. Ash shot wastefully into the side netting after 22 minutes, but the longer the half went on the more Horsham grew into the game. They were neat and tidy in possession, and a goal-saving tackle by Jordan Dyer in the 27th minute was followed by an incisive move leading to a shot narrowly wide in the 41st.

The half time whistle went bang on 45 minutes but despite the lack of added time it looked as though it was potentially going to be a long night.

Happily, Torquay went in front only 4 minutes into the second half. Brad Ash did well to win a disputed corner down the left, and he was on hand with a neat glancing header to convert from half time substitute Matty Carson’s cross. The Horsham bench felt it should have been a goal kick, and their manager Dominic Di Paola cut a frustrated figure for the rest of the night.

After 54 minutes Jordan Young was hooked for….. Dean Moxey! Mox slotted into what now became a back 5.

Torquay started to string a couple of moves together. Mussa drew a foul 30 yards from goal, and Dan Hayfield pounced on a poor clearance from the resulting free kick (Carson again) to drive in a second with 67 minutes on the clock.

Finn Tonks replaced skipper Oscar Threlkeld after 77 minutes, slotting in at right wing-back to release Jordan Thomas further forward. The Yeovil loanee was desperate to get on the scoresheet but was overlooked when a cut-back could have seen him notch another goal to add to his important equaliser at Enfield.

Horsham wobbled for a while but they never toppled. They brought “legs” off the bench and were in fact attacking throughout the final 5 minutes. Hamon made his only real save of the night, and a clean sheet was ensured. It’s a great habit.

PLAYER RATINGS

James Hamon – 6.5: A generally quiet night. He tended to anticipate danger early. Got lucky with a second half charge out of the box which led to him getting fouled when in a dodgy position. Smart save at the end.

Jordan Thomas – 7: Had to concentrate at times but was generally on his blue-booted front foot.

Ed Palmer – 7: Generally assured from Ed. Tried to play out when he could

Jordan Dyer – 7.5: An integral part of a decent defensive unit. His well-timed tackle to prevent his team falling behind in the first half was a centre-half’s equivalent of a striker’s 30 yarder.

Jay Foulston- 6.5: A little off the pace at times and withdrawn after 45 minutes. Has he picked up a niggle?

Oscar Threlkeld – 7: A professional evening from our second-most experienced player. Did a lot of the nasty stuff for us.

Will Jenkins Davies – 6.5: I thought Will might have run riot tonight, but a bit of a Curate’s Egg from Bovey’s finest. He’s still learning

Dan Hayfield – 7.5: Dave Thomas reckons there is no better striker of a ball at the club. Dan’s deadly dispatch to make the game safe is strong evidence that the doyen of the Plainmoor Press Box’s judgement remains solid.

Omar Mussa – 7: A very Mussa performance tonight. He twinkled and frustrated in equal measure. He looks a lot fitter than he did in August. He’s good enough not to be losing the ball so often, although we can make allowances for his constant desire to create.

Brad Ash – 7: Things haven’t gone Brad’s way this season and he laboured in the first half tonight. But as he will always do, he kept making his runs, kept wanting the ball and he took his goal well. I’m pleased for him. A good shift.

Jordan Young – 6: Mainly employed down the right, it was another frustrating night for Jordan, and he sometimes struggled to stay on his feet. I’m sure being replaced by Dean Moxey wouldn’t have been on his bingo card at 7.45!

Subs:

Matt Carson – 7.5: Matty didn’t sparkle at left wing-back but you can’t argue with his delivery for the goals.

Finn Tonks – 6: In truth, our right wing back didn’t sparkle either during a brief appearance.

Dean Moxey – 6.5: Came on to enable a change of shape and did fine on the left of three centre backs. Still has the best throw-in at the club.

Rakealan Jeffers – N/A

MAN OF THE MATCH – JORDAN DYER

The sponsors gave it to Jordan Dyer and I am happy enough to go along with that. Nobody truly shone tonight, but clean sheets win trophies, and Jordan was absolutely crucial in keeping the back door locked.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Horsham’s fans.

I enjoy dishing out stick to clubs whose away support is pitiful.

I cannot do that tonight. For a club of Horsham’s size, 55 is a respectable number for a hastily rearranged 386 mile midweek round trip in December. They made themselves heard too, with a songbook ranging from “Is this the way to Amarillo” to “we all live in a yellow submarine” (“we all follow the yellow and the green”). The Lardy Army can hold their heads high.

TACTICS

There was a lot to ponder tonight. I reckon it went something like this.

We started with 4 at the back, but Young had licence to roam and made full use. It often looked like 4-1-3-2 with Threlkeld sitting deep behind Mussa, Jenkins-Davies and Hayfield, leaving Ash and Young to buzz around up front. You can have Mussa on the left of the attack if you like.

Changes were rung once we went in front, with what was surely intended to be a 3-5-2 but which often looked more like 5-3-2.

But as you know, I ain’t no whiteboard expert, so you can probably take all of this with a pinch of salt! Any correct bits are down to my Bristow’s neighbour Stuart.

OFFICIALS

The ref kept control tonight, and I don’t think any of the yellow carded players can have any complaints. He played one really good advantage to allow a Torquay break to continue in the second half.

OPPOSITION

Horsham were decent. They can clearly play some good stuff. They pass and move well and are comfortable in possession. If anything, they maybe lacked a real cutting edge but if they had got their noses in front tonight an upset certainly wouldn’t have been out of the question.

They were, of course, unable to play in yellow and green against the Gulls, so they employed a very Wycombe Wanderers light & dark blue kit. The Wycombe look was epitomised by their midfielder Montel Agyemang. The Bayo Akinfenwa lookalike isn’t going to pass many bleep tests but he patrolled the centre circle with aplomb, although he will have been spitting feathers when he skied his one shot of the night into Warbro Road.

KEY MOMENT

Brad Ash’s goal. A real kick in the teeth for the visitors after their encouraging first half.

CONCLUSION

Tonight might turn out to be a low-key win which is quickly forgotten. Or it might be a future trivia question in a “Torquay United Silverware Quiz”. One thing I do know is this: if we are walking down Wembley Way next May, the crowd at this match will have risen from 1100 to 4000. The poor attendance tonight was not unexpected, but it’s still disappointing. The case for the defence is that it was cold, that we all had to pay and that Christmas presents won’t buy themselves. But Delia Smith was right: “Where Are You??”

See you Saturday.