TALKING POINTS

Clive Hayward – @Byehorse

Clive discusses the NYD win

BIG CROWDS AT PLAINMOOR

I found myself queuing up to get into Bristow’s with fellow Torquay Talkers Dom and Luke, and we were all still pinching ourselves at the rapid transformation of Plainmoor from a disconsolate, angry place into somewhere lots of people now go to enjoy themselves again.

The aim for the Hemel game had been 4000: a “stretch target” we came close to hitting on a Christmas Shopping Saturday. But with a little bit of help from 240 Truro fans, we smashed the 5k barrier on New Year’s Day.

In its current configuration, Plainmoor can take 6000 fans. That’s ample for our needs in the foreseeable future, but success does bring new challenges. I think we will need to get used to queues. We’re British. We’re good at it. Some people will definitely have missed kick off, but probably not many. Where we were, the club did think slightly outside the box. They rustled up a couple more scanners, enabling a few people to access the ground via the exit gate next to the buffet. That was handy, and as a result I managed to see kick off, albeit whilst walking along to my seat. The Pop Side looked pretty much full from my vantage point, and I didn’t see any late-comers, so it seems to have gone OK over there.

HIGHLIGHTS – TRURO 1ST HALF CHANCES – YOUTUBE CLIP

YELLOW PERIL

On paper, the new law stipulating a yellow card if you ask for a fellow pro to be booked probably seems like a good idea. Dissent isn’t something that we really want to see on a regular basis.

Sam Dreyer has fallen foul of it on a couple of occasions, and Jordan Thomas came a proper cropper against Truro. He was hauled to the floor in front of the Pop Side and with the ref having booked Dreyer for a similar offence in the early stages I can very much understand him asking for his opponent to receive the same punishment.

But Mr Sandoe kept his card in pocket for about 3 seconds, before flashing it at the frustrated right back instead. As we know, Thomas was then the architect of his own downfall a few minutes later, seeing red after diving in rashly to try to hook back a ball on the Truro goal-line which was probably out of reach.

But do we really want to see this rule so rigidly enforced? I would argue not. Sure, players can’t expect to referee games, but I would say a bit more discretion should be employed. Football is a physical sport and emotions generally run high. If a player has just been fouled- or seen a colleague kicked up in the air- it is the most natural thing in the world to shout for a yellow card. It’s not the worst thing you’ll see on a football pitch. Frankly, I think it gives referees too much power. They do have a responsibility to control the game, and their word is already final. Frankly, continuing with this rule runs the risk of penalising skilful players and letting poor refs get away with bad decisions!

HIGHLIGHTS – YOUNG GOAL – YOUTUBE CLIP

SMART SUBS FROM PW

I thought Paul Wotton played a blinder.

Sam Dreyer set himself up for a difficult afternoon early on when he pulled Jaze Kabia back after the lively frontman had eluded him. On a very wet pitch against a lively visiting attack, the back four had it all on to preserve a clean sheet. Halfway through the second half, Sam got a good grip on an opponent close to the Truro dugout. A strong arm around the waist is a decent move in Strictly, but it’s a risky manoeuvre in National League South. Wotton had seen enough, and Ed Palmer was promptly sent on. It was a brave move, because we were losing a very capable centre back to ensure we kept 11 men on the park.

For a while!

Our Jordan count took a massive hit later on. After Thomas saw red, Young was the sacrificial lamb. If I had been running the team (God forbid) I would have probably hooked him earlier: I thought Dylan Morgan had looked at a bit livelier. Happily, of course, Young was left in place long enough to bring the house down with his jinking run and bottom corner matchwinner.

I also thought Omar Mussa made a difference when he came on. He always wanted the ball, kept it nicely and made a couple of intelligent runs without it. It was also interesting to see that Wotton called him over at one stage to give him some tactical advice to pass on. He’s going to be an important player in the second half of the season. He has the ability to unlock a tight game and he has clearly laid off the mince pies: he looks lean and fit now.

HIGHLIGHTS – RILEY-LOWE HITS THE BAR – YOUTUBE CLIP

FOUR FESTIVE POINTS

So what do we make of four points from the Christmas programme?

In all honesty, Weymouth was a disappointment. They are rock-bottom, and recently shipped four at home to Truro. We uncharacteristically conceded two avoidable goals and although Cody Cooke’s goal will remain in our heads, in our heads for a while, we laboured to break down the Dorset strugglers.

New Year’s Day was our most hyped home match for several years. Truro look a good side, and will have had to drag themselves onto their westbound bus after getting no luck in front of almost 5000 delirious Devonians.

Really, we chucked two points away on Boxing Day and rode our luck into the New Year. Six points was achievable but four has been enough to keep us top of the league. So I’ll take it!