MATCH VERDICT

Andy Ealey

Andy reports back

CHIPPENHAM TOWN 1-3 TORQUAY UNITED – 04.03.25

SUMMARY

A chance to get Saturday’s Boreham game out of our system by travelling to Wiltshire to face mid table Chippenham Town on which was the rearranged postponed fixture from back in January.

It looked as though the travelling support would be indeed small after the last few inconsistent performances, but actually was pleasantly very good to see a healthy 250-300 travelling yellow army segregated down behind the goal end next to Chippenham’s inflatable dome!

The gulls lined up with the exact same 11 that started Boreham Wood and again started this contest brightly on a mild evening eventually breaking the deadlock after just under 10 minutes played.

The ever so impressive Ozzy Zanzala continued his strong start as a Torquay player, racing beyond the Chippenham backline breaking the line ever so well and then picking the correct type and weight of pass to set up, what looked like, an easy tap in for attacking RB Jordan Thomas….. However the youngster completely miscued his shot which fell nicely to opposite full back Matty Carson to bundle in over the line!

In typical Torquay fashion, we never seemed to kick on after this goal and allowed Chippenham back into the game on their home patch in front of a below par home faithful, chance after chance went begging for them, and inevitably their resilience paid off with Central Midfielder Caine Bradbury firing home from outside the box, as the Torquay defence failed to close down Bradbury as he was about to tee up

The half time whistle then soon sounded and to be completely honest, Chippenham were the better team over the course of the 45, with Torquays best part of the game so far being the first 10 minutes. A lot of work was now needed to be done/said inside the away changing room to stop our season from whimpering out!

Similar to Weston Super Mare away last week, it seemed as though Wotton and Edwards’ rallying call at half time had done the trick as Torquay started the brighter. Within the first couple of minutes Thomas fired over via the bar and Torquay finally had risen again, with the hope of keeping this level going for the remaining 45 ahead.

Our good start was rewarded on just shy of the hour mark, Hasani easily dispossessed Chippenham’s Owen-Evans just outside of his own penalty area to combine with Jordan Young and eventually Zanzala bundled home his first in Torquay colours, eventually finding himself ending up in the back of the net alongside the ball which unfortunately saw him being withdrawn for Cooke just afterwards. Both goals so far for Torquay not being the prettiest, but damn effective nevertheless!

Apart from a late Hasani tackle that could have been much worse than the eventual yellow card handed to him (too far away to comment), the remainder of the half was pretty uneventful which absolutely suited Torquay down just fine.

Therefore there was still one more last bit of action to be had which coincided with the 4th official holding up the 8 minutes added on the scoreboard which allowed Chippenham to go completely gung-ho and throw the kitchen sink into finding the equaliser….

The Torquay group had to really dig deep to stay compact, tight and resolute to see off any potential Chippenham attack for the final part of the game and thankfully, and like we have seen, and will see in most games when one team commits everyone forward, Matt Jay was able to force the Chippenham Goalkeeper Henry into a mistake resulting in the 3-1 scoreline and bag himself his 4th goal in the last 4 games.

In truth, this score-line slightly flattered Torquay but who cares, scrappy goals, it’s a win, an AWAY win, and our first since the end of November vs Enfield!

PLAYER RATINGS

Hamon: 6 – Uneventful game for the Hamo, couple of distribution moments he won’t of liked but backed it up with some comfortable saves when we needed it most during the game.

Thomas: 6 – Looked tidy going forward but defensively looking suspect and without much support from Young in front of him, Chippenhams left side of Gravata and Dawes had numerous success during the first half up against him.

Dreyer: 7 – Looks as though he will and should have the armband for the remainder of the season, and after the Worthing red card and recent illness, looked to be back to his normal form alongside Dyer at the heart of the backline.

Dyer 7 – Could have been MOTM for this one, cleaned up well in the second half and keeping the partnership with Dreyer through to the end of the season could be pivotal.

Carson: 7 – Scored the early goal when we needed it most and is growing with confidence each game after a poor start to 2025.

Hasani: 6.5 – Perhaps fortunate to still be on the pitch in the second half and was surprised to not see PW withdraw him afterwards, however played a key part in the 2nd goal to set up Zanzala.

Hayfield: 6 – Nothing of note for Hayfield who took up a holding midfield role in this game, allowed Hasani and WJD to join in any Torquay attacks.

Jenkins Davies: 7 – Enjoyed his performances the last couple of games and subbing him at Plainmoor last weekend seemed to swing the game for me. Looks a much better player this season than last under PW and nice for him to banish the memory of the red card at Chippenham last time we visited!

Young: 6.5 – Playing against his hometown club for the night, I probably expect so much from Young each game such was his strong start to life in a Torquay shirt. Needs to support Thomas more on transitions. Subbed late for Palmer

Jay: 7 – Getting better each passing game and completed the 90 tonight so match fitness and sharpness pretty much there, adding goals and assists for us now. Will be crucial for the final run-in.

Zanzala: 8 – MOTM

Subs:

Cooke: 6 – Nothing noteworthy, the signing and consequent form of Zanzala seems to have rocked him somewhat.

Palmer: N/A

MAN OF THE MATCH – OFFRANDE ZANZALA

One goal and one ‘assist’ in this game, and you can understand why PW has been trying to bring him in all season. Looked busy, lively, can rough it up with opposition defenders and links play really well. What’s not to enjoy? Let’s hope this is the first goal of many!

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Matt Jay four goals in his last four games now and Dyer was also spot-on this evening in the natural centre back berth alongside Dreyer.

TACTICS

4-3-3. Hayfield sat to allow Hasani and WJD to join in attacks, Cooke replaced Zanzala who looked to have picked up a knock in scoring the second goal and Palmer entered late on to replace Young which allowed Thomas to play further forward and Palmer to slot in at RB.

OFFICIALS

Nothing of note, the linesman on dugout side seemed to have attracted some grief from the travelling Torquay fans and was good to not see the referee buckle to pressure after the Hasani tackle right in front of the home dugout, which saw a sea of blue surround him as well as the dugout members off their feet!

OPPOSITION

Can see why they will finish comfortably in the mid table of the NLS. A young side who played some nice football at times and they wouldn’t have wanted to hear the half time whistle. A typical part time outfit at this level with a poor following, they will take points off the better sides of this division easily but will often fail to pick up points that they should against lesser sides down the other end of the table.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion tonight was very simple, don’t care how we play, how the goals are scored, who played well, who didn’t…..just as long as we get that much needed away win! As I said previously, the last away win was 30th November against Enfield and tonight was seen as a potentially tough away game against a side who easily dispatched Boreham Wood on their own patch. Just so delighted we were able to show some resilience and character after Chippenham equalised and get not only the 2nd but complete the job with the 3rd. PW’s substitutions were sparse and correct tonight after too many at Plainmoor last Saturday, and with the final ten games ahead, lets take last nights confidence boosting victory, kick on, and have an exciting end to the season! Up The Gulls!