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Joe Uglow – @joe_ugs

Joe discusses the Gulls’ run-in

THE RUN-IN

Tonbridge Angels (a) – 08.03.25

Current position: 11th

Last Head to Head: Torquay 0-0 Tonbridge

A bit of a non-event which featured Brad Ash up front on his own in place of the suspended Cody Cooke. This game will largely be remembered for the scandalous decision to flag Keke Jeffers offside as he headed home a last minute free kick. Replays showed he was a good two or three yards onside!

Comments: United will want to kickstart their run of 10 Cup-Finals with a solid performance on the road at Longmead Stadium. The Angels are markedly better at home than away, but Truro, Worthing, Eastbourne & Maidstone have all visited and left with three points so if we are to really challenge at the top no less than three points will do this Saturday. They feature three ex gulls; Ryan Hanson, Jack Wood & Ronny Nelson, the latter of the three had a very solid game in the reverse fixture, whilst the former was… well… very Ryan Hanson-like!

Not really having a realistic chance of play-offs could mean that they play with the freedom a midtable position can dictate at this point in the season, so it won’t be easy for United, the sight of a returning Jay Foulston to the bench should hopefully give United a boost, and PW will be praying for positive news regarding Zanzala’s injury picked up on Tuesday night

Prediction: Tonbridge 1-2 Torquay

Salisbury (h) – 11.03.25

Current Position: 19th

Last Head to Head: Salisbury 0-1 Torquay

Again, a fairly low key affair saw United return home down the A38 with all three points after a late Cody Cooke penalty secured the win on the road. Salisbury enjoyed most of the first half without really threatening before a WJD inspired second half saw United grab the win.

Comments: A game that we should really be looking to get three points from. Salisbury are on a run of one win in eleven games and recent matches have seen them ship between two and three goals a game. Next Tuesday is the perfect time to show our promotion credentials, making Plainmoor a fortress again and put the whites to the sword.

Prediction: Torquay 3-0 Salisbury

Dorking Wanderers (a) – 15.03.25

Current Position: 1st

Last Head to Head: Torquay 1-0 Dorking

A throughly enjoyable match at a sun soaked Plainmoor in August saw United come out on top against the pre-season favourites. Dorking, in the midst of an early season injury crisis, controlled large parts of the game without really threatening. United on the other hand made good use of the limited ball they had and a cool Lirak Hasani finish put United 1-0 up at the break. An excellent rearguard display followed in the second half, with some excellent saves from James Hamon, aided by some bodies on the line defending from Sam Dreyer & Ed Palmer before finally a glaring miss from veteran Barry Fuller in the final minute of the game sending the Plainmoor faithful home ecstatic with three points.

Comments: Dorking are a far more formidable outfit now of course, having climbed to the top of the league, suffering only one defeat in 2025 at home to Weston-Super-Mare. Bizarrely given their plastic pitch, they are better away from home, sitting top of the Away table but only 7th in the Home table. Pre-season favourites are starting to live up to the billing & these are the sort of matches that Marc White will be drilling into his team that will make or break their season. With many of their injured players now returning to the fold I think it will be a tough afternoon for the Yellows.

Prediction: Dorking 2-0 Torquay

Bath City (h) – 22.03.25

Current position: 18th

Last Head to Head: Bath City 1-2 Torquay

A promising early season away performance saw local lad Ed Palmer grab the winner after Cody Cooke had put us ahead on his return to Twerton Park.

Comments: It’s fair to say Bath City never really recovered from having their three best players poached from them in the off-season; Hayfield, Dyer & Cooke made the move to TQ1 and left a sizeable hole down the spine of the team that eventually cost Jerry Gill his job. After a brief return to form under new Manager Darren Way their form has become a little more indifferent. Two ex-gulls in the side of course; Ollie Tomlinson & Brad Ash, the latter not being eligible to play in this game due to being on loan from us! A local-ish derby should add a bit of spice to proceedings but Bath didn’t show much in August to worry us and recent results indicate they are good enough to stay up but won’t be threatening any of the top sides.

Prediction: Torquay 2-0 Bath City

Aveley (a) – 29.03.25

Current position: 24th

Last Head to Head: Torquay 1-1 Aveley

A looping Carson cross found its way to the back post and into the net on the stroke of half time at Plainmoor and everyone thought United would kick on in the second half. Unfortunately as with many performances this season, they did not! We enjoyed plenty of possession without doing a lot with it and the Aveley defence defended stoically to grind out a 1-1 draw.

Shortly after they lost their centre half and Captain Harry Gibbs to Hornchurch and this seemed to spark a spiralling run of form which has seen them cut adrift at the bottom of the table.

Comments: A real case of “second season syndrome” for Aveley and with only five games remaining after this one, The Millers could need a win to prevent being mathematically relegated by the Gulls. Will be a tough match given the potential circumstances but with three wins in their last 20 matches, United simply have to go there and do the business.

Prediction: Aveley 1-2 Torquay

Chesham (h) – 05.04.25

Current Position: 16th

Last Head to Head: Chesham 2-3 Torquay

The August Bank Holiday showdown at ‘The Meadow’ had it all; An acrobatic goal-line handball, subsequently a red card followed by a penalty and a last minute winner for United, courtesy of Brad Ash following a wickedly whipped in ball by Player/Coach Dean Moxey.

Comments: A decent first season at this level for the Buckinghamshire club. They’ll enjoy their day out for sure and they’ll want to put on a performance in front of a no doubt large crowd. They sit fourteen points ahead of safety which you’d like to think should see them safe. Their recent record against the top seven is not amazing, and they were 4-1 losers to Truro last weekend at Home. Again if we are to have realistic hopes of promotion we simply have to beat sides like Chesham, but it won’t be easy.

Prediction: Torquay 2-0 Chesham

Slough Town (h) – 12.04.25

Current Position: 17th

Last Head to Head: Slough 2-2 Torquay

A fairly decent performance on the road for United saw one of the first of our last minute capitulations, as Omar Mussa failed to keep the ball in the corner, swiftly followed by Matt Carson failing to block the cross or send their winger into row Z, resulting in a cross being met by the head of Slough Midfielder Dan Bayliss and the ball looping in over Hamon to make it 2-2 in the dying seconds of the game.

Comments: On reflection a point on the road at Slough isn’t a bad point, they’re in the top 10 of the Home League table, but their away form is shoddy at best. They sit in the bottom four of the Away table and no less than three points will do if we are to make up for those two dropped points in the return fixture. They’re far from goal shy with their ‘Goals For’ record up there with those in the top 7, the reason they find themselves in 17th is their ‘Goals Against’ record is more in line with the bottom half of the table. They feature their Player Manager Scott Davies at centre back most weeks so he’ll be more than aware of their defensive frailties, and I’m sure he’ll be looking to build on a fairly decent record at Plainmoor as both a player and a manager.

Prediction: Torquay 3-2 Slough Town

Truro City (a) – 18.04.25

Current Position: 3rd

Last Head to Head: Torquay 1-0 Truro

A Jordan Young moment of magic sealed the win on a wet and windy New Years Day. With conditions not conducive to a free flowing game the Yellows won the battle on a soggy pitch. United just about edged a tight affair to make it two wins in all competitions over the Tinners this season.

Comments: A lot is said about Torquay’s home record (Best in the league – 39 points from a possible 54) but following closely behind are Truro in 2nd with 38 points from a possible 57. Boreham Wood showed only this week what a tough place the Truro City Stadium is to visit. Visitors to the stadium have commented how the wind swirls round the stadium with little protection from trees or stands and with Truro playing quite a direct style via long balls and long throw’s they use this to their advantage. The majority of Cornwall will be turning out for this one on Good Friday, and they’ll all be hoping they can get one over Paul Wotton for daring to cross the Tamar last summer. Despite our two wins over Truro this season there’s not been much between the sides in those encounters and I can see Truro making the most of their home advantage in this one.

Prediction: Truro City 2-1 Torquay United

Weymouth (h) – 21.04.25

Current Position: 23rd

Last Head to Head: Weymouth 2-2 Torquay

The Terras benefitted from a couple of defensive lapses to secure a draw at the Bob Lucas. It appears to have been a false dawn for manager Warren Feeney who has struggled to get a tune out of the Dorset side with only two wins in 17.

Comments: It’s likely that Weymouth will be relegated by the time they visit on bank holiday Monday. Side’s can improve with the pressure off but with United likely needing a result and buoyed by a bumper bank holiday crowd I can’t see past a Torquay win.

Prediction: Torquay 3-0 Weymouth

Hemel Hempstead (a) – 26.04.25

Current Position: 12th

Last Head to Head: Torquay 1-0 Hemel

A Cody Cooke penalty was enough to secure the points in December. Having recently installed manager Lee Allinson prior to their visit to Plainmoor, it was a dogged perfomance from the Tudors, that required a man of match performance from James Hamon to keep them at bay. The introduction of Matt Carson in the second half had the desired effect and he was brought down for a Penalty in the 74th minute. Up stepped Cooke and Cody did what Cody does, 1-0 Torquay and we were top for Christmas.

Comments: Hemel have improved dramatically since Allinson was installed as manager, losing to only three sides; Us, Chesham & Boreham Wood. A trip there on the last day is far from ideal but with them placed firmly midtable you’d like to think there will be a case for them to be “on the beach”. I’m not so convinced and think it’ll be a tough ask to go there and win, especially if we have the pressure of needing a result riding on it.

Prediction: Hemel 1-1 Torquay

Summary

Possibly a fairly glass half full outlook, with only 2 losses in those 10 games, but it’s no fun writing a pessimistic piece!

22 points from a possible 30 would take us to 86 points in total. In my opinion that would have us falling just short of the 88 points mark that I think will win the league, but would be enough to secure a vital 2nd or 3rd spot and that all important home play off advantage!

What do you think Yellow Army?