MATCH VERDICT

Thomas Kelly – @tommyktufc

Thomas discusses the game at St Albans

ST ALBANS CITY 1-1 TORQUAY UNITED – 18.01.25

SUMMARY

More frustration on the road for Torquay, who came from behind to take back a point back to Devon in a game where they really should have taken all three.

Jay Foulston returned to the starting line up in place of Dean Moxey and Jordan Thomas came in for Finlay Craske as Torquay looked to be back at relatively full strength.

However, Torquay made things difficult for themselves when Smith was put through on goal and slotted the ball past Hamon on six minutes. It was hard to see from the other end of the pitch, but the general consensus was that Hamon should have done better with his attempt to save the shot. One to watch back from the highlights later.

Torquay soon began to see more of the ball but struggled to find the quality ball in the box.

Jordan Thomas came close to bundling the Gulls level and in truth should have. Any meaningful contact and that’s 1-1. Other than that, it was a poor first 45 for the men in white.

Wotton made two changes at half time as Omar Mussa & Lirak Hasani came on for Will Jenkins Davies and Dylan Morgan.

It didn’t take long for United to find a way back into the game as Jordan Thomas won the Gulls a penalty after being fouled in the six yard box.

Cody had the ball in his hands, but it was swiftly handed to Jordan Young who went down the middle to level the game.

It was all Torquay from here on out.

Jordan Young should have made it 2-1 when he was put through but hit his effort wide of goal. Has to score I feel.

The Gulls hit the woodwork multiple times, first through Dan Hayfield whose effort seemed to hit the bar three times, before Jordan Young hit the frame of crossbar and post and St Alban’s were able to clear the ball away to safety.

Then came the contentious moment which denied Torquay a winner. Mussa’s out-swinging corner found Foulston unmarked in the six yard box which looked to have set Torquay on their way to victory. Instead, the linesman decided that the ball had gone out of play when Mussa took the corner.

Who knows really?

Despite ample Torquay pressure, the Gulls just couldn’t find a winner. On a day where Maidstone, Dorking and Eastbourne all failed to win, United missed another chance to pull further away from some in the top 7 and gave Boreham Wood the chance to jump ahead of us with their game in hand.

PLAYER RATINGS

James Hamon – 6.5: The general consensus is he should have done better for the Saints goal. Other than that, he had naff all to do really.

Jay Foulston – 7: Welcome back Jay. Took his header well which was soon taken away from him.

Sam Dreyer – 7: Solid as ever. Ever reliable.

Jordan Dyer – 7: Tricky first 45 but much more solid second half.

Jordan Thomas – 7: Missed a sitter in the first half but won us the penalty in the second. Worked hard.

Oscar Threlkeld – 6.5: A steady performance. Didn’t shine like he has in recent weeks but that’s not a bad thing necessarily.

Will Jenkins Davies – 6: Not to be for Will today. Subbed off at half time.

Dan Hayfield – 7.5: He had his moments and was unlucky to see his effort hit the bar in quick succession. One of his better games that I’ve seen from him.

Dylan Morgan – 6: A decent outlet on the flanks of the forward three.

Jordan Young – 8: MOTM but should have put us ahead with his effort he hit wide.

Cody Cooke – 6.5: A frustrating afternoon for Cody. Interesting he left the penalty kick to Young but he can’t do all the work on his own. He needs help as we’ll risk running him into the ground if he continues playing 90 mins every week.

Subs:

Matt Carson – 6: Did alright for the last 20 minutes he was on. Hope he can find some form from earlier on in the season.

Omar Mussa – 6.5: Instantly gave St Alban’s trouble when he came on at HT and a lot of the play went through him which gave us the impetus to press forward, however, his final balls into the box were poor I felt. Hard to tell if he kicked it out from his corner kick for the disallowed goal but need to see him contribute more in front of goal.

Lirak Hasani – 7: Got the ball moving across the park when he came on. Nothing amazing but did his job well.

TUFC PLAYER RATINGS VOTE – St Albans City (a)

MAN OF THE MATCH – JORDAN YOUNG

He got the equaliser and should have put us in front but he was the one looking most likely to get us the winner all game. Surprised to see him take the penalty but dispatched it well. A lively player.

TACTICS

Standard 4-3-3 affair we’ve come to expect with Morgan & Young either side of Cooke.

OFFICIALS

Unfortunately we’ll never know definitively if Mussa’s corner went out of play. It seemed to take a few moments for the referee to disallow the goal. Other than that, I don’t think they were all that bad. Got the penalty decision correct. Better than what we’ve come to expect for officiating at this level.

OPPOSITION

We all knew St Alban’s would come at us early in front of a big crowd. They have a lot of fight which their new manager will hope to spur them to surviving in the NLS this season. Other than their goal, their chances were rather limited and I’m sure the majority of their fans would have been delighted to hold out for a 1-1 draw. You can’t deny their facilities are great and are probably one of the best in the league.

CONCLUSION

Two points dropped for United and more questions will be asked over our away form which could deny us a true crack at the NLS title this season. It’s not a disastrous result by any means, but the pressure is on us now to go to Slough on Tuesday, on a 3G pitch and get the win. We have to get over our fears of 3G pitches otherwise we’ll never get out of this league. There are no easy games in this division but we need to find a winning formula on the road to push on for the title with our excellent home form.

Are we capable of doing so? Absolutely. On another day we probably win 3-1. Fine margins but with it being so tight at the top, it feels like another missed opportunity for the Gulls to create a further gap between those in the top 7.

As ever, we’re doing it the hard way. The Torquay way and I’m here for it!