MATCH VERDICT

Steve Harris – @steveharris84

Steve reports back

TORQUAY UNITED 2-2 BOREHAM WOOD – 01.03.25

SUMMARY

Despite having a luxury of a two-goal cushion at the half-time interval United were pegged back by two late goals from Boreham Wood, as the Gulls’ hunt for promotion took another twist. United were in front on nine minutes when a misplaced pass from Boreham Wood defender Chris Bush was intercepted by Jay whose pass found Young who curled home his ninth of the campaign from close range.

The Wood threatened an equaliser in the 28th minute when a cross from Bush was headed over by leading scorer Kwesi Appiah. Tom Whelan and Matthew Rush later went close for the visitors without seriously troubling Gulls’ keeper James Hamon. Four minutes before the break, Will Jenkins Davies won a challenge in midfield and the ball fell invitingly to Jay, who went on a darting run before finding the back of the net with his third goal in as many games.

In the second half, Jayden Richardson hit the post for the Wood on 52 minutes before the rebound landed in the path of sub Enrico Sousa who blasted wide. Arguably the Gulls’ best chance of the half came in the 73rd minute when Jordan Thomas cut onto his left foot before firing an angled drive straight at Wood keeper Nathan Ashmore. Three minutes later, Hamon was called in action for United as he made a smart save from to deny a close range header from Rush.

With eight minutes of normal time to go, the Wood pulled one back through a sumptuous 40 yard strike from sub Abdulmalik. On 86 minutes, Jay saw an effort parried away by Ashmore as the Gulls looked to restore their lead. However, the Wood levelled matters with virtually the last kick of the game as Abdulmalik went on a solo run before teeing up fellow sub Dixon, who sealed a share of the points for the Wood. A painful end to a match that United had in the palm of their hands.

PLAYER RATINGS

Hamon: 7 – Largely untested in the first half, but made a couple of decent stops in the second half.

Thomas: 6.5 – Tested Nathan Ashmore with a shot in the second half, but overall was solid, but unspectacular.

Dreyer: 7 – Captained the side in the absence of Oscar Threlkeld and performed to his usual high standards before being substituted.

Dyer 7 – Was solid throughout in his second game following his return from injury.

Carson: 6 – Got forward to good effect and displayed plenty of endeavour.

Hasani: 6.5 – Showed some good touches before being sacrificed for Finley Craske in a tactical shake-up.

Hayfield: 6.5 – Was his usual industrious self in the centre of the park.

Jenkins Davies: 7 – Showed good energy levels and his tackle played a crucial role in United’s second goal.

Young: 7.5 – Took his goal well, which was his ninth of the campaign in all competitions and always looked a threat when he got on the ball.

Jay: 8 – MOTM

Zanzala: 7 – Worked hard up front and held the ball up well on his full debut and showed some good touches.

Subs:

Cooke: 5 – Struggled to hold the ball up once he replaced a tiring Zanzala.

Palmer: 6 – Worked hard once he came on for Sam Dreyer.

Craske: 6 – Formed the left of a back three.

Threlkeld: 5 – Came on for Jordan Young to shore up the midfield, but didn’t quite have the desired impact.

Mussa: N/A

MAN OF THE MATCH – MATT JAY

After playing a key role in creating the opener for Jordan Young, Matt Jay netted his third goal in as many games, showing exactly the kind of quality we hoped he’d bring to the team.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Offrande Zanzala proved to Paul Wotton that he can be a viable alternative to Cody Cooke up front and Jordan Young took his tally for the season to 9 with his opener.

TACTICS

Paul Wotton once again started with a 4-3-3 with Jordan Young and Matt Jay playing either side of Offrande Zanzala in a front three. However, once Sam Dreyer went off injured, Paul Wotton switched to a 3-5-2 formation as Finley Craske replaced Lirak Hasani to form a back three with Ed Palmer, who replaced Dreyer, and Jordan Dyer.

OFFICIALS

Went through the game largely unnoticed, though the 7 minutes added on was comfortably more than we hoped for!

OPPOSITION

A familiar foe of United’s from the National League, which is reflected by the fact that Paul Wotton is the fourth Torquay United manager to have gone head-to-head with Boreham Wood boss Luke Garrard. The Wood side that lined-up to face the Gulls also included goalkeeper Nathan Ashmore and left wing-back Femi Ilesanmi, both of whom have featured against United many times over the years. They also showed many of the qualities that they possessed during Garrard’s first spell at Meadow Park, which saw them reach the National League Play-offs on several occasions – most notably grit and determination that led to their second half comeback.

CONCLUSION

Saturday’s result leaves the Gulls eight points behind leaders Dorking Wanderers, albeit with a game in hand. Nevertheless, better game management will be required from Paul Wotton’s side between now and the end of the campaign. However, if it is to be the play-offs for the Gulls, Wotton has Neil Warnock, who holds the records for the most promotions won through the play-offs in English football, in his corner should that scenario come to pass.