TALKING POINTS

Dom Roman – @DomRoman

Dom discusses the win at Plainmoor

FIRST HALF CONTROL

The first half saw Torquay totally in control, with Welling’s main attacking gameplan, a long ball down the channel, nullified, the midfield dictating play, and an early goal from Jordan Dyer giving us the lead. The goal came from a perfect ball from Jordan Young that just begged to be headed in, and our number 8 caused the Wings problems with his busy movement and ability to play in-between the lines. But on the other side of the coin, United didn’t manage to make it 2-0, with Young wasting an excellent opportunity to set up a colleague and our passing around the penalty area lacking the necessary quality and sharpness. We entered the half time break looking comfortable but knowing matters could and should have been better.

HIGHLIGHTS – DYER FIRST GOAL – YOUTUBE CLIP

WELLING FIGHT BACK

Credit to Rod Stringer, whatever he said during the interval seemed to work and with their players pushing further forward, suddenly Welling looked a different team and were winning loose balls and battles all over the pitch. So it wasn’t a great surprise when they manufactured a far post headed chance and took it. Meanwhile, United looked like a team that expected to come out and boss proceedings, some complacency perhaps after seeing Welling offer so little in the first 45 minutes. Paul Wotton made a point of talking about the team’s youthfulness in the post match interview, and games like these should certainly help in the learning curve of many. Keep your focus and concentration up, otherwise any team can turn the tables very quickly, and at 1-1 it was very much game on.

HIGHLIGHTS – WELLING GOAL – YOUTUBE CLIP

PW SUBS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

There are many strings to the bows of successful managers, and one crucial one is the ability to make the right substitutions at the right times, and Paul Wotton, who is still learning his trade, is doing that task very well this season. On Saturday, with the side struggling to find territorial possession and looking tired, the appearance of Matt Carson and Omar Mussa was just what was required. Carson gave our left hand side new life and energy, whist Mussa gave us a cool head in possession, and United became an attacking threat once again. Both of these players would love to make a starting position their own, but I like the impact they can have off the bench, and Dyer’s 2nd goal came in a period when both had been heavily involved.

HIGHLIGHTS – DYER SECOND GOAL- YOUTUBE CLIP

DYER & THRELKELD SHINE

Jordan Dyer hasn’t captured many headlines this season, but he’s arguably been our best player in recent weeks and two goals on Saturday was just reward for his efforts. The Dyer/Dreyer combination sometimes bends, but very rarely breaks, and that’s a major reason for us being at the top of the league. Meanwhile in midfield Oscar Threlkeld had one of his best games in a Yellow shirt, and looks fitter than he has done all season. Hopefully he can keep this going in the coming fixtures. With the midfield often struggling in away fixtures and teams finding too much space, more revitalised displays from him could help swing games in our favour.

HIGHLIGHTS – COOKE GOAL – YOUTUBE CLIP

PLAINMOOR REMAINS A FORTRESS

The Plainmoor unbeaten record for 24/25 remains intact, and despite Welling’s second half rally, it did always feel like United would still find a way to win, the only surprise being that it was Dyer snaffling a close range goal to give us the lead again rather than Cody Cooke! The Yellow Army again turned up in fantastic numbers (let’s keep using that away end!), and willed their team on during a second half that had become far more competitive than expected. Now it’s over to the away following to do their bit, and I know many will make the trips to St Albans and Slough to help make a difference. The league table is in our favour at the moment, but with teams like Boreham and Maidstone about, we need every point we can get.