MATCH VERDICT

Rachel Malloch – @Rachelvillavox

Rachel reports back from Plainmoor

TORQUAY UNITED 1-0 BATH CITY – 22.03.25

SUMMARY

The Time Machine gauge set to Saturday, 23^nd March, 2024, almost exactly a year ago today, which saw Plainmoor host a play offs chasing Hampton and Richmond in front of just over a 3,000 crowd, a day that had been labelled Devon Day as neighbouring supporters from Plymouth and Exeter respectively loaned their presence to the club terraces, a Torquay United club that were not only treading water above the relegation zone of the National League South but had the insolvency practitioners crunching numbers with an itinerary of creditors breathing down the club accountants necks and dark clouds hovering above TQ1. A precarious nee critical time for the football club.

An Asa Hall converted penalty in the first half following centre forward Brad Ash, currently on loan with today’s visitors, had been upended in the box the only goal, but enough. A vital win that day. On a side note, our Viking, Leader, Legend, now player manager at Tiverton, scored the free kick winner for Tivvy today. Age shall not wither our football greats.

Booster gauge forward almost one year, 22^nd March, 2025 now celebrating national Non-League day, a considerably more buoyant football club, a completely different squad, manager, chairpersons, shareholders, a respected TUST, an injection of feelgood, a club shop displaying probably the best quality merchandise we’ve ever had and a season boasting 4,000+ crowds and still the continuum of a vocal, voluminous away support of a devoted, dedicated Yellow Army and a drummer, away ground stewards permitting.

Today’s attendance was confirmed as 5,202, a tremendous crowd on this heralded national Non League Day. Match sponsors player of the match gave the nod to Sam Dreyer. My own vote went to the ever reliably impressive Jordan Young, for his perpetual energy, movement on and off the ball and all round control.

It was a surround sensory cheesy chips convention in Block G Bristow’s, to the left, the right, row in front and behind, put me in mind of the spring influenced poem of William Wordsworth, “where all at once I saw a crowd, a host of golden cheesy chips”. I was accompanied by my young nephew and niece again, nephew who for his adolescence has a firm grasp of the nuances of football tactics and strategies, my niece who in only her 3^rd game at Plainmoor asked many questions about the referee and his lack of intervention, and me, her auntie, a veteran of thousands of football matches, struggled to answer. He did get his token booking in the final few minutes when Ed Palmer, who had been brought on a few moments earlier in what I could see was to play as another holding midfielder, kicked the ball more in skillset than petulance.

To the game itself, and it took until 13 minutes for the Bath City goalkeeper to get his gloves on the ball. This game felt as still with shades of grey as the weather. The team selection was the same as the players who triumphed at Dorking along with the subs bench. Bath City had the first attempt of the game, a speculative 20 yarder from ex-Gull Alex Fisher. Torquay did orchestrate a decent move on 20 minutes, a free kick found Matt Jay – unusually quiet today – but his mishit fortuitously fell at the feet of Jordan Dyer but his shot across goal was just out of reach for both Sam Dreyer and Ozzy Zanzala.

A catalogue of clear fouls on Torquay Utd players were ignored and waved away by the referee, but aside from these frustrations, the first half was a game that for excitement or entertainment would barely fill a Babbacombe Model Village postcard.

The second half started as much the same, some slipshod passing, lack of shape and movement and a sense of nervy tension permeating across the ground. That changed somewhat with the introduction of Cody Cooke for Will Jenkins-Davies to go upfront with ever willing, hard working Zanzala, Cooke winning balls and injecting some much needed forward movement.

With the clock ticking down, Jordan Young ran past his marker, cut inside and unleashed a powerful shot outside the box that the Bath keeper couldn’t hold onto, and it invitingly spilled for Cooke to scramble the ball over the line. The relief across the ground palpable, minutes later Foulston battled well to win the ball on the left and sent in a brilliant cross from the byline that was met on the volley by Zanzala that produced a top drawer save from the Bath keeper. Foulston again, with some nice interplay between Craske and Young, had a go on goal but the ball flew high of the crossbar, unchallenged.

The game had needed some spark in the middle of the park, but manager Paul Wotton persisted with his preferred shape, and called back Lirak Hasani and Omar Mussa (much to the disappointment of the young supporters sat around me) and brought on Ed Palmer to replace Matt Jay. 5 minutes added time and Bath had a duo of corners but Torquay held firm and the 3 points were ours.

It wasn’t a great spectacle, it was frustrating for the most part, the football quality could have been better, a lot better, the opposition were very limited, the officials, mainly the referee, was like too many NLS officials, feeble, not the most scintillating advert for Non League Day, a mediocre 90+ 5 minutes, but there was no shortage of effort lacking from these players and we are now in a very exciting position to go on for these remaining 6 games, 3 at home, 3 away, and poised delectably.

The win sees Torquay United 4 points behind league leaders Worthing who lost away to Welling United, and with Worthing a game in hand, we will all be rooting for Hornchurch next Saturday, while we take on strugglers Aveley.

PLAYER RATINGS

James Hamon – 6: A quiet game, did what was required. Distribution could have been better and quicker.

Finley Craske – 6: Saw a lot of the ball, didn’t do much wrong.

Jordan Dyer – 6: Did the easy stuff well, and the more physical stuff too, nothing more or less.

Sam Dreyer – 6: Similar to Dyer.

Jay Foulston – 7: Had a decent game, was an outlet for a few very good balls in the box and defended well.

Dan Hayfield – 6: Again, unspectacular, but tidy and industrious.

Oscar Threlkeld – 6: See Hayfield!

Will Jenkins-Davies – 5: Struggled today, wayward passing and bullied off the ball too many times.

Matt Jay – 5: Didn’t really work for him today, couldn’t impress his undoubted talent this afternoon.

Offrande Zanzala – 7: Worked hard, held up the ball well, dealt with the rough stuff, brilliant volley in the 2^nd half.

Jordan Young – 8: MOTM, See Below.

SUBS:

Cody Cooke – 8: Made a real difference, causing their defence problems they hadn’t previously had.

Ed Palmer – N/A: Booked late on.

MAN OF THE MATCH – JORDAN YOUNG

We are blessed to have his calibre at TQ1. Even on days like today, big crowd, rather flat performance (with no lack of endeavour I might add), Young’s quality shines through. There was a lot of puffing cheeks, forehead rubbing and sighs of frustration this afternoon, but not directed at this player. He has so much quality and is a joy to watch.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Ozzy Zanzala, got battered and bruised, kicked and grappled with, almost scored a cracking volley and his all round game is built on hard work and commitment.

TACTICS

Starting with a 4 5 1, ending with a 4 4 2, Paul Wotton promised the Yellow Army he would make Torquay United a tough team to beat and that his team will never leave the pitch without giving a good account, and while today was lacking in much entertainment, the endeavour and work ethic from these lads is clear to see.

OFFICIALS

Allowed too many fouls to go unpunished. Another typical NLS referee. Pedantic yet unassertive.

OPPOSITION

Offered very little threat, relied heavily on the follically challenged Danny Greenslade and I don’t doubt were missing the movement and runs of Brad Ash, but over the course of 90+ minutes, I was disappointed we didn’t put them to the sword as it were. It was good to see Ollie Tomlinson, a player who showed so much promise as a youngster for Torquay United, and he didn’t do much wrong today.

CONCLUSION

All aboard the Torquay United promotion push! Win all our remaining games, whether by fair means of by hard labour in a similar vein to today’s game, what an incredible season it will have turned out to be.